Ferdinand E. Marcos, former president of the Philippines, died Thursday, ending in defiant exile a life that took him to the pinnacles of power and worldwide notoriety in his impoverished land.
He died at 12:40 a.m., said Eugene Tiwanak, spokesman at St. Francis Medical Center, where Marcos, who was 72, had been hospitalized for nine months with kidney, lung and heart ailments, pneumonia and bacterial infections.At 1:17 a.m. (5:17 a.m. MDT), Marcos' only son, Ferdinand Jr., emerged from his father's hospital room and announced his father had been taken to "a higher place."
"Hopefully friends and detractors alike will look beyond the man to see what he stood for - his vision, is compassion and his total love of country," a composed younger Marcos said. He said no funeral arrangements have been made.
When asked how his mother, Imelda, was holding up, the younger Marcos said, "She's doing pretty well, thank you."
Philippine President Corazon Aquino, whose supporters ousted Marcos, said she still would not grant his wish to be buried in his homeland because of national security concerns.
Friends and family said Imelda Marcos, who was indicted along with her husband for stealing from the Philippines to finance their extravagant lifestyle, accepted his death with dignity. Marcos died without facing trial on the charges.
In Charlottesville, Va., White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said President Bush and his wife, Barbara, were "saddened to hear" of Marcos' death and heralded his having left power in the Philippines peacefully.
The canny, combative politician, who governed at times as a democrat, at times as a dictator, was driven from the presidency in 1986, after which he settled into exile in Honolulu at a hillside estate.
He had been hospitalized three times beginning in early December. At the request of his family, Marcos was kept alive on life support systems, and doctors were instructed to take every measure to save his life.
His doctors had called it a "miracle" that he survived so long. He secretly underwent kidney transplants in 1983 and 1984. During his exile, he had cataract surgery and sought treatment for what he called "war wounds" that caused pain in his legs and chest.
Marcos had never given up hope of returning to his Asian homeland.
A federal grand jury in New York indicted Marcos, his wife and eight others on criminal racketeering charges in October. In April, the judge in the case separated Marcos from the other defendants, saying he was too ill to stand trial.
In an interview with The Associated Press in November, Marcos denied the allegations that he and Imelda Marcos had drained the Philippines of billions of dollars and said he did not expect to live through a trial.