RONEN ZILBERMAN / ASSOCIATED PRESS Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle, left, walked with Ferdinand Marcos Jr., governor of Ilocos Norte, after greeting him at the governor's mansion in Honolulu yesterday.

Marcos’ son strengthens
ties to isles

The provincial leader says he is
happy to be back in Hawaii

Ferdinand "Bong Bong" Marcos Jr., governor of the Philippine province of Ilocos Norte, and Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle formalized a sister state-province relationship yesterday with a black Sharpie marker.

The signed document is aimed at furthering ties between Hawaii and the Philippine province that is the ancestral home to much of the state's Filipino population, said Marcos, son of the late Philippine president.

"We all look forward to extending whatever relationship we have had before -- furthering them, making them more profound and more meaningful," Marcos said.

Marcos will meet with members of the Filipino communities on Oahu and Maui at several events during his eight-day stay. He also has a date in U.S. District Court on Monday, ordered by a federal judge overseeing a class-action lawsuit over Marcos' late father's estate.

U.S. District Judge Manuel Real is overseeing the distribution of assets to 9,539 Filipinos who won a $2 billion judgment against the Marcos estate in 1995. A Honolulu jury granted the award after finding the late president responsible for summary executions, disappearances and torture during his 14-year reign under martial law.

But appeals have kept the case going and the claimants unpaid for a decade.

Real has ordered that Marcos "make no public statements, appearances or press conferences" relating to any pending litigation.

Marcos commented very little on the case yesterday.

"Categorically we would always want to have these things settled. But what will occur on the seventh is ... I don't know," he said.

After 10 years away, Marcos said he was happy to be back in Hawaii. The Marcos family fled to the islands after the elder Marcos was ousted from power in 1986. He died in exile in Honolulu three years later.

"We will never forget the kindness that we were shown when we were here," Marcos said.

Despite the controversy that surrounds Marcos' family, Lingle said she felt most people in the state support strengthening the relationship with the province he leads.

"There's never 100 percent of the people that think everything is just right," she said.

The agreement is the fourth between Hawaii and the Philippines, and is meant to bolster economic, agricultural, cultural and education ties.

Next year marks the 100th anniversary of the arrival of the first ship carrying immigrants from the Philippines to the shores of Hawaii.

Lingle said she has been named honorary chairwoman of Hawaii's celebration and plans to cap her observance of the centennial with a trip to the Philippines.