ILOILO CITY — Protesters, including Martial Law victims, jeered and taunted vice presidential canididate, Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., when he visited this city to campaign.

But his presidential candidate and running-mate, Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, was welcomed like a rock star by her kasimanwas (provincemates) in Iloilo.

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Protesters shouted “magnanakaw (thief)” and “Never Again to Martial Law” as the senator, the son and namesake of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, arrived at the University of the Philippines Visayas campus where the tandem spoke in a forum organized by the UPV.

Marcos waved and smiled from his vehicle at the protesters who displayed placards and streamers outside the gate of the campus. Several protesters including UPV students and teachers jeered at him again inside the campus.

His supporters tried to drown out the protesters by shouting “Bongbong.”

At one point, Marcos faced a protester but continued smiling and waited for Santiago to get off from her vehicle before they entered the UPV Auditorium.

The anti-Marcos people started their protest even before the scheduled 2:30 p.m. forum. Eventually, the forum started two hours later than the schedule because Santiago’s flight from Manila was delayed.

The 30 protesters led by the Campaign Against the Return of Marcoses to Malacañang (CARRMA) and the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan displayed placards and streamers reminding voters of the thousands who were jailed, tortured and still missing under martial law.

“We suffered under his father’s rule and his family benefited from their ill-gotten wealth. But he and his family have shown no remorse, which makes our horrors more painful,” said Cynthia Deduro, who was detained from January 1974 until May 1975.

At the UPV library, about 100 meters from the auditorium, an exhibit of the Presidential Commission on Good Government displayed accounts of the horrors of martial law including abductions, tortures and summary killings. The exhibit also showed the art collection and set of jewelry recovered from the Marcos family believed to have been acquired through ill-gotten wealth.

Upon the urging of the protesters, several drivers of vehicles sounded their horns to show their support for the protest.

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Some 1,000 supporters of Santiago and Marcos waited at the hot and jampacked auditorium despite delay.

Students stood on chairs while the elderly jockeyed for space as Santiago, an alumna of the UP Iloilo, and Marcos entered the auditorium.

Supporters of Marcos shouted his name as he approached the stage but was drowned out by the louder of chants of “Miriam, Miriam.”

Diehard supporters of Santiago came hours before the forum.

“Win or lose, I will be voting for her,” said a 69-year-old retired teacher from Mandurriao District in Iloilo City.

“Nobody invited me. I came here on my own free will. She is our Miriam. She deserves to be there (presidency). My family is for her,” she told the Philippine Daily Inquirer. Many in the crowd said they were supporting Miriam but not Marcos.

“I will be voting for Leni,” a student of UPV said, referring to Liberal Party vice presidential candidate Leni Robredo. She said she made her choice after last week’s vice presidential debate.

Marcos spent most of his almost 10-minute speech praising Santiago.

He referred to himself as the “luckiest vice presidential candidate” for being the running mate of Santiago whom he described as the “most intelligent presidential candidate.”

He said he was “blessed by God” because he was seated beside Santiago in the Senate. SFM

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