lmelda enters election

Imelda Marcos, former first lady of the Philippines, who is battling to stay out of prison, formally entered her name in the May presidential race and vowed to use the Marcos riches to bail the Philippines out of its economic crisis. The widow of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos walked on her knees inside a Manila church and prostrated herself at the altar after filing her candidacy papers in a nearby election office.

"She always does that in critical moments of her life," an aide said of the once powerful woman known around the world for her extravagant shopping sprees .

"My decision [to run] was triggered by the economic crisis we now experience ... I want to remove our people from our economic crisis by using the wealth of the late president Ferdinand E Marcos," she said in a statement.

The Supreme Court recently upheld a 1993 trial court's verdict sentencing her to 12 years in jail for violating the anti-corruption law, bringing her closer to imprisonment. - Reuters, Manila