And how Imee has picked up where her mother left off I was in the company of the family matriarch Imelda Romualdez Marcos when Typhoon Carina and the accompanying southwest monsoon hit the country. The Philippines, specifically Metro Manila, was being battered by torrential rains and epic floods that, by early afternoon Wednesday, the entire metropolis was declared under a state of calamity. It was explained that by doing so, the government would be able to access its quick response funds to help address the immediate needs of its constituents.
Imelda’s daughter, Senator Imee Marcos, was set to join the small intimate gathering, which was arranged weeks before, and when my aunt asked if her daughter would be late, we had to show her photos of Imee talking to leaders of affected local government units on the streets deploying her #Imeesolusyon NutriJeeps laden with relief goods, hot lugaw, and nutribuns to hardest hit areas in the metropolis. The senator’s NutriJeep can be described as a food truck. There are no gas burners, but there is a sink as well as a prep area, a lot of shelves and storage areas, and running water.
There were also images of Imee supervising relief packing operations. Both made the matriarch smile. “Si Bongbong?” she asked.
I replied, “Auntie Meldy, Metro Manila has been declared under a state of calamity. Both Bongbong and Imee are out helping the people.” “Together?” “Together they work to help the people but they are in different pla.