“Hindi lang ito pagbibigay-suporta sa Marcos. Kami po, ang adbokasiya namin: pagmamahal sa bayan, nation-building, tiyaka living for the greater good, para sa kabutihan ng ating bansa,” said Harold Toledana, founder of the Bong Bong Marcos (BBM) Youth Movement, a social media-based group boasting about 5,000 young supporters of the Marcos family.
He and other members of the BBM Youth Movement were among the over 4,000 participants of the Unity Walk and Rally in front of the Supreme Court today, August 31, 2016, in support of the burial of Former President Ferdinand E. Marcos (FEM) at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (LNMB).
“Ang sabi nila sa atin, ang kabataan equals Anti-Marcos. Hindi po. Nagkakamali po sila,” and he said this was proven as many new faces of youth joined their ranks during the rally.
He related how he heard stories of life under FEM’s presidency from his grandparents growing up but never really engaged in political movements until a few years ago.
“Ngayon, namumulat ako. Twenty-three years old na ako… Nakita ko, ang ganda ng tunay na Marcos. Sila talaga ang nagmahal sa bayan,” said Toledana, who is from Viga, Catanduanes. He related how his grandparents, originally from Bicol, would tell him about how peaceful and progressive life under the Marcos presidency had been.
Cecil Salvador, a former radio announcer and now representing the Bong Bong Marcos Angels, echoed this: “During Marcos’ time,mas tahimik po ang bayan. Kaunti lang po ang mga krimen. Kahit lumabas ka nang madaling araw, wala pong problema.”
She also expressed her thanks to President Rodrigo R. Duterte for his support for the LNMB burial, “Bilang isang lawyer, alam po ni President Duterte na tama ang kanyang desisyon, dahil si Marcos po ay isang dating sundalo at siya po ay naging presidente.”
Also among the rallyists was Rodrigo T. Ventura of Brgy. Cabacungan, Laoag City, Ilocos Norte, who had been a part of Presidential Security during the Marcos presidency and assigned to his daughter, Imee R. Marcos, from 1979-1986.
“We are the original loyalists, and it will never change,” he said of himself and his fellow former staff at the Malacañang Palace during the FEM administration.
Describing the Former President, he said that Marcos was “very strict to us in the military, especially in doing our duty.”
Toledano, Salvador, and Ventura were among the crowd composed of several other loyalists groups like the Marcos Loyalists Philippines (UMLP), Ang Kaibigan ng MAsa (AKMA), and Friends of Imelda R. Marcos (FIRM) that gathered in front of the Supreme Court, calling for the burial of the Former President at LNMB.
Most rallyists wore white t-shirts bearing the statement, “Para sa kapayapaan, ilibing na,” believing that the LNMB burial for the Former President would be unifying for the Filipino people. ###
