The latter remark came from a sulky Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas, a close associate of the former first family, who said he was severing ties with his erstwhile ally.

''I am cutting all ties with (Ilocos Norte) Governor Marcos,'' Fariñas declared in a press conference in Laoag on Monday.

''With a friend like Bongbong, you do not have anything,'' grumbled Fariñas, who formed a political alliance with Marcos and his elder sister, Rep. Imee Marcos, in the last elections.

''Marcos's victory as a congressman was given to him on a silver platter because I supported him,'' the former governor griped, referring to the 1992 congressional race.

''Di da amo ti agtalyaw ti naimbag a nakem (They do not know how to remember a good deed),'' he said in Ilocano.

Fariñas said he regretted supporting Governor Marcos during last year's elections. He accused Marcos of being an inefficient governor who did not know how to prioritize.

Some time ago, Marcos publicly asked Fariñas to return a computer, several guns and vehicles which had been issued to him by the provincial government during his term as governor. Marcos said Fariñas failed to return even one such item.

But Fariñas disputed Marcos's claims, saying the governor had not formally asked him to return anything.

Marcos said he had chosen not to make a formal request ''since it might be called inflammatory.''

Toothpick container

Cracks in their political relationship deepened following a gun-wielding incident at Fort Ilocandia Resort Hotel in Laoag involving Fariñas and a British guest last month.

John Wardle accused Fariñas of harassing him and pointing a gun at him after the Brit made a comment about the latter's son, who was playing with a toothpick container.

Fariñas said he would sue Marcos for violating his constitutional rights by not giving him a chance to air his side regarding the incident.

The namesake of the late dictator said incidents involving Fariñas would not help mend their relationship.

''You know some of the people we deal with are very sensitive. We have to be very careful about how we deal with these things,'' he said.

Gym

He said he hoped the issue between the provincial government and Fariñas would not reach the courts, saying it would be ''such a waste of time and resources.''

Fariñas also expressed dismay over how the provincial government under Marcos treated the projects that had been implemented during Fariñas's term.

Marcos said the provincial government would not prioritize an unfinished P106-million gymnasium project which Fariñas had started. He said the province could not afford to spend the P30-P70 million needed to complete the gym.

'His father's son'

If you think Fariñas is angry at the young Marcos, you should hear what some other people have to say in reaction to Marcos's statement on Tuesday that the People Power Revolt was ''nothing but a political power grab.''

''Bongbong is not only cross-eyed to history, he is completely blind to the murderous results of the martial law era. But more than being blind, he is callous and insensitive,'' said Rep. Krisel Lagman-Luistro.

The young Marcos also said many human rights claimants had been victims not of martial law but of ''their own greed.''

''The Marcos son needs a reality check,'' said Sectoral Rep. Loretta Ann ''Etta'' Rosales, founding chair of Claimants 1081.

''I have nothing but pity for someone who, having been elected once in Congress and now as governor, still fails to learn the lessons of history,'' she added.

''Bongbong is really he's father's son because he knows how to distort the truth,'' said Marie Hilao-Enriquez, secretary general of the Samahan ng mga Ex-detainees Laban sa Detensyon at para sa Amnestiya.

'No right to sneer'

Marcos had also said he saw no reason why his family should apologize for his father's 20-year rule.

''I think he is oversimplifying the problem and the reasons why there is so much of an outcry against the Marcos regime. It's not really just money, its also justice,'' former President Fidel Ramos said yesterday in a news conference.

Luistro, daughter of former Rep. Edcel Lagman, a former oppositionist during martial rule, said: ''Bongbong has no right to sneer at the unimaginable sufferings experienced by thousands of human rights victims and their families in the bloody hands of his father.''

For his part, Teddy Casiño, deputy secretary general of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, said part of the blame belonged to President Estrada, ''an unabashed Marcos loyalist.''

''As a result of Mr. Estrada's full support for the Marcoses, the latter have become more brazen and arrogant, and they talk like Marcos himself, as if the Edsa uprising never happened at all,'' he said.

By Cristina Arzadon and Kira Espino, PDI Northern Luzon Bureau, with reports from Christine Herrera, Volt Contreras and Stella Gonzales