Two contrasting moods marked the 101st birthday of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos on Tuesday. ADVERTISEMENTHundreds of kilometers to the north, the mood in Ilocos Norte province was solemn and quiet, unlike the lavish celebration by Ilocanos on the 100th birthday of Marcos last year. Last year, thousands of Marcos loyalists wearing red shirts gathered here and in the late dictator’s birthplace, Sarrat town, to celebrate. But on Tuesday, a simple thanksgiving Mass and wreath-laying ceremony were held separately in Sarrat and Batac City, where Marcos’ eldest daughter, Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos, watched as the police rendered a 21-gun salute at the Marcos monument in front of the family ancestral house.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer September 11, 2018 23:15 UTC