Dear Imee,
My sweet adorable scramble-brained eldest daughter who claims the temperament of a prima donna and the objectivity of an Oxford Don, you have just written one of the most touching letters in the history of the generation gap. We read it while we were having dinner and I am afraid the soup received some lachrymal dilution. But this dire confession must never be revealed to our critical public until twenty years after my demise.
We dig you, Bongbong and Irene. But then hindsight is always much wiser than foresight so here we are setting down in paper what we should have said in the first place.
But there is no need for worry. The Marcoses and the Romualdezes are an indestructible lot. No amount of abrasive confrontations, nor morose soliloquys or agitated non-intellectual discourse will erase them from this world. These are but symptoms of their vigorous nature. So we will survive. And so will you. We will bounce back to normalcy. Incidentally this is supposed to be a part of maturity. So you have shown us up as a little infantile. But I do not know of a more enchanting way of being unmasked nor by a more charming person! (Cheers)
So my darling, talented and precocious daughter, you and Bongbong and Irene are exactly what we wanted our children to be—give and take a little on the personality dimensions.
And we will all keep our eyes open for the booby traps that have been planted along the way. Without losing that spontaneity that gives grace to living.
Your mother and I have engaged in self-assessment (what does the Marxist call it—self-criticism) and introspection. So you see your genes are showing off—rather splendidly I would say.
But do not be too overly cruel with yourselves. “The fault dear Brutus, lies not in their stars x x x” In this case the fault may lie in the old fogies for not immediately appreciating the situation. What did I say in “Today’s Revolution x x” Flexibility—ah therein lies the secret of not only survival but achievement. You must forgive the old their right and set ways. And we must understand the ways of the young. I must read myself again. I thought was rather wise. But then that is the book not in the action.
So I send you the laudatory articles about you in the Leader and the Sunday Times
This letter, one of many attachments to the Marcos Diary, was not separated from the original when photocopied or re-arranged. It is not included in the pagination on the rest of the diary and is marked, with another hand, on the upper right “MA Box 5 F-24” suggesting that supporting papers, personal correspondence, notes and perhaps incriminating papers are filed somewhere else by PCGG.
Let me say that we spiritually agree with the praises in the two magazines.
“Makibaka. Huag matatakot. Ibagsak ang nakasimangot!”
We love you always,
Your dad—
F. E. Marcos [Signed]