Liza Araneta-marcos: Our First Lady

Part one

AS legally defined, it’s been a while since we had a First Lady. The last time we had one was during President Joseph Estrada’s term when Dr. Loi Ejercito was our country’s most gracious host. Now, Filipinos can be truly proud of having Louise “Liza” Araneta-marcos as the Philippines’s “prima donna.” A holder of Bachelor of Laws degree from the Ateneo de Manila University, she is the first lawyer to become a First Lady of the Philippines.

This definitely makes her one of the most academically prepared better half of any Filipino president. In addition, she did advanced studies

in New York University. We had two physicians who served as First Lady, Dr. Eva Macaraeg-macapagal and Dr. Loi Pimentel-ejercito, but having a lawyer spouse who is trained in the art of government and politics gives President Bongbong Marcos an added advantage. In the US, this setup worked best for both Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama whose life partners were both famous practicing lawyers.

By and large, the First Lady is an asset to the President. I would think that the absence of a First Lady was a handicap to the late President Benigno Aquino III. He remained a bachelor all his life, just like the 15th US President James Buchanan Jr. Despite all the trimmings of power, the presidency can be a lonely job. No one can be closer to the President than his spouse. She’s the first and last voice to be heard by the President, and she has unlimited access to him—anytime, anywhere.

The First Lady is the most famous woman of any country with a presidential form of government and is as popular and well loved as the Queen in a monarchical state. Who can forget Jackie Kennedy, Hillary Clinton and Eleanor Roosevelt? They did not only perform credibly well the First Lady’s traditional role but they also demonstrated that they were effective partners of their husbands in politics and governance. But Maria Eva Duarte de Peron, better known as Evita, was the most popular First Lady of all time. She was the wife of Argentine President Juan Domingo Peron and served as the First Lady of her country from 1946 until her death at the age of 33 in 1952. She was an actress before she met her husband that she married one year before he became president.

To be continued