An Ilocos Norte politico wanted to give the incumbent governor a shaming in what he considers as his turf, the House of Representatives. He even went to the extent of incarcerating six Ilocos Norte government workers in a futile try at crucifying Gov. Imee R. Marcos for using the so-called tobacco funds for procurement of needed equipment and vehicles for tobacco producers.
That odd episode saw Imee fighting tooth and nail in a legal skirmish for the so-called Ilocos Six, which showed mettle in waging war for the people she cares about. Her efforts at a legal resolution of the impasse paid off. The Ilocos Six were freed. But her adversary, touted as a senatorial bet for the 2019 midterm elections, lost so much pogi points—and credibility—in that pathetic, capricious attempt to bring Imee Marcos to heel.
But the lady is not for burning.
That uncalled-for tussle unwittingly highlighted the good job that she has been doing in Ilocos Norte—including the so-called Solid North—to touch off long-term development and combat poverty.
“Walang himala [There’s no miracle]!” was the clarion call of the film classic Himala that Imee had given the go-ahead for its production under the auspices of the Experimental Cinema of the Philippines, which she led. The ECP turned up what film historians would likely recognize as an era that saw the greatest numbers of Filipino film classics hitting the movie screens, among them, The Boatman, Oro, Plata, Mata, Scorpio Nights, Misteryo sa Tuwa and Soltero.
But there must have been a miracle of sorts when she hauled down the Ilocos Norte double-digit poverty index to 1 percent plus a few measly percentage points, or when her brainchild “Paoay Kumakaway” (Paoay Beckons) pushed up the tourist influx from 230,000 to about 2 million in as short as two years. Who could argue with success?
She was also the guiding hand in the 1980s children’s TV series, Kaluskos Musmos and Kulit Bulilit, which left her critics and detractors perplexed why she had one hand in the production of films for mature viewers while the other was seeing to the production of kiddie viewing fare.
Not too many people would remember that, in 2010, the first task on her first day as newly elected Ilocos Norte governor was to clean the toilets at the Provincial Capitol. Janitorial services and dull, menial jobs aren’t exactly included in the list of duties that the chief executive of a province does. What does that tell you? She’s not the sort of person who would bellyache and gripe and groan over a trifle that can be tackled and solved pronto. When she’s in charge, and there’s nobody around to do what’s needed, count on her to do it herself. No red tape, no calling for others to do it—and it turned out there was only one janitor (who could attest to the incident) assigned to do toilets. So she just applied herself to the task at hand—walang kiyeme, walang kuskos-balungos, trabaho lang.
What more does that tell you? She doesn’t give a hoot about the trappings of power; she’ll plunge right in to get things done. And yes, you must have heard the low whispers how she gave one of her kidneys to her ailing father. What does that tell you about her character? A lot. But suffice it to say that she can give so much of herself, never mind what people would say.
You don’t expect that of someone so down-to-earth toting a PhD and a clutch of degrees from the Ivy League universities in the United States—but you’d expect that from a close barkada of the 1960s to 1970s icon Severino “Nonoy” Marcelo of Tisoy and Ikabod Bubwit fame. ’Yung pangmasa talaga, ’yung talagang may magagawa at ginawa na.
E-mail: ernhil@yahoo.com