MERRY-GO-ROUND By FLORO MERCENE Filipinos have a saying: "Trees that bear abundant fruits are subject to being looted, or vandalized." Imelda Romualdez Marcos is one such tree; statuesque, taller than the average, and  good-looking. She was courted by the country’s most eligible bachelors in her time. She has been the object of scorn, but also of envy. Mrs. Marcos has long been crucified, vilified, and insulted by a considerable number of Filipinos, who are themselves not beyond reproach. She, along with members of her surviving family, have taken the arrows of outrageous fortunes in silence. “To the victors belong the spoils.” or “History is written by the victors.” These are some of the truism in our lives. But many in the silent majority have come to know Mrs. Imelda Marcos is also positively hard-working, compassionate, religious, thus, forgiving. Her “edifice” complex remains with us today, still widely used and of great service to the nation. To name a few: The Philippine Heart Center, Cultural Center of the Philippines, Philippine International Convention Center, Tanghalang Francisco Balagtas (Folk Arts Theater), Makiling Center for the Arts (National Arts Center), Nayong Pilipino, People’s Park in the Sky, Lung Center of the Philippines, The National Kidney and Transplant Institute. Several of these infrastructures are recognized landmarks that help sectors of the economy, like the real estate market, by increasing the value of homes or properties nearby or accessibility to establishments. “It’s not always easy to see the good in spite of the bad, particularly because there are events which happen that we may never fully understand. The infrastructures that the Marcos administration has left us is a reminder that we should all start building something good in spite of hard times. A good foundation with the right maintenance can lead to productivity." She was mocked for having allegedly amassed 3,000 pairs of shoes, like the canard that President  Elpidio Quirino had a golden orinola. Mrs. Marcos said: “I did not have three thousand pairs of shoes, I had one thousand and sixty." “They went into my closets looking for skeletons, but thank God, all they found were shoes, beautiful shoes.”