Aquino’s fearless forecast Bongbong won’t be Vice President
Vice President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.? President Aquino thinks this won’t happen.
Addressing delegates of the 16th Publish Asia conference at the Manila Hotel, the President voiced confidence that Filipino voters, especially the youth, would not allow Marcos to become the country’s second highest government official.
The President believes that majority of Filipinos continue to despise the martial law period marked by human rights abuses and other atrocities, contrary to the belief of Senator Marcos that it was the golden age of the country.
“At the end of the day, especially for the younger generation of Filipinos, they have now access to various means to make them experience what life was like under our Martial Law period, which happened from 1972 to 1986. They will realize that this is not consistent with their vision or their aspirations of what their life should be,” Aquino said.
“And then they will answer, I believe the question in this manner: Should we allow an opportunity, even vague at this point in time, for somebody who does not recognize the mistakes of that past to be in a position to commit the same mistakes somewhere in the future? And, I think, the answer will be a resounding ‘no,’” he added.
The President made the remarks in response to a foreign journalist’s question: “What is next for the country if Ferdinand Marcos Jr. wins the vice presidency” during the media forum.
Faring well Aquino has openly campaigned against Marcos’s vice presidential candidacy, criticizing him for not apologizing for the acts of his father and namesake, the late President Ferdinand E. Marcos, Sr. during the martial law period. If the young Marcos has not realized the wrongs committed, Aquino said there is no assurance he would not repeat them.
In his speech before Asia’s newspaper publishers and other media executives, the President said he made a “very pointed statement” about the ills of martial law during the 30th anniversary of the Edsa People Power Revolution. His EDSA message apparently resonated in the minds of many people especially the younger generation, he added.
Aquino said at the risk of helping Marcos in his campaign, he could have acknowledged the mistakes and promised to correct them.
“But, unfortunately, his message has been --- I think he was quoted as saying that that was the golden period for the Philippines, which is contrary to the majority’s opinion in this country, which you will need --- whose support he will need to get elected,” he added.
Marcos has repeatedly said his family has nothing to apologize for, citing that there was economic prosperity during his father’s term. Despite the anti-Marcos sentiment promoted by the President, the senator continues to fare well in the vice presidential surveys.