Marcos, Ilocos Norte

The small town of Marcos has seen multiple violent political attacks over the past years.

On February 4, 2013, Mayor Salvador Pillos survived an attack by two motorcycle-riding gunmen who shot him while he was inspecting a construction project.^[6]

On the afternoon of February 23, 2013, Barangay Fortuna chairman Alfredo Arce was gunned down by a gunman on the back of a motorcycle. Arce was shot in the chest and died on the spot.^[7]

On the evening of April 4, 2017, Vice Mayor Jessie Ermitanio survived an ambush and shootout while driving through an unpopulated section of the road between the Padsan River and the Daquioag Elementary School. The vice mayor's driver, Lucky Jesrel Rumbaoa, died from the gunshots; and, his security escort - Ricky Florendo - and Municipal Council staffer, Edralin Arellano, were injured.^[8]

On the morning of June 3, 2017, Mayor Arsenio Agustin was shot in the head and died on the spot after inspecting a project in Barangay Mabuti. Municipal employee Rusmar Valencia was also shot in the back. The mayor's bodyguards fired back at the gunman but the assailant evaded capture.^[9][10]

Mayor Agustin had been receiving death threats prior to the shooting and the vice mayor had requested a police escort after he believed he was being stalked when he served as acting mayor in October 2016^{[citation needed]}.

Marcos is situated 26.27 kilometres (16.32 mi) from the provincial capital Laoag, and 480.63 kilometres (298.65 mi) from the country's capital city of Manila.

Marcos is politically subdivided into 13 barangays. ^[11] Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

It is 29 kilometres (18 mi) from Laoag, 510 kilometres (320 mi) from Manila, 79 kilometres (49 mi) from Bangued, and 28 kilometres (17 mi) from Batac.

There were 4 barangays named after Mariano Marcos' four children:

• Ferdinand Marcos (1917-1989), who became president of the Philippines (1965–1986)
• Pacifico Marcos (1919-), a physician
• Elizabeth Marcos-Keon (1921-1986), former Ilocos Norte governor (1971-1983) and mother of Michael Marcos Keon
• Fortuna Marcos-Barba (1931-2018)

In the 2024 census, the population of Marcos was 18,105 people,^[18] with a density of 250 inhabitants per square kilometre or 650 inhabitants per square mile.

Poverty incidence of Marcos

Source: Philippine Statistics Authority^{[19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26]}

Marcos, belonging to the second congressional district of the province of Ilocos Norte, is governed by a mayor designated as its local chief executive and by a municipal council as its legislative body in accordance with the Local Government Code. The mayor, vice mayor, and the councilors are elected directly by the people through an election which is being held every three years.