Sotto says he won’t block bill declaring a Marcos holiday in Ilocos Norte

Senate President Vicente Sotto III on Thursday said he would not block the passage of a bill seeking to declare September 11 a special non-working holiday in Ilocos Norte.

In an interview on CNN Philippines, the Senate leader was asked if he would object to the passage of such a measure once one reaches the Senate floor.

"No, I won’t. It is a bill of local application, it is in Ilocos Norte, as far as Ilocos Norte is concerned, President Marcos was the past president, he has done a lot for Ilocos Norte, so I will not be surprised if Ilocos Norte agrees," Sotto said.

He added that bills of local application usually don't cause debates among lawmakers in the Senate.

"It is a bill of local application, it is for Ilocos Norte, I doubt if there will be objections to that. If it is nationwide, baka magkakaroon ng objection yan, medyo mahihirapan 'yan," Sotto said.

"For us it is not a matter of whether we are going to support it or not. Usually, bills of local application breeze through the Senate unless one or two objects," he added.

The House of Representatives on Wednesday approved on final reading a bill seeking to commemorate Marcos' birth anniversary every September 11 in Ilocos Norte.

A counterpart bill has yet to be filed in the Senate.

Senator Imee Marcos, daughter of the late President, thanked the lawmakers in the lower house for passing such a measure.

The Palace also said it welcomes the decision of the House to propose the said local holiday.

On the other hand, the House Makabayan Bloc urged the public to continue opposing "historical revisionism" amid the push for such a law.

Bayan Muna party-list Representative Carlos Zarate said a "dictator" shall never be glorified.

Marcos, a former lawmaker, rose to the rank of President in 1965. He held onto that power for two decades and was unseated through the EDSA People Power Revolution in 1986. — BM, GMA News