LAOAG CITY, Ilocos Norte (PIA) – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. is back in Ilocos Norte to lead the commemoration of the 107th birth anniversary of his late father, the former president Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. on Sept. 11.
To pay tribute to the former head of state’s memory and legacy, President Marcos Jr. led the wreath-laying ceremony and was accompanied by Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Marcos Manotoc and General Romeo Brawner Jr. of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
The president offered flowers in the “Daytoy ti Bannawag” monument – a statue dedicated to Marcos Sr.
A 21-gun salute was also performed in honor of the former president.
In his message, Marcos Jr. said his father still serves as his guide in navigating his role as the leader of the country.
“Now that I am in this high office and many forces are impacting upon you, a decision has to be made, and the guidance that I get once again is that I always ask myself, “What would my father do? What would be his advice?” And I remember the mausoleum, and I remember that it says, ‘Filipino.’ And that is the essence of the man. He was a Filipino. He was an llocano first, but his whole life was dedicated to the Filipino. His whole life was dedicated to the Philippines,” he said.
The president urged Filipinos to continue his father’s legacy through patriotism.
“What is the essence of service that my father taught me? That is very simple but not easy to achieve: be a Filipino, serve the Filipino, and protect Filipinos and the Philippines. And from that comes all of the important things that we can do; that is a guiding principle,” he said.
“And so as we go through our daily lives, let us always remember that in the end, we do what we do. All that we do, we do for Filipinos. All that we do, we do for the Philippines. Let us be together in that,” he added.
Senator Imee Marcos also said their father’s legacy lives on in the Filipinos he has helped.
“My father is still alive in every child who attends public high schools, state universities and colleges, and Mariano Marcos State University. My father is still alive among the farmers and fishermen he helped, I hope we can rise again. Apo Lakay still survives from the roadside vendors, bridges, piers, and airports that he created. My dad lives in our patients, in every doctor and nurse, and in the hospitals he founded,” she remarked.
As part of the celebration, the First Family also attended a thanksgiving mass at the Immaculate Conception Parish in Batac City.
The president also graced the Natnateng Cook-off (Vegetable Cook-off) at the Imelda Cultural Center (ICC) in Batac City which showcased vegetable dishes and other delicacies prepared by the contestants from the different towns in the province.
Contestants from the town of Bacarra defended the championship title for the second year in a row and took home the ₱30,000 cash prize with their “Tanggo” (combination of taco and munggo) dish.
“We prepared by coming up with a dish that is something unique to the crowd which is the Tanggo – a dish that came with the concept of tacos with an Asian twist which is the munggo. It is filled with sautéed munggo sprouts with an aioli sauce that compliments it,” John Lloyd Llagadon, a contestant from the winning team explained.
The town of Pagudpud won first runner up and ₱20,000; Banna came in at second runner up with ₱15,000 cash prize; Laoag City won third runner up and ₱10,000; and Vintar won fourth runner up and the ₱5,000 cash prize.
The rest of the competing towns got a consolation prize of ₱3,000 (MJTAB/EJFG, PIA Ilocos Norte)
