Posted on 12/29/2002 10:25:30 AM PST by NormsRevenge
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| Sun Dec 29, 7:48 AM ET |
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Filipinos walk past a damaged bust of former Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos after it was blown up by unidentified person before dawn on a hillside in Tuba, Benguet, about 124 miles north of Manila, Dec. 29, 2002. Police said no one was hurt by the blast. (Stringer/Afghanistan (news - web sites)/Reuters) |
Something conveniently forgotten by Patty Murray.
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Powerful Blast Blows Up Marcos Bust in Philippines
TUBA, Philippines (Reuters) - The biggest statue that late Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos built to immortalize himself was blown up on Sunday.
Police Superintendent Elpidio Gabriel said no one was hurt in the explosion that occurred around 1:40 a.m. in a remote area of Benguet province, about 124 miles north of Manila.
It was not immediately clear who was behind the explosion, but suspects included left-wing rebels, tribal activists and even treasure hunters, officials said..
"Since there were no injuries as a result of the bombing, the probable charge would be malicious mischief resulting to damage to public property," said Tuba police official Rasildo Acosta.
"We picked up some wires on the site, but we are not bomb experts so we submitted it as part of evidence," he added.
The explosion, which residents said sounded like a car collision, blew away the eyes, the nose and part of the ears of the former dictator's bust, which overlooked a major highway crossing on the main Philippine island of Luzon.
It was located close to Ilocos Norte, Marcos' home province.
Part of his lips and the base of the 33-foot bust were still intact, witnesses said.
Numerous attempts have been made in the past to destroy the bust.
"I am very sad, because this was the loving offering of Ilocanos, a symbol of their loyalty and support of Ferdinand Marcos," Imelda Marcos, his wife, said in a statement upon hearing the news.
The construction of the bust, which started in the mid-1980s along with plans to develop a golf course there, was never finished as Marcos was ousted from power in 1986.
After Marcos fled his country, tribesmen displaced by the project slaughtered a water buffalo and bathed the statue with its blood to "exorcise" his spirit.
Marcos died in exile in Hawaii in 1989. |
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