During the time of President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., the north was so solid that no one dared to question his leadership. The Singsons, Crisologos, Ortegas, Aspiras, and the leaders of Pangasinan, Nueva Viscaya, Cagayan Valley and the Cordilleras all toed the line. Today, the north is no longer solid.
Why has Chavit Singson been ranting against BBM? Is there a crack in the Solid North? Even Senator Imee Marcos has been attacking her own younger brother, the first lady, and her first cousin, Martin Romualdez. Imee has been supporting the Dutertes. What’s wrong with the noble house of the Marcoses? Apo Ferdie must be squirming in his grave.
Ilocos Norte has been the unquestioned bailiwick of the Marcoses since 60 to 70 years ago. In the 2025 local elections, the Marcos candidate for governor, Cecilia Marcos of NP, handily trounced her opponent Joy Bulay. Marcos got a whopping 299,037 votes over Bulay’s 14,089. For vice governor, nobody dared to challenge Senator Imee’s favorite son, Mathew Marcos Manotoc. But for provincial board member representing the 1st District, Atty. RJ Farinas managed to edge out NP bet Hanson Chua. That could only mean the Solid North is cracking.
For board members representing the 2nd District, NP bets Rafael Medina and Jeffrey Saguid lorded it over their independent opponents. For members of the House of Representatives, no one ran against the president’s favored son, Sandro Marcos who was nonetheless credited with 169,880 votes, albeit constituting only 39.96% of the total votes cast. It seems to show the Ilocanos don’t really love Sandro that much. If the Farinas family would field Rody Farinas again, Sandro may be given a run for his money and Rody may beat him. Who knows?
Ilocos Norte has an area of 3,467.89 square kilometers, thirty-eighth out of 81 provinces in the country. In terms of population, Ilocos Norte has only 618,650 residents or fifty-third out of 81. It has two component cities, 21 municipalities, and 559 barangays. The whole province of Ilocos Norte is even smaller than the 1st District of Cebu in population. The first congressional district of Ilocos Norte has one component city and 11 municipalities.
The Ilocos Norte 1st District includes the component city of Laoag, the capital of the province. It also covers the municipalities of Pagudpud (the tourist town), Adams, Dumalneg, Bangui, Burgos, Pasuquin, Bacarra, Vintar, Piddig, Carasi, and Sarrat. This district has a population of only 311,977. The 2nd District includes the component city of Batac (hometown of Marcos Sr.), as well as the municipalities of San Nicolas, Paoay, Currimao, Pinili, Badoc, Nueva Era, Banna, Marcos, Dingras, and Solsona.
On the other hand, the province of Ilocos Sur is smaller in area but is definitely richer and more heavily populated than Ilocos Norte. If Marcos is the kingpin of the north, Chavit Singson is the lord of the south. Its area is only 2,596 square kilometers or fifty-first out of 81 in terms of area ranking. But in population, Ilocos Sur has more people, counting 709,991 or forty-first out of 81 provinces.
The 1st District has one component city of Vigan, and the municipalities of Sinait, Cabugao, San Juan, Magsingal, Santo Domingo, Bantay, San Ildefonso, San Vicente, Santa Catalina, and Caoayan. The 2nd District includes the component city of Candon and the towns of Santa, Narvacan, Nagbukel, Santa Maria, San Esteban, Burgos, Santiago, Banayoyo, Lidlidda, San Emilio, Quirino, Gregorio del Pilar, Salcedo, Galimuyod, Santa Cruz, Santa Lucia, Sigay, Cervantes, Suyo, Tagudin, Alilem, and Sugpon.
The governor of Ilocos Sur is Jerry Singson of the Bileg party, and the vice governor is Ryan Singson, also of Bileg. They both ran unopposed in 2025. All Bileg candidates for board members won over their independent opponents. The congressman of the 1st District is Eric Singson of BBM’s party PFP while the 2nd District representative is Kristine Singson of NPC. Chavit styles himself today as the kingmaker of the north. He has the clout, the money, and the message that can bring disaster to the Marcoses.
If and when Imee continues with her tirades against the first lady and Romualdez, even the Marcos family itself shall lay broken. Should Chavit make good his threat to campaign for Sara Duterte against the Marcoses in 2028, that shall spell the end of the Solid North. And if the Dutertes can solidify their hold on Visayas and Mindanao votes, that shall spell the end of the Marcos political dynasty.