The son and namesake of late Filipino dictator Ferdinand Marcos said Wednesday that he may run for president in next yr’s elections, giving his once-exiled family a likelihood to finally make a political comeback.
Ferdinand Marcos Jnr, popularly generally known as “Bongbong”, said he is not going to seek a second term as senator and is looking for a “higher office”, which within the Philippines can only be president or vp.
“The conversations I’ve been having with different groups and other people have really been focused on senior positions,” the 57-year-old told ABS-CBN.
Asked directly whether he would run for president or vp, Marcos said: “It is incredibly difficult to make a choice right now.”
Ferdinand Marcos Sr. ruled the Philippines for twenty years until 1986, when hundreds of thousands took to the streets within the famous “people power” revolution.
The Marcos family fled to the United States, and the patriarch died in exile in Hawaii in 1989.
The remainder of the family, led by controversial matriarch Imelda, returned in 1991 and mounted a successful political comeback despite accusations that the presidential couple had stolen billions from state coffers and oversaw widespread human rights abuses.
“Bongbong” Marcos won the Senate seat in 2010, marking the primary time since his father’s death that a member of the family won a nationally elected office.
The Marcos matriarch, famous for her luxurious lifestyle, has also been a member of parliament since 2010, representing her husband’s northern stronghold within the province of Ilocos Norte.
Imelda, now 86, has often said she wanted her son to assume the presidency again for the family.
However, opinion polls now show that there may be little support for Marcos Jr. as president.
“I always look at polls as a starting point,” he said of his poor polling performance.
The current president of the Philippines, Benigno Aquino, is the one son and namesake of the late strongman’s political nemesis, whose assassination in 1983 led to a preferred rebellion three years later.
The murdered hero’s wife, Corazon Aquino, led the revolution and was the country’s first president after the autumn of Marcos.
Underscoring the fickle nature of Philippine politics, Marcos said he may run for vp next yr on the ticket of current presidential favorite Jejomar Binay.
Binay was a human rights defender through the dictatorship and is currently vp, but has faced widespread accusations of corruption in recent times.
“This is Philippine policy and you can’t discount the possibility that something you didn’t expect will happen. Never say never,” Binay said when asked concerning the relationship.
Last month, Aquino anointed his unpopular Interior Minister Manuel Roxas as his preferred successor.
