<p>
Jedd (de Guzman), 49, is one such basher, and he says he was taught in Grade V that FM was a torturer, a murderer, and a thief who stole the people's gold bullion. 
</p>
<p>
"Tito Ronnie, everybody sees him as bad! His evil character is taught in all schools as part of history; ergo, it must be true that he was a torturer, a murderer, and a thief!”
</p>
<h3>
The corrosive power of hate
</h3>
<p>
Jedd is adamant, although he cannot say from whom, how and when FM had stolen all that gold - but neither does anybody else. 
</p>
<p>
He just fervently believes what others generally believe to be gospel truth ... a conviction that proceeds from a misguided yellow propaganda scheme engendered by the assassination of the strongman's arch political enemy, Sen. Benigno "Ninoy” Aquino Jr.
</p>
<p>
Hate beclouds reason; therefore, if the despised FM was worth more than his weight in gold, he must then have stolen all that gold, the proof of theft being the magnitude of that theft! Would that be history's so-called unbiased statement on the fabled Marcos gold?
</p>
<p>
Verily, the Yellows will be happier people if they can cleanse themselves of such hate that not only begets irrationality but also corrodes the human soul. They have labeled FM as an insatiable plunderer, but my knowledge of the man disables me from agreeing with them.
</p>
<h3>
Gold certificates galore
</h3>
<p>
As chief of staff of my father, the late Sen. Jose J. Roy, I had once the good fortune of seeing two stacks of gold certificates on the table of the late president, along with my father and the late business mogul, Enrique Zobel de Ayala. 
</p>
<p>
My father was upset that day over stories of gold bars reportedly amassed by the president, so he went to the Palace to confront FM, with me just tagging along.
</p>
<p>
After we leafed through the gold certificates, FM said he had long been waiting for claimants and skeptics to challenge the integrity of the certificates, but none so far had come. The gold bars were his, he emphasized, and he was willing to face them anytime ... stressing he had been a gold trader long before he entered public life.
</p>
<h3>
Cleared by records
</h3>
<p>
Incidentally, the records of the Central Bank of the Philippines, and later those of the Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas, confirm that Marcos did not steal a single ounce of gold from their vaults. Perhaps, remnants of Cory's notorious "Kamaganak Incorporated” can shed some enlightenment here.
</p>
<p>
Till today, the strongman's memory is incessantly vilified as a billionaire-plunderer, as his bashers led by then VP candidate Alan Cayetano rantingly demand a return by his heirs of over $10-billion worth of alleged loot he had supposedly raked up from the national coffers. 
</p>
<p>
However, although criminal actions in court relative to the alleged theft have all been junked for lack of evidence ... FM continues to be "remembered” as a gold thief! That's what hate does. It corrodes the human soul!
</p>
<p>
And it shouldn't be a surprise that the FM-bashers and Yellows are back to name-calling, even as the Marcos family has signified an interest in sharing some of their gold with the people. 
</p>
<p>
Up in arms, some quarters scream: "Return - not donate - the gold to us, you thieves!” Yes, that's what hate does. It corrodes the human soul.
</p>
<h3>
FM's last wishes
</h3>
<p>
Back at the Palace, it was then that I learned of the late president's plan to donate his gold to the Church, the people and the government, leaving only 10 percent of the same for his family. Believe it or not, that was then his intention ... one he would much later re-express in a Last Will and Testament during his exile in Hawaii, after his abduction by American government operatives.
</p>
<p>
There is thus cogent reason to suppose that his family's interest in sharing with others their wealth in gold bullion is in accord with the strongman's last wishes. 
</p>
<p>
It will therefore do critics well to stop vilifying his memory, shut up, and just let his heirs honor him by following his solemn instructions.
</p>
<p>
A little humility will do much for the country's poor people ... as will most certainly a little prayer.
</p>

<p>
<strong>Sources</strong>: 
<br/>
The Marcos gold, Ronald Roy, September 11, 2017, <a href="https://goo.gl/JrmkC1" class="news_link" target="_blank" title="Source">The Manila Tribune</a>
</p>

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