Marcos formalizes bid for Malacañang seat
MANILA, Philippines (Updated 12:27 p.m.) — Former Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has formalized his bid to join vie for the highest seat in the land for the 2022 national elections.
Marcos on Wednesday filed his Certificate of Candidacy at the Sofitel tent, a day after he announced that he will be joining the presidential race. He is running as the official candidate of the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas party.
Prior to his announcement of his presidential bid, Marcos took oath as a member and chairman of Partido Federal ng Pilipinas, the party formed by Agrarian Reform Secretary John Castriciones and other allies of the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte in 2018.
He also received nominations from the Labor Party of the Philippines, Partido Lakas ng Mangagawang Pilipino and Kilusang Bagong Lipunan, the former ruling party founded by his father and namesake.
During his announcement of his presidential bid, Marcos said the COVID-19 pandemic is one of the greatest tests the country is facing that would need unity from the country to address.
He said: “That is why I am announcing here today my intention to run for the presidency of the Philippines in the coming May 2022 elections. I will bring that form of unifying leadership back to our country.”
Bong Go as VP?
Speaking to members of the media after his filing, Marcos noted that PFP has yet to name his running-mate.
He said their initial plan was to adopt President Rodrigo Duterte as vice presidential bet, but the president said over the weekend that he is retiring from politics.
“But with what happened last Saturday, all our plans changed. So now we are consulting within the party and our members on what we will do,” Marcos said in Filipino.
Will the PFP consider Sen. Bong Go, who is running for vice president under the administration PDP-Laban party, as his running-mate?
Marcos did not nix the idea. “Pwede rin, we’ll see… we still have to determine the effects of that will be not only on me but also the rest of candidates in our party, specifically,” he said.
Political rehabilitation
Marcos' gunning for the presidency marks the family’s second attempt to return to the Malacañang, 35 years since the historic ouster of his father through the people power revolution.
This also marks the latest attempt at the Marcos family’s political rehabilitation amid a time of massive misinformation and disinformation in social media. The family is being accused of historical revisionism.
The former senator has distanced himself and the Marcos clan from abuses and corruption during his father's dictatorship, when thousands of human rights violations were recorded and billions were plundered from the nation’s coffers.
Asked whether he would be willing to answer questions on the brutal Martial Law rule of his father, Marcos said he never declined any request for interview with the media. But added that it would be “if you have something new to ask me, mahirap naman if we will be talking the same conversation I have been having in the past 35 years.”
Marcos skipped at least one debate organized by the media when he ran in the 2016 elections as vice president.
Marcos also signed the Comelec’s integrity pledge, part of which read: “Neither shall we/I attempt to mislead or misinform the public through the use of falsified, fabricated, manipulated or stolen information.”
In the latest Pulse Asia pre-elections poll, Marcos ranked second with 15% saying they will vote for him as president if elections were conducted on the day of the survey.
Marcos ranked behind Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte who stated that she would not run for the chief executive post in the 2022 elections.
- Latest
- Trending
