Bongbong: Dad’s legacy will boost my candidacy

MANILA, Philippines - The son of the late Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos said yesterday his father’s legacy would help rather than hamper his own bid for the vice presidency.

Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said his surname was the “greatest blessing,” his first public comments since announcing Monday he would run as an independent next May.

Marcos Sr. was accused of large-scale corruption and massive human rights abuses during his tumultuous two decades in office, which were ended by the famous 1986 military-backed people power revolution.

But his son, popularly known as Bongbong, said voters would not be swayed by allegations against his father.

“If you talk to people, they are not concerned about that,” he told reporters.

Filipinos are more worried about poverty, crime and lack of basic infrastructure, which had made commuting in the capital a daily misery for millions, he said. 

Marcos expressed his belief that “history should be left to analysts” as he was grilled by reporters and some concerned citizens in his first public appearance after he declared his VP bid.

“But I am not an analyst. I am a public servant. And all I look at is what people look at their public servant,” the senator said during a forum at the Kamuning Bakery in Quezon City.

“What they are asking from their leaders, very simple – a vision, leadership, a plan, a program, policies to improve their lives. Policies to show that, in fact, we are trying to put the nation together, not politics. Not partisan politics but actual solutions to problems ordinary Filipinos face everyday,” Marcos added.

More than the issue of human rights during the dictatorship, the only son and namesake of the former strongman said he is ready to do his share in making a dent in the lives of Filipinos and improving their lot.

“Filipinos are concerned about their lives today. We want answers. Why are there drugs in our streets? Why is the crime rate going up at alarming rate? Why is our education sector miserable? Why is the distribution of wealth not happening?” he asked.

“Why is the government not doing anything about it? Why is there no infrastructure development? Why is there no agricultural development? These are what people are worried about and these I will address,” Marcos added. 

Marcos remained optimistic that he has a good chance of winning against the other contenders for the vice presidency, namely, Sens. Francis Escudero (independent), Antonio Trillanes IV (Nacionalista Party), Alan Peter Cayetano (NP), Gregorio Honasan who was nominated by the United Nationalist Alliance and Rep. Leni Robredo (Liberal Party).

A “lack of leadership” under President Aquino, whose parents led the opposition against the elder Marcos, had exacerbated these woes, he said.

“This is what people are worried about and this is what I will address,” the 58-year-old senator said.

Marcos also said that he does not consider as a burden his famous surname.

“The greatest blessing. For me, I still consider myself the luckiest person. I am the luckiest person that I know and being a Marcos is part of that and I am very happy that I was born into the Marcos family,” he added.

He said the Marcos name has been an advantage, a blessing “and I am very thankful that I am a Marcos.”

“What happened in 1986 happened already. These things have already been decided,” Marcos said.

The Marcos family was forced into exile in Hawaii in 1986 and Marcos Sr. died there in 1989.

The government accuses the family of stealing $10 billion from public coffers, while activists have recorded at least 882 people who went missing during the period of martial law declared by the dictator.

President Aquino in 2013 signed a landmark law compensating thousands of human rights victims of the Marcos regime, many of whom were tortured, raped or detained by the dictator’s security forces.

“We may not bring back the time stolen from martial law victims, but we can assure them of the state’s recognition of their sufferings,” Aquino said at the time.

Before being elected to the Senate for a six-year term in 2010, Marcos Jr. served as congressman and governor of his father’s home province.

He said his surname had only bolstered his political comeback.

The most recent poll from one of the country’s major research firms showed Marcos running third in the vice presidential race, with 13 percent saying they would vote for him.

Marcos disclosed yesterday that he decided to run for vice president instead of joining the presidential race because the timing wasn’t right.

He also said the Aquino administration has not been supportive of the Marcoses and will oppose anything they will do as a family.

“As we all know, I have – this administration has not exactly been supportive of any of the Marcoses. Anything that we will do is going to be opposed as policy by this administration,” Marcos told a press conference.

“The time was just not right to run for president this time. As we always say, the presidency and even the vice-presidency is a question of destiny. We do all that we can to hopefully gain some kind of advantage when it comes to the elections but destiny will tell you what it is to do,” he said.

“And I believe it is the voice of wisdom that I hear, when I speak and when I think to myself and I look around and I examine the political terrain. I believe I can do a great deal as a vice president,” he explained. – With Perseus Echeminada, AP