The birth anniversary of Ferdinand Marcos Sr. declared a holiday in Ilocos Norte; Renato Reyes reacts
RENATO REYES – The secretary-general of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) took to social media wherein he criticized the declaration of the birth anniversary of former President Ferdinand E. Marcos as a holiday in Ilocos Norte.
Marcos Sr., the father of incumbent Philippine President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., served as the country’s chief executive from 1965-1986.
During his reign, he declared Martial Law from 1972 until 1981 but was ousted from power at the height of the EDSA People Power Revolution.
Through Proclamation No. 53, Malacañang Palace has declared September 12, the 105th birth anniversary of Marcos Sr., a special non-working holiday in the province of Ilocos Norte.
The proclamation is signed by Executive Secretary Victor D. Rodriguez, with the authority given by PBBM.
Apparently, BAYAN secretary general Renato Reyes, a staunch critic of the Marcoses, was not in favor of the declaration.
In a Facebook post, Reyes said that there should be no special holiday for a “dictator”.
He stressed that the proclamation only dishonors all the victims of Martial Law.
According to him, it is only in the Philippines that a “dictator and plunderer” is given a special holiday.
Renato Reyes said that the public should commemorate the 50th anniversary of the declaration of martial law and not the 105th birth anniversary of Marcos Sr.
“We should never forget this dark chapter in our history and government should not honor the person responsible for many of these crimes,” he said.
Malacañang has yet to comment on the statement of Renato Reyes.
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