Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., the son of former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., has been sworn in as the 17th President of the Republic of the Philippines.
The inauguration took place Thursday, June 30, at the National Museum, while his runningmate, Vice President Sara Duterte took oath on June 19 in Davao City.
“I feel it deep within me that you, the people, have spoken, and it is resounding. When my call for unity started to resonate with you, it did so because it echoed your yearnings, mirrored your sentiments, and expressed your hopes for family, for country, and for a better future,” Marcos began his speech.
“That is why it reverberated and amplified as it did to deliver the biggest electoral mandate in the history of the Philippine democracy. By your vote, you rejected the politics of division,” he continued.
With his “unity” banner during the campaign period, the president said in his inaugural speech that the nation “go farther together than against each other, pushing forward not pulling each other back out of fear, out of a misplaced sense of weakness.”
Marcos mentioned the people’s decision to be their servant “to enable changes to benefit all.”
“I fully understand the gravity of the responsibility that you’ve put on my shoulders. I do not take it lightly but I am ready for the task. I will need your help, I want to rely on it, but rest assured I do not predicate success on the wide cooperation that is needed. I will get it done,” he assured.
Citing the experience of his father, the late former President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. “who saw what little had been achieved since independence in a land of people with the greatest potential for achievement,” he stressed that the public will get no excuses from him.
Marcos, 64, previously served as a senator from 2010 to 2016.
He ran for vice president in 2016 but lost to outgoing Vice President Leni Robredo.
His first crack at politics was when he ran unopposed as vice governor of Ilocos Norte in 1980 under the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan party of his father.
Marcos became governor of Ilocos Norte in 1983 until Marcos Sr. was ousted from power by the People Power Revolution, leading to his family’s exile in Hawaii in February 1986.
Returning to the country in 1992, Marcos was elected as representative of Ilocos Norte’s 2nd congressional district until 1995. He ran for and was elected governor of Ilocos Norte in 1998, serving three consecutive terms until 2007.
He returned to his previous position as representative from 2007 to 2010.
Marcos is the second child and only son of Marcos Sr. and former first lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos. GB–AG
