How we kept faith with Edsa in US.

Byline: Heherson T. Alvarez

IN EARLY December of 1980, I received a call at my home in New York City. It was Imelda Marcos on the line.

Imelda, tentative and polite, invited me to a meeting. She spoke in the familiar tones of an old friend even though we had barely exchanged greetings in Manila in the pre-martial law days.

A few days earlier, Imelda had met with Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr.

At the time, the antidictatorship Movement for a Free Philippinesinitially organized by Raul Manglapus, Raul Daza, Charlie Avila, Steve Psinakis, Ernie Ordonez, Manoling Marovilla, Primo Mendoza and myselfhad started to organize activities with Ninoy Aquino.

Ninoy was then swiftly recovering from a triple-bypass heart operation. After seven years of solitary imprisonment, Ninoys mental vigor, humor and patriotic zeal had become even more contagious.

The Iron Butterfly

I was greeted by Imeldas military aide, Col. Jose Ma. Carlos Zumel, who ushered me into the McArthur Suite of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York. The stately suite was awash with fresh flowers in brilliant colors. A pianist in a black tuxedo stopped playing the grand piano in a …