Igorots to Imee: A dance for a Marcos is a dance for shame

Indigenous youth group Progressive Igorot for Social Action on Wednesday condemned Senator-elect Imee Marcos's jest that she would have Igorots perform a ritual dance at her new office to "bless" it after learning that it was previously occupied by outgoing opposition Senator Antonio Trillanes IV.

"When Imee Marcos said, '...makikisayaw kami sa mga Igorot namin para mabendisyunan nang todo,' we flinched, with anger and disgust," the group said in a statement.

"May we then remind Imee that there is no such thing as 'mga Igorot namin.' You don’t own us, and you never will. 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," it added.

Marcos made the remark after the orientation for newly elected senators on Tuesday.

"Siguro magpapatawag ako ng mga Igorot namin dahil kailangan basbasan ang office ko dahil kay Senator Trillanes yata ang nabunot," she said.

Progressive Igorot for Social Action said Marcos's office "deserves no blessing" because of the supposed electoral fraud in the midterm elections and her family's alleged "historical plundering" of the resources in Cordillera in the 1970s.

"Her father, Ferdinand Marcos, allowed the construction of the Chico Dam despite the displacement of indigenous communities that goes along with it. It was the militant movement of the Igorot that led to the project’s demise—a historic contribution to the dictator’s eventual downfall," it said.

It also pointed out Imee's alleged "record of theft, falsification of records, and murders of her own."

Moreover, Progressive Igorot for Social Action said that Igorot dances are "sacred heritage" from their ancestors and that Marcos's remark was a mockery of their rituals and traditions.

"We will not dance for you, because a dance for a Marcos is a dance for shame," it said.

'Our traditions are not spectacles'

Another group, the Cordillera Peoples Alliance, also decried Marcos's statement.

'Imee Marcos has no right to objectify or act that she owns the Igorot people," it said in a post on its Facebook account.

"We condemn this as yet another form of discrimination upon the Igorot people—we, and our traditions, are not spectacles for anyone’s amusement or political gimmickry."

Moreover, it said, "The place of the Marcoses in our people’s history is of oppression and discrimination, from martial law to the Chico Dams, to Cellophil Resources and to the Grand Cañao that made a mockery/bastardization of culture and traditions. These we have not forgotten."

The Facebook post included an official statement from the group as well as the Cordillera Elders Alliance, the Cordillera Human Rights Alliance, and the Dap-Ayan Ti Kultura Iti Kordilyera.

"No, Mrs. [sic] Marcos, we will never allow our name to be tarnished by your murderous and plunderous hands!" it said.

Sought for comment, Imee gave a short response to reporters and did not elaborate on the issues raised by the indigenous people.

"Ay hindi, puro kwan lang 'yan. Syempre kanya-kanyang assignment ng kwarto, mag-aayos tayo," Marcos said.

"Maski saan mag-office. Hindi naman office ang sinisisi kundi 'yung tao talaga ang gagawa ng sariling kapalaran," she added.

Marcos said that focusing on her duties in the Senate is her priority. — BM/BAP, GMA News