Ilocos Norte set aside Friday as a special non-working day, the occasion being the 109th birth anniversary of the man once removed from power by the 1986 Edsa uprising — the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos Sr., who would have turned 109 had he lived.
His son, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., used a social media post to acknowledge the date. “Remembering my father on his birthday; my father from whom I learnt the most important lessons of life, who taught me to value duty, honour and country, and to live for others and not oneself. Happy birthday, Dad,” the President wrote.
The elder Marcos governed the Philippines as its 10th president, holding office from 1965 until popular protests forced him and his family into exile in Hawaii two decades later. Before rising to the presidency, he had served in both chambers of Congress, including a stint leading the Senate. His death came in Honolulu on September 28, 1989.
The provincial holiday, confined to Ilocos Norte, was declared through a presidential proclamation intended to let residents take part in the commemorative events staged across the region on the occasion. Batac City, where the Marcos family maintains deep roots, typically anchors the annual observances.
Born in the town of Sarrat on September 11, 1917, the former president rose from a legal career to three terms in the House of Representatives beginning in 1949, followed by a Senate seat he won in 1959.
