September 11 Is a Special Holiday in Ilocos Norte for Marcos Sr.'s Birthday

(SPOT.ph) President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has declared September 11, 2023 as a special non-working holiday in Ilocos Norte in commemoration of the 106th birth anniversary of his father, the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr.

Proclamation No. 327 was issued to give people in his father's hometown the “full opportunity to participate in the occasion and enjoy the celebration.” Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin signed the proclamation on behalf of the President.

As it falls on a Monday, it’s another long weekend for Ilocanos next month. This is the second year that Marcos Jr. declared this holiday, his first announcement taking place barely 100 days in since he assumed presidency in 2022.

Also read: Where Is the Marcos Family's $10 Billion Fortune?

Why is there a special holiday for Ferdinand Marcos Sr.?

In 2017, President Rodrigo Duterte was the first to proclaim September 11 a special non-working holiday in Ilocos Norte to mark Marcos Sr.’s 100th birth anniversary by approving Ilocos Norte’s Provincial Resolution No. 335-2021. 

“The late President Marcos has left us a rich legacy of idealism and philosophy which is a source of pride and continuing inspiration, which deserves to be perpetuated and emulated by our posterity,” it said in the resolution. 

Marcos was born on September 11, 1917 in Sarrat, Ilocos Norte. He went on to become the representative of Ilocos Norte's second district at the House of Representatives in 1949.

As the 10th president of the Philippines, Marcos Sr. was in power for 21 years from 1965 to 1986 before he was removed from position following the EDSA People Power Revolution.

Also read: ICYDK: Ferdinand Marcos Has a Guinness World Record