“The story of Ilocos Norte is a long one. Kumbaga in the greater scheme, tayo ay isang maliit na dot lang, and I think contextualizing our place in history leads us to humility,” Governor Matthew Marcos Manotoc remarked during the commemoration of the 205th Foundation Anniversary of Ilocos Norte today, February 2.
“To remember to be humble enough, to remember that we are a vessel, we are a symbol, and we only occupy the seats that we do for the people and ultimately our positions, our seats, are not ours but are of the people of Ilocos Norte,” he continued.
He also emphasized that public officials are only instruments of public service. He then challenged them to be humble enough to listen to the people of Ilocos Norte and humble enough to listen to their colleagues.
“We must be humble enough to learn from each and everyone, to grow, and to improve. But at the same time with this humility, comes a great amount of responsibility, and urgency, and seriousness, that we must do all that we can because we know the days passed, the years passed, and the terms passed,” he added.
Governor Marcos Manotoc also encouraged everyone to seize opportunities, especially since this is a great milestone in Ilocos Norte’s history to have President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
He further stressed, “This is the time of Ilocos Norte but we cannot rest on our laurels; we cannot rely on our President, our Senator, our Congressman to do our job. We must do our job and we must make the changes and improvements that we see.”
The Governor ended by his gratitude to the Ilokano community for their efforts and for enlivening their distinctive unity, which had contributed to Ilocos Norte’s progress. －Mariell Pahinag, PGIN-CMO.
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