MANILA, Philippines – Indigenous youth group Progressive Igorot for Social Action condemned Imee Marcos after the senator-elect said that she would have the “Igorots namin (our Igorots)” perform a ritual dance to bless her designated office, which was once used by opposition Senator Antonio Trillanes IV. (READ: Marcos gets Trillanes' Senate office: 'Papabendisyunan sa Igorot')
“There is no such thing as mga Igorot namin (our Igorots). You don’t own us, and you never will,” the group said in a statement.
At the orientation session for neophyte senators on Tuesday, June 25, the daughter of the late dictator said, “Pero ito nga, siguro magpapatawag ako ng mga Igorot namin, dahil kailangan basbasan 'yung office room ni Senator Trillanes (But I can call our Igorots because the room of Senator Antonio Trillanes IV needs to be blessed).”
Marcos' remarks did not sit well with the members of the organization.
"When Imee Marcos said, 'makikisayaw kami sa mga Igorot namin para mabendisyunan nang todo,' we flinched, with anger and disgust. A murderer and a thief taking our culture for granted, and stealing our identity to the point of even owning it – that person must be held accountable and condemned."
The group also slammed Marcos’ “mockery” of their rituals and traditions when the senator said that she would ask Trillanes to join her in dancing with the Igorots so they could bless the office.
“Moreover, may we remind Imee that our dances are a sacred heritage from our beloved ancestors.... We will not dance for you, because a dance for a Marcos is a dance for shame,” they said.
Marcos’ office deserves no blessing
The group said that with the alleged electoral fraud in the May 2019 elections, and the fact that her family ushered the historical plunder of resources in the Cordillera, the office of the senator deserves no blessing.
During the regime of her father, the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, he allowed the construction of the Chico Dam, displacing indigenous communities, according to the youth organization. (READ: Martial Law, the dark chapter in Philippine history)
“Imee is no stranger to these atrocities – she holds a record of theft, falsification of records, and murders of her own,” they said.
“We pride ourselves with our refusal to be owned, if you care to read about our history of struggle way back to the Spanish colonization,” they added.
‘Ibalik 'nyo muna 'yung kinulimbat niyo’
Aside from the Igorot youth group, some netizens also cried foul over Marcos’ remarks.
“Aba, 'pag may sumayaw na Igorot, kahit isang libo pa kami, hindi maaalis 'yang evil sa opisina mo.... Ibalik 'nyo muna 'yung kinulimbat 'nyong magpapamilya sa sambayanan,” Facebook user Karminn Daytec Yangot said. (Even a thousand Igorots dance, the evil will never be warded off. You and your family should first return the money you stole from the Filipinos.)
Marcos, his extravagant wife Imelda, and their cronies plundered up to $10 billion from state coffers during his rule, according to government investigators and historians.
According to Yangot, the Marcos family’s corruption was the true evil in society, and that the Igorot rituals wouldn't bring about magic to erase that.
Here are the other reactions from netizens:
On Imee's Igorot remarks - Curated tweets by rapplerdotcom
– Rappler.com