An insult to Ilocanos | Cebu Daily News

Our Congress is passing a bill that declares September 11 as President Ferdinand Edralin Marcos’ Day in Ilocos Norte. And without any debate. Words fail me. Do Germans / Austrians celebrate Adolf Hitler Day somewhere in Germany or at Braunau am Inn in Austria? Do Italians celebrate a Benito Mussolini in Predappio, Italy?

Not only will we be the laughing stock of the world, held in the highest respect for us when we peacefully overthrew the dictator and became a role model for all the other similar movements that followed, including the fall of the Berlin Wall, but we will also have pissed off in the face of Ninoy Aquino and all the victims of martial law, as well as on our faces, victims of Marcos’s sack, that we had to suffer for almost 16 years before we could regain our old per capita income.

I know our Congress isn’t exactly the government’s brightest focus, but how are you defending this measure? According to press reports, the president of the Senate, Tito Sotto, rationalized it by saying (1) that it is a bill for local application (Ilocos Norte) only, which is generally not debated, so it will pass quickly through the Senate; and (2) that Marcos was not only a son of Ilocos Norte, but also a hero not only for Ilocos Norte but also for the majority of Ilocanos throughout the world.

Let’s see them one by one. It’s a locally applicable bill, but it definitely can’t be treated the same as a school or street name, for God’s sake. It has national ramifications. Sure, Marcos was president of the Philippines, but he abused his power, stayed in office for 14 more years than he was entitled to, during which time he robbed Filipinos blindly (the Supreme Court calculated what he and his wife earned during his time and could not compare to the assets they accumulated), and then he tried to cheat his way to another term. It did far more harm to the Philippines than it could have done.

Now, about this, “he is a hero for Ilocos Norte and for the majority of Ilocans around the world”: What is the basis for that statement by Senator Sotto? Actually, it is an insult to Ilocanos. Aren’t they Filipinos first? Didn’t you see the devastation that Marcos caused in the Philippines? Didn’t you witness how he tried to stay in power even after 20 years?

So, the dictator Marcos did a lot for Ilocos while he was president. Does that more than make up for the harm it did to the Filipino people? The Ilocans are not stupid. And I’m sure they are Filipinos first.

My father was an Ilocano (born in Abra, raised in Sta. Maria, Ilocos Sur) who thought the world of Ferdinand Marcos. He was a journalist for the Philippines Free Press and wrote articles defending the young Marcos, accused of killing his father’s opponent (Julio Nalundasan). He was impressed by Marcos’ brilliance and potential, and was his personal friend. He chose then-President of the Senate, Marcos, as the main sponsor of my wedding (he came and I loved it too).

But when President Marcos declared martial law, my father would take me to the Supreme Court every day to hear the martial law case against Marcos. And I remember him sighing and saying, “If I had known then that I would do this to the Filipino people, I would never have stood up for it.”

That’s the kind of ilocano I know. A Filipino first. And someone who would evaluate Marcos not just on the basis of a few, or even many, rubbish thrown his way. And I’m half Ilocano. And proud of it. But first I am Filipino. Like I said, Senator Sotto insults the Ilocans.

But those aren’t all the shenanigans Congress has done in the past week. It appears that lawmakers have once again renounced the best interests of Filipinos to serve their own personal interests. It appears that the joint commerce and industry and health committees changed some provisions of the tobacco bill to benefit the tobacco industry at the expense of the health and well-being of our children. They have lowered the age restriction for sale and use to 18 years instead of the recommended 21 years. And they also lifted the ban on flavors, except conventional tobacco and menthol, and allowed flavors, including those that are attractive to children and youth.

Will this stupidity and selfishness never stop?

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