BAGUIO CITY, Philippines - There is a misconception that the late president Ferdinand E. Marcos reinforced the Solid North by providing aid and support to the Ilocano people.

The common perception was, "that Ilocanos were voting solidly for the Marcoses not just because of the ethnic ties to the north, but also because the Ilocanos had a relatively better experience as compared to the other parts of the Philippines during the Martial Law period, with Marcos pouring over billions of funds, especially in his home province of Ilocos Norte," UP sociology professor Reidan Pawilen wrote in "The Solid North Myth: An investigation on the status of dissent and human rights during the Marcos Regime in Regions 1 and 2, 1969-1986."

Jessie Vizcarra, a human rights lawyer from Vigan City, Ilocos Sur, said this popular view - still common today - glosses over the history of Ilocano activism at that time and the repression suffered by Ilocanos during the Martial Law period.

Vizcarra agreed with Pawilen's view that for the North to be solid, Ilocos had to be broken down.