I remember a relative telling me, “Yung mga ka-age mo kasi or mga mas bata pa, sila ang maraming sinasabi against sa mga Marcoses. Hindi pa naman sila buhay nun.”

For a brief moment, I could not talk.

Let me make this straight, I am talking in the perspective of a 22-year old citizen, born and raised in Ilocos Norte. No matter how hard I try, I am deeply rooted to and connected with the positive ideals about the Marcoses.

But I am not complaining.

In Elementary through High School, I was taught of the plethora of positive effects of the Marcos regime in the Philippines – of how OPM, arts, culture, traditions, and ethnicity, among others were enhanced and emphasized. Of the reason why “Apong” implemented Martial Law is because the country was in chaos; out of control because of the penetration of communism. Of how Philippines was one of the richest countries in Asia, and how the economy declined after his reign, drastically.

Until I entered UP. There are many things I didn’t know about. I didn’t know about the tortures, the disruption of information and communication (media outfits ordered to close down), the sufferings, the trauma and pain of people fighting for their freedom and civil liberty. All I know is that discipline was instilled, curfews were implemented, military presence were all over, and bad men were punished, albeit forcibly.

But PLEASE DO NOT BLAME THE PEOPLE IN ILOCOS NORTE. I keep reading posts from people generalizing that the mistakes from the past were Ilocanos’ fault. Let me get this straight: WE DO NOT HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH IT.

Please do not blame, smart-shame, ridicule, and ostracize the people who are posting about the glory and fame of the Marcoses because like me, they had more than enough of the Marcos allegory growing up.

I remember the discussion in my class last night: “We are presented with [media] messages that are interpreted in different ways depending on our cultural background, economic standing, and even personal experiences.” We are all exposed to different values, attitudes, interests, and community ideologies.

These are ours – already embedded in our everyday lives. Some of us might know how to reject and accept new information about the Martial Law issue; but for many, it is quite hard to incorporate the information to their existing knowledge structure.

But PLEASE do not blame the people in Ilocos Norte. We are sincerely sorry about what happened to Martial Law victims– but obstinate as it sounds, the (Ilocano) youth today do not have anything to do with the torture which started 44 years ago.

We are sorry but PLEASE do not put the blame solely to the people in Ilocos Norte.