Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle met today (Wednesday, Feb. 2)  with Ferdinand “Bong Bong” Marcos, Jr.,  governor of the Philippine province of Ilocos Norte, and formalized a sister state-province agreement expected to strengthen ties between Hawaii and the Philippine province which is  the ancestral home to much of the state’s Filipino population.

The agreement is the fourth between Hawaii and the Philippines and is meant to bolster economic, agricultural, educational and cultural ties.  Marcos, son of the late Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos said, “We all look forward to extending whatever relationship we have had before – furthering them, making them more profound and more meaningful.”

Although considerable controversy surrounds the Marcos family, Lingle said that most people in the state support strengthening the relationship with the province led by Marcos Jr.  “There’s never 100 percent of the people that think everything is just right,” she said.  In 1986, after Ferdinand Marcos was toppled from power, he and his family were exiled to Hawaii.  Their presence there divided the Filipino community inciting protests against him.  Marcos died in exile in Honolulu. 

Lingle added that she had been named honorary chairwoman of the Hawaii’s celebration of the 100^th anniversary of the arrival of the first ship carrying immigrants from the Philippines to Hawaii.  Lingle says she plans to mark her observance of the event with a trip to the Philippines.

—Gail Umeham