VIGAN CITY, Ilocos Sur: Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. revived the so-called “Solid North” as he took his campaign to Ilocos Sur after his kickoff rally in Ilocos Norte.
The senator on Wednesday won the support of Ilocos Sur officials, business and civic groups, people’s organizations and professionals.
The vice presidential bet’s caravan reached as far as Bangued, capital town of Abra in neighboring Cordillera Region.
Marcos met with Ilocos Sur officials led by Gov. Ryan Singson and his father, Luis “Chavit” Singson, local businessmen and members of various groups at the Plaza Maestro Convention Center in Vigan City.
“His running for the vice presidency provides us new hope for Ilocandia. Drawing inspiration from the past, I am confident that he would bring us further into a better future. Let us turn this into reality,” the younger Singson said.
“Let us prove once more that we have a strong camaraderie by supporting our fellow Ilocano, Senator Bongbong Marcos, and that the Solid North will always remain a solid force in the country,” he added.
The older Singson said it is about time that another Ilocano is elected as one of the country’s top leaders.
Marcos thanked the Singsons and the people of the province for showing that the Solid North remains a force to reckon with, saying it is the lynchpin from where he could deliver his message of national unity as key to a more progressive future.
“For some time after 1986, the ‘Solid North’ has weakened. In 2010, it was slowly reinvigorated with my election as senator. This tim, we are doing everything to activate Solid North,” he told his audience at Abra Gymnasium.
In an open forum, Marcos was asked by a student if he will also revive the programs of his father, late former President Ferdinand Marcos, who is looked up to in the Ilocos provinces as a hero.
The senator said that although he looks up to his father as his inspiration, he will not implement his programs.
“They are already in the past. They have been done. I will confront the same problems using new approaches. We have learned a lot from the past,of course,” he added.
Marcos said he may also revive moves to put up an autonomous region in the Cordillera.
“The Constitution says that we have to put up two autonomous regions, one in the Cordillera and one in Muslim Mindanao. Unfortunately, the proposed Cordillera Autonomous Region lost in the plebiscite. We can go back to it and who knows it might pass the referendum,” he added.
Marcos reiterated his conviction that many of the ills that continue to plague the country can be traced to politics of disunity.
He said achieving national unity is the key toward a brighter future for the country.
“This is the challenge of the future to us who claim to be the leaders of the country. This is the challenge not only of the future, this is the challenge of our children for us to leave them a better place, for us to show them the way, for us to provide the leadership, to provide the vision so that we know which way we are going and that we are going that way together,” Marcos added.