All eyes on BongBong
FERDINAND ‘BONGBONG’ MARCOS JR., SON OF THE INFAMOUS DICTATOR FERDINAND AND IMELDA MARCOS, IS SET TO BECOME PHILIPPINE’S 17TH PRESIDENT. LET’S GET TO KNOW A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE MAN WHO NOW SAYS “JUDGE ME ON MY ACTIONS AND NOT MY ANCESTORS”
His parents had ruled over the country for over 21 years, plundering billions from the country while silencing any dissent. One might remember that Ferdinand ‘BongBong’ Marcos Jr.’s mother, former beauty queen and infamous Imelda Marcos, owned 3,000 pairs of shoes and, as per an article on Daily Mail's digital magazine, spent $9 million in 90 days, including $14,150 on bed sheets, $58,000 on sterling silver serving dishes and $611,000 on gems from Cartier — all on a single overseas trip in
1983.
Even when the family was exiled 36 years ago, they had fled to Hawaii with
300 crates loaded on to two U.S. Air Force planes, which included weapons, bank deposit certificates and the deeds for numerous overseas property holdings.
But nothing as funny as human memory, it would seem. Even with only 3 billion dollars of the government wealth that the family plundered having found its way back into the system, the country, heavily into dynasty politics, gave at a landslide victory for BongBong. He’ll soon be named the 17th President of The Philippines — despite the legacy he carries.
When asked about his parents’ 10-billion dollar governmental thefts and the unholy legacy he’s attached to, 64-year-old BongBong Marcos asks instead, “What do I have to be sorry about?”
BongBong, on his “parents’ insistence that he grow up grounded without being overwhelmed by his family’s stature” (as per his bio on https://legacy.senate.gov.ph /senators/sen_bio/bmarcos_bio.asp) was enrolled in a 36,000-pound-a-year all-boys Benedictine abbey, Worth School boarding school in West Sussex, Britain. He managed keep his small built safe around big boys in the school ruby team by carrying a flick knife on the field (using it sometimes) to defend himself there. Apparently, he made it to Oxford only after his dad — the self-proclaimed President of The Philippines then — had his envoys lobby officials at St Edmund Hall for a seat at the prestigious university. Even there, Bong Bong twice failed examinations and only managed to receive a special diploma in social sciences. However, several media publications claim that he says he’s graduated from Oxford with a degree in philosophy, politics and economics. (The Philippine senate website however states that he got a diploma in social studies in Oxford.)
The only son among four children, BongBong is married to lawyer Louise Araneta-Marcos with whom he has three sons: Sandro, Simon & Vincent. He’s not the first in the family to take on elections after his dictator and exiled father died. His family, who returned to The Philippines after Marcos Sr.’s death, returned to politics when Imelda fought the Presidential elections twice, failing both times. Bong Bong himself became governor at the age of 23 (because of which apparently he cut short his MBA in Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, USA) but
couldn’t win a Senate position by election in 1995. However, in 2010, he won his senate seat for the first time.
BongBong, who’s teamed up with Sara Duterte — daughter of outgoing president, Rodrigo Duterte, is set in the presidential race against Leni Robredo. He had incidentally lost a Vice-President bid to Leni in 2016 and had tried a Donald Trump by protesting the results.
While his rise popularity has been largely owed to the Internet and social media, where a lot of the nation’s history appears to be revised to favour him and
his family’s past, he denies knowledge of any such activities. In fact, Leni, who’s known for her hard work and honesty and had brought close to 10 lakh people on the street during a rally, has been badly affected by propaganda and falsehood of fake affairs and one of her daughters being seen in a sex video.
As president of the state, BongBong Marcos will be the first head of state to play himself in a movie and be promised a ticket on a commercial flight to the moon. The latter was promised to him by President Nixon of the USA in 1970 when BongBong had arrived at his West Sussex boarding school. Now, BongBong apparently hopes to re-cultivate the nation’s relationship with the US, something his predecessor had threatened to undo.
Nevertheless, experts worry that with BongBong becoming president, the money the Marcos stashed abroad, much of which was unclaimed for after Marcos
When asked about his parents’ 10-billion dollar governmental thefts and the unholy legacy he’s attached to, 64-year-old BongBong Marcos asks instead, “What do I have to be sorry about?”
Sr.’s death, may never find a way back into the nation. In a recent interview, when asked about his legacy, he’s believed to have said, “We will no longer go back to 35-year-old issues.”
“Judge me not by my ancestors, but by my actions,” Marcos Jr said in a statement via his spokesman on Tuesday. “It is [my] promise to be a president for all Filipinos,” he added.
EXPERTS WORRY THAT WITH BONGBONG BECOMING PRESIDENT, THE MONEY THE MARCOS STASHED ABROAD, MUCH OF WHICH WAS UNCLAIMED FOR AFTER MARCOS SR.’S DEATH, MAY NEVER FIND A WAY BACK INTO THE NATION. IN A RECENT INTERVIEW, WHEN ASKED ABOUT HIS LEGACY, HE’S BELIEVED TO HAVE SAID, “WE WILL NO LONGER GO BACK TO 35-YEAR-OLD ISSUES.”