The Philippine Star

Bongbong to Noy: Thanks for noticing my hair

- – Eva Visperas, Perseus Echeminada, Non Alquitran

It’s nice to have the president of the republic noticing one’s hair, but Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. says he himself does not pay much attention to his hair grooming.

“Thank you, Mr. President for taking time paying attention to my hair,” Marcos said yesterday. “Me, I don’t pay attention to it anymore.”

Marcos issued the statement after President Aquino took a swipe at his dyed black hair.

In a meeting with the Filipino community at the Hilton LAX Hotel in Los Angeles, the President said he could not take a candidate who was introducin­g himself to the people without showing his true self.

“Does my hair need to be improved through Photoshop? Thinning hair is part of the job. I just want to stay real,” the President added.

Marcos said he was surprised by Aquino’s statement because he was not even paying attention to Aquino’s hair.

“Despite all his work he still noticed my hairdo. Thank you Mr. President for your concern,” he said, eliciting laughter from the crowd at yesterday’s press conference in Alaminos City, Pangasinan.

Marcos admitted that having white hair at an early stage is common among the members of the Romualdez clan, the family of his mother former first lady Imelda RomualdezM­arcos.

He explained that if he did not have his hair dyed, all the women in his life –his wife, mother, aunts and cousins – would get mad at him and would say he looks old.

The parents of the President, democracy icons senator Benigno Aquino Jr. and former president Corazon Aquino, led the fight against the dictatoria­l regime of late president Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

The assassinat­ion of senator Aquino in 1983 led to the 1986 people power revolution that toppled the dictatoria­l government and catapulted Corazon to the presidency.

Three decades after the revolution, Marcos Jr. has joined the vice presidenti­al race, a move that might lead to a possible presidenti­al bid in the future.

He promised that if he is elected vice president, his advocacy is uniting the Philippine­s.

“If we are disunited, not loving one another, we would not be able to solve problems besetting our country,” he told thousands of barangay health workers.

Marcos counting on ‘Solid North’

Marcos also said that based on his tour of the northern part of the country where he has been warmly received, the “Solid North” still exists.

Solid North refers to the full support of the people in the northern part of the country for candidates from this region. Marcos Sr. started the Solid North when he was senator until he became president in 1965. When Marcos Jr. ran for senator in 2010, he also leaned on the Solid North.

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