Statement of Sen. Win Gatchalian on the
proposed Marcos Day in Ilocos Norte

Let me go straight to the point. I did not vote for the approval of the proposed Marcos Day in Ilocos Norte contrary to what some media organizations published. I merely moved to have the bill, along with other local bills, tackled by the Local Government Committee in last Monday's hearing, subjected to further study by the technical working group (TWG).

The exact words that I said during the hearing were "I'm moving for an omnibus endorsement to the TWG to reconcile the different versions and also to request for position papers from the resource persons. I so move."

Placing the bills under TWG is not tantamount to its approval. Approval of the bill takes place on the plenary floor with majority of the senators voting on the measure. Records of the proceedings can confirm that no "voting" took place in the said hearing. I hope this clarifies the misleading news.