ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Marcos calls for stronger Ilocano bloc: May katulong na kayo dito sa taas

Marcos calls for stronger Ilocano bloc: May katulong na kayo dito sa taas

Published May 16, 2023 10:40 am
President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has urged lawmakers from his bailiwick to strengthen the "Solid North" regional bloc that was once considered as "politically irrelevant." President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. (Photo courtesy of Malacañang)
Marcos made the call to Northern Luzon lawmakers during the oathtaking ceremony of newly-elected officials of the Northern Luzon Alliance (NLA) held in Malacañang on Tuesday, May 16. During the ceremony, the President recalled that the group was once considered politically irrelevant. “Those times that we went through that, the Ilocano bloc remained solid. And the result is that we are now here celebrating the taking the oath of new officers of the Northern Alliance here in the Palace,” Marcos said. “And that has kept us afloat through all the lean years kung tawagin, through all the lean years. And as I said, now the solidarity and the strength of the Ilocano bloc has remained and it has served us well," he added. Being now the highest official on the land, Marcos assured the alliance of his support and told them to keep going. "So let us keep it going. And now instead only fighting up, may katulong na kayo dito sa taas (you now have an ally here at the top),” he went on. Marcos emphasized the group's solidarity that was evident even during the time of his father, late president Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. And even after the Marcoses fell out of favor politically  and went on exile, the alliance has maintained its unity and staying power, he said. “Kaya’t let us take that as our lesson that really what has kept us going, what has kept us strong, and what has kept us relevant in national politics,” the President said. Marcos also echoed observations that Ilocanos are over-represented in government and in politics. “And there is maybe a point to that, but the reason that is – is because we help each other because we stay solid. And we – kinikilala natin these are Ilocanos that have been working with us that we know are good workers that will bring value to government service,” he said. The NLA is a group of congressmen mostly belonging to the tobacco-producing provinces. Ilocos Norte 1st District Rep. Ferdinand Alexander Marcos III serves as NLA’s honorary chairman. The alliances’ officers include Ilocos Norte 2nd District Rep. Angelo Marcos Barba, NLA President; Mountain Province Rep. Maximo Y. Dalog Jr., NLA Executive Vice President; Pangasinan 1st District Rep. Arthur F. Celeste, NLA Vice President – Region 1; Isabela 1st District Rep. Antonio T. Albano, NLA Vice President – Region 2; CAR and Kalinga Rep. Allen Jesse C. Mangaoang, NLA Vice President. Other officials are Party List and Allied Districts and ABONO Party List Rep. Robert Raymund M. Estrella, NLA Vice President; La Union 1st District Rep. Franciso Paolo P. Ortega V, NLA Secretary; Ilocos Sur 2nd District Rep. Kristine Singson-Meehan, NLA Treasurer; and Isabela 4th District Rep. Joseph S. Tan, NLA Auditor.

Related Tags

Bongbong Marcos Solid North President Marcos Northern Luzon Alliance
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.