After meeting her in person, it?s hard to believe that the redoubtable former First Lady Imelda R, Marcos is turning 80 this July.

The journalists she met for merienda late last week agree that Imelda looks much younger and that she remains the strong and resolute lady that she was during the Marcos heyday.

It was not clear to us why we were invited to see Mrs. Marcos at her penthouse residence at One McKinley Place in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig. The unmistakable message we got from her, though, was that she was now ready to step up efforts to recover all the wealth?ranging from shares in the biggest companies in the Philippines to vast estates including the so-called ?Payanig sa Pasig? land?from the hands of third parties.

Mrs. Marcos brought the journalists to the second floor of her penthouse suite where a roomful of documents was neatly stacked and labeled. The documents, she said, were gathered and authenticated by no less that the US government at a cost of more than $20 million for her RICO trial. She said the documents supported the Marcos? claim of ownership of hundreds of billions, perhaps trillions, of stocks, land and other properties.

She stressed it was time that the Marcoses assert their ownership of these properties. She cited recent developments like the filing of criminal charges of syndicated estafa and falsification of public documents against members of the Panlilio family in relation to the sale of the old Luneta Hotel as positive development for their recovery efforts.

Mrs. Marcos said that once they have recovered what is theirs, including trillions of dollars in gold deposited in scores of banks abroad, she will use these resources to alleviate poverty in the Philippines which she said could be done in two years.

The wealth claimed by Mrs. Marcos is mind boggling and her poverty alleviation program is ambitious, to say the least. But this is Imelda and everything she does is ?Imeldific.?

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Many television viewers were probably dumbfounded when Senator Ping Lacson showed World Bank-blacklisted contractor Eduardo de Luna a date book he was holding and which he claimed to belong to First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo.

Senator Lacson wanted De Luna to see his point?the contractor had to tell the truth regarding the number of times he had met the First Gentleman because the senator already had in his hand all the details about whom Mr. Arroyo met, and when and where he met them.

But Lacson actually made some other points very clear to many people.

First, that he had not lost his touch as one of the country?s former leading police investigators. He made it clear that he could get any document he wished to put his hands on, no matter who owned it, no matter what reason.

Second, that he remained one of the most fearsome personalities in the country?s current political scene. In that Senate hearing on the World Bank blacklisting row, Lacson may have eclipsed former Senator Ernesto Maceda?s erstwhile reputation in terms of the ability to lay one?s hands on vital documents.

We suspect that the political nemeses of the senator from Cavite are now nervously thinking what vital documents which belong to them?including appointment books?are now actually in the possession of the former National Police chief and are just waiting to be sprung on them ?at the appropriate time.?

Surely, Lacson has served notice to his potential rivals in the 2010 presidential elections that they should tread carefully around him and watch their backs.

  Former Senate President Manuel Villar already had a foretaste of the fearsome ability of Lacson to dig up ?facts? and line ?witnesses? that can seriously damage the national reputation of those who dare cross his path.

  It cannot be denied that Lacson?s ?expos?? on the alleged double-insertion into the national budget that were supposed to have benefited Senator Villar?s vast properties significantly contributed to the latter?s ouster as Senate president.

Admittedly, there is some uneasiness?perhaps even objection?to the fearsome ways of the former PNP chief-turned-senator.

For example, many admired the ?resourcefulness? of Lacson when he waved before national television the appointment book which belongs to the First Gentleman. But many also questioned whether or not ethics were violated when someone else?s appointment book is waved in public by one other than the owner.

Was it at all ethical for Lacson to pry into somebody else?s appointment book without the permission of the owner? By all indications, of course, Lacson had taken a look at every page of the alleged appointment book of the First Gentleman.

The reasons for the discomfort are clear. First, the alleged appointment book is not a public document. Second, it is not evidence in the commission of a crime. For all intents and purposes, it is a private document which belongs to a private citizen. It is as private as a personal correspondence.

  We do not know if senators have a mandate and a right to look at the appointment books of every Filipino, especially if no express consent has been given for the public revelation of their contents.

  Many are also asking if it was ethical on the part of Senator Lacson to have pried into and used what appears to be a ?stolen? document. ?Stolen,? if indeed the supposed appointment book is an authentic one.

 Senator Lacson says the appointment book was given to him by erstwhile celebrity Senate witness Udong Mahusay. We presume that Mahusay did not obtain that material through legitimate means, assuming it is authentic. We doubt that the First Gentleman would have given Mahusay the permission to hand over his appointment book to a known nemesis of the Palace.

But ethical considerations seem to be beside the point here. The point is that Senator Lacson has both the will and the means to obtain and use such documents. And his nemeses better understand the message.

We hope that Senator Mar Roxas has understood that message.

The talk in Senate corridors is that there were ?some disappointment? on the part of Senator Lacson when former Capiz governor and now Roxas City Mayor Vicente Bermejo was not summoned to the Senate hearings on the fertilizer fund controversy.

Bermejo is a known political ally of Senator Roxas. In fact, nobody becomes governor of Capiz or mayor of Roxas City unless he or she has the blessing of Roxas matriarch Judy Araneta-Roxas.

Bermejo has been accused by one of the ?witnesses? in the fertilizer fund row as having received part of the questioned funds. Bermejo, a Liberal Party stalwart in Panay, has, of course, denied this.

But the view is that Senator Lacson feels that the Roxas City mayor had enjoyed special protection from the fallout of this brouhaha.

Unless he feels that he is as blameless as Caesar?s wife, we suggest Senator Roxas watch his back.

And make sure his date book is safe.