Imee Marcos debunks trending rumors on Imelda’s death

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 24) — Senator Imee Marcos quashed rumors that her mother, former first lady Imelda Marcos, has died after it trended on social media.

“Last week pa 'yan (rumors). Ang bad ng nagkakalat," the senator told reporters via text message.

[Translation: That has been circulating since last week. Those who spread it are bad.]

Keywords “Imelda” and "Marcos" topped the trending topics with at least a thousand tweets each on Twitter Thursday afternoon after netizens shared their reactions to the supposed death of the Marcos matriarch.

Imelda’s niece, Eliza Romualdez-Valtos, also took to her Facebook account to quell the rumored death of her 93-year-old aunt.

Some netizens also grabbed the chance to revive Sandiganbayan’s decision of convicting Imelda Marcos of graft in 2018.

In November 2018, the anti-graft court sentenced Imelda — known for her penchant for designer shoes and jewelry — to a maximum of 77 years in jail for profiting from the foundations she and her husband established in Switzerland while working for the government.

She was convicted of seven counts of graft.