While Imee Marcos ranks eight in the national tally for the senatorial race, she is performing poorly in all the provinces in the Bicol Region. She ranks 18th in Masbate, 21st in Camarines Norte, 23rd in Catanduanes, 24th both on Camarines Sur and Sorsogon, and 25th in Albay.

The fate of Imee is just the same as her brother, Bongbong Marcos during the latter’s bids in the senatorial and presidential races; and her parents bids for the presidential races. Worse, the negative voting behavior by the Bicolanos sticks even  to Marcos-endorsed candidates like the Fuentebellas and Imperials during the 1970s and onwards.

But why is it that the uragons, or most of them, have no love to spare for the Marcoses?

1. The Martial Law. Of course, the usual reason, the punching bag for everything. Unfortunately, the martial rule left widows and orphans in the region and the healing process is taking a long time/
2. Neglect by the Marcos government. But apart from the human rights violations during the period of oppression, Bicol was one of the economic laggards and Marcos did nothing to address it. Instead, the gift from Malacanang then was the Imelda Park and the huge statue of a couple making love. Great, right?
3. Anti-fascist ideology. Bicol is largely influenced by the ideologies in left of center to the farther left of the political spectrum. That is why candidates with military backgrounds would always lag in vote tallies except for adventurers like Sonny Trillanes who would later align with non-rightist elements.
4. Bicolanos hate being lied upon. Imee’s records, or the lack of it, could explain a lot. Worse, there are groups claiming to be attached to the Marcoses that roam around Bicol promising to redistribute the Tallano gold. That never happened, of course. And worst, when Imelda run for president in 1992, she convinced a lot lot of influence-makers in the region to run for local post and convinced them that she will provide the financing. That never happened probably because the assets of the Marcoses have been frozen. But the influence makers lost face and this was passed on to the succeeding generations.
5.  Bongbong pounding on Leni. There are people who see Bongbong’s legal battle against Leni as “sobrang pang-aapi”. Can’t he concede defeat to the hapless widow? If the cheating in 2016 is real, why not just question everything including President Rodrigo Duterte’s winning? And why invent stories that in the end proved false? Of course, this it is a matter of perspective and depending on where one is looking from. Unfortunately, Bicolanos seem to hate bullies and tend to vote for the underdogs. Remember Jovy Salonga and Raul Roco who were never endorsed by the administration?

Would you know other reasons why most Bicolanos have no love for the Marcoses? Feel free to leave a comment below.

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