By Freddie G. Lazaro Laoag City, Ilocos Norte – Ilocos Norte Governor Imee R. Marcos wants Northern Luzon provinces work together to diversify tourism and cope with the agricultural consequences of climate change. “We are selling a lot of vegetables in Benguet right now, and I think that with the number of tourists we get, perhaps it’s time to do it the other way around and start selling also upland vegetables in the lowlands,” she said while attending the recent 14th Lang-Ay Festival in Bontoc, Mountain Province. Saying that Ilocos Norte welcomes two million tourists yearly, especially with the regular docking of cruise ships from China and Japan, “it’s time that we share.” “We have the beaches, some mountains, and colonial churches, so it is fitting to continue here in Mountain Province,” Marcos said. “We have mountain in Ilocos Norte – we have Mt. Sicapo, we have Solsona-Apayao Road – however, the virgin forest of Mountain Province is different.” She also said the construction of a Cordilleran Highway had been a dream of her father, former President Ferdinand E. Marcos -- a highway that would unite Region One, Region Two, and the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR). She also stressed the problem of water shortage: “Hirap na hirap tayo sa climate change. Sa Metro Manila, medyo pinagdedebatehan pa ‘iyan, pero dito, walang debate. Nakikita natin, walang tubig,” she said. “Pero tanim nang tanim, walang pahinga yung lupa sa Ilocano at sa taga-bundok,” Marcos stressed, “kailangan talaga ng fertilizer, pero napakamahal ng ating agricultural inputs… Kailangan ng tulong – mahirap ang buhay ng mga magsasaka dito sa Mountain Province, kaparehas ng Ilocos Norte – kailangan ng mas maraming suporta para sa abono, pati sa tubig, and the irrigation systems.” Ilocos Norte and Mountain Province also share traditions and culture. “Among 21 municipalities in Ilocos Norte, mayroong 10 with indigenous people, so we have very similar traditions and culture – it’s alive and well in our Tadek Festival, the Taoid Museum in Laoag, and the communities of Tingguians, the Isneg, Itneg, Apayao, and Yapayao sa Ilocos Norte,” Marcos said.