Fact Check

Imelda Marcos Dead?

Imelda Marcos has not died, despite a long-circulating (and undated) article about her purported collapse.

Published June 9, 2017

 (Stephen Bures / Shutterstock.com)
Image Via Stephen Bures / Shutterstock.com
Claim:
Former First Lady of the Philippines Imelda Marcos died of a cardiac arrest in June 2017.

In June 2017, an AsiaNews-tv.com article about the purported death of former First Lady of the Philippines Imelda Marcos circulated widely on Facebook. Undated and attributed to "The Editor," it reported:

Former First Lady of Philippines, Imelda Marcos, the widow of Ferdinand Marcos, the 10th president of the Philippines is reported dead few hours ago after she collapsed in her residence.

According to Dr. Marieta De Luna, the Former First Lady was rushed to the Manila Medical Centre in Ermita wee hours of today, but died shortly just during when the doctors were attending to her.

“A team of doctors including myself worked tirelessly, we did all we could but couldn’t materialise.”-Dr. Marieta said.
“The cause of her death is not immediately known as autopsy report is yet to be released.”- She added.

So far the best guess could be cardiac arrest ... Our condolence to the bereaved family and to the entire Philippian community.

When hoax news pages lack dates, they are able to spread in perpetuity on social media to a receptive audience. Information from the page shows it was first published in January 2016 and republished May 2017. On 14 May 2017, Marcos (now 87) confirmed to the Filipino Express that she is indeed still alive:

“Buhay pa, pero matanda nga lang (Still alive, just old).”

This was the reaction of former First Lady and current Ilocos Norte 2nd District Rep. Imelda Marcos on Monday, May 8 [2017], after she was erroneously reported to have died, thanks to a Twitter post from Bacoor City Mayor Lani Mercado.

A post by Mercado’s official account on [8 May 2017] 10:09 p.m. read: “Our condolences to the Marcos Family. It was a pleasure and a privilege to work with Cong. Imelda Romualdez Marcos.”

That afternoon, Marcos was spotted - very much alive - by reporters sitting at the front row of the House of Representatives Plenary Hall.

“Thank you, pinatotohanan niyo yung katotohanan na buhay pa ako (you confirmed the truth that I am still alive),” Marcos told reporters.

As of 9 June 2017, Imelda Marcos is not dead.

Kim LaCapria is a former writer for Snopes.

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