On December 7, 1972, Carlito Dimahilig attempted to assasinate First Lady, Mrs. Imelda Romualdez Marcos when she was attending a Manila awards ceremony which was part of her National Beautification and Cleanliness contest.
At the open-air ceremony broadcasted live on TV, one of the recipients Carlito Dimahilig left the lineup of prize recipients and attacked Mrs. Marcos with a bolo knife. Damahilig slashed repeatedly at Marcos' arms, finally causing Marcos to fall backwards across a table, from which position she attempted to ward further blows. Congressman Jose Aspiras and Linda Amor Robles, secretary of the beautification campaign, then grappled with the assassin where they suffered minor lacerations themselves. Armed security guards then began firing at Dimahilig who died on the spot with two bullets in his back.
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| Carlito Dimahilig lies dead after being shoot by Marcos' security guards (Photo credit: ). |
Marcos was flown out by helicopter to a nearby hospital where the slash wounds on her arms required over 70 stitches with some tendon damage which required further surgery.
The first lady recovered quickly from her attack but wore her arm in a sling for many months.
