WHO IS BONGBONG MARCOS?

 

Bongbong Marcos

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

 

Senator of the Philippines
Incumbent
Assumed office
June 30, 2010
Member of the Philippine House of Representatives from Ilocos Norte‘s Second District
In office
June 30, 2007 – June 30, 2010
Preceded by Imee Marcos
Succeeded by Imelda Marcos
In office
June 30, 1992 – June 30, 1995
Preceded by Mariano R. Nalupta, Jr.
Succeeded by Simeon M. Valdez
Governor of Ilocos Norte
In office
June 30, 1998 – June 30, 2007
Preceded by Rodolfo C. Fariñas
Succeeded by Michael Marcos Keon
In office
1983–1986
Preceded by Elizabeth M. Keon
Succeeded by Rodolfo C. Fariñas
Vice Governor of Ilocos Norte
In office
1980–1983
Personal details
Born Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos, Jr.[1]
September 13, 1957 (age 58)
Manila, Philippines
Political party Nacionalista (2009-present)
Other political
affiliations		 KBL (1980–2009)
Spouse(s) Louise Araneta Marcos
Children Ferdinand Alexander Marcos III
Joseph Simon Marcos
William Vincent Marcos[2]
Religion Roman Catholicism
Website bongbongmarcos.com

Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos, Jr. (born September 13, 1957), widely known as Bongbong Marcos, is a Filipino politician and senator in the 16th Congress of the Philippines. He is the second child and only son of former President Ferdinand E. Marcos and former First Lady Imelda Romualdez-Marcos.

Marcos served as Governor of Ilocos Norte (1983–1986, 1998–2007) and as Representative of the Second District of Ilocos Norte (1992–1995, 2007–2010) under Kilusang Bagong Lipunan, the political party founded by his father. He was also Deputy Minority Leader during his second term in the House of Representatives.[3] In 2010, Marcos was elected as Senator of the Philippines under the Nacionalista Party. Senator Marcos chairs several senate committees, including the Committee on Local Government and the Committee on Public Works, and is a member of several other committees.[4]

On October 5, 2015, Marcos announced his candidacy for Vice President of the Philippines in the 2016 election.[5]

 

 

Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. was born on September 13, 1957 to then Representative Ferdinand E. Marcos and Imelda Remedios Visitacion Romualdez. He studied in Institucion Teresiana and La Salle Greenhills in Manila, where he obtained his kindergarten and elementary education, respectively.

Nicknamed ‘Bongbong’, Marcos starred in his father’s true-to-life story film, Iginuhit ng Tadhana, as himself, along with Vilma Santos as his sister Imee Marcos, Luis Gonzales as his father and Gloria Romero as his mother.[6] The film was released before the 1965 Philippine Elections in which his father, who was senator at that time, was elected President of the Philippines.

In 1970, Marcos was sent to England where he lived and studied at Worth School an all-boys Benedictine institution. Thereafter, he pursued his undergraduate degree. His résumé claims he graduated with a Special Diploma in Social Studies from Oxford University in England.[7] although no record of his graduation has been found at the university.

Marcos enrolled in the Masters in Business Administration program at the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, U.S. However, he was unable to complete the course because of his election as Vice Governor of Ilocos Norte in 1980.[8]

Political career

Beginnings

The political career of Bongbong Marcos started with his election as Vice Governor of Ilocos Norte (1980–1983) at the young age of 23. In 1983, he led a group of young Filipino leaders on a 10-day diplomatic mission to China to mark the 10th anniversary of Philippine-Chinese relations.[9] Marcos succeeded as Governor of Ilocos Norte (1983–1986) which he served until the People Power Revolution ousted his family from power. He then lived in political exile with his family in Hawaii, US.[10]

Congress, first term

Bongbong Marcos was among the first of his family to return to the Philippines in 1991. A year later, he was elected as representative of the second district of Ilocos Norte (1992–1995).[11] During his term, Marcos was the author of 29 House bills and co-author of 90 more, which includes those that paved the way for the creation of the Department of Energy and the National Youth Commission.[12] He was also instrumental in advancing the cause of cooperatives by devoting most of his Countryside Development Fund (CDF) to organizing the cooperatives of teachers and farmers in his home province.[13][14] In 1995, Marcos ran for a seat in the Philippine Senate but lost.[15]

Ilocos Norte governor

Marcos was again elected as Governor of Ilocos Norte in 1998, running against his father’s closest friend and ally, Roque Ablan Jr. He will serve for three consecutive terms ending in 2007.[16] During his tenure, Governor Marcos transformed Ilocos Norte into a first-class province of international acclaim, by showcasing its natural and cultural destinations. He also pioneered the wind power technology that serves as an alternative source of energy in Ilocos Norte and other parts of Luzon.[17][18][19][20]

Congress, second term

In 2007, Marcos ran unopposed for the congressional seat previously held by his older sister Imee.[21] He is then appointed as Deputy Minority Leader of the House of Representatives. During this term, one of the important pieces of legislation he authored was the Philippine Archipelagic Baselines Law, or Republic Act No. 9522.[22][23] He also promoted the Republic Act No. 9502 (Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicines Act) which was enacted on 2009.[24]

Senate

Main article: Miriam Defensor-Santiago presidential campaign, 2016

Further information: Philippine Senate election, 2010

Further information: Philippine presidential election, 2016

 

 

 

 

Marcos was elected as a Senator in the 2010 Elections, placing seventh overall. As of February 2016, he is the chairman of the Senate committees on local government and public works. He also chairs the oversight committee on the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Organic Act, the congressional oversight panel on the Special Purpose Vehicle Act, and a select oversight committee on barangay affairs.[25]

In the 15th Congress (2010–2013), Marcos was the author of 34 Senate bills and was co-author of 17 more, 7 of which became Republic Acts. Among them are the Anti-Drunk and Drugged Driving Act, the Cybercrime Prevention Act, the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act, and the National Health Insurance Act.[26]

In the 16th Congress (2013–2016), Marcos has authored 52 bills, with one enacted into law. His Senate Bill 1186, which sought the postponement of the 2013 Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections, later became Republic Act 10632 on October 3, 2013.[27][28]

Marcos has also co-authored 4 Senate bills. One of them, Senate Bill 712, was approved as Republic Act 10645 or the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010.[29]

On November 20, 2009, the KBL forged an alliance with the Nacionalista Party (NP) between Marcos and NP chairman Senator Manny Villar at the Laurel House in Mandaluyong City. Marcos became a guest senatorial candidate of the NP through this alliance.[30] Marcos was later removed as a member by the KBL National Executive Committee on November 23, 2012.[31] As such, the NP broke its alliance with the KBL due to internal conflicts within the party, however Bongbong remained part of the NP senatorial line-up.[30] He was proclaimed as one of the winning senatorial candidates of the 2010 senate elections. He took office on June 30, 2010.

Vice-presidential bid, 2016

On October 5, 2015, Marcos announced via his website his candidacy for Vice President of the Philippines in the 2016 presidential election stating “I have decided to run for Vice President in the May 2016 elections.”[5][32] Marcos is running as an independent candidate.[33] Prior to his announcement, Marcos had declined an invitation by presidential candidate, Vice President Jejomar Binay, to become his running mate.[34] On October 15, presidential candidate Miriam Defensor Santiago confirmed that Marcos would serve as her running mate.[35]

Criticisms

Criticisms have been leveled at Marcos for being unapologetic for human rights violations[36] and ill-gotten wealth[37] during his father‘s administration.[38][39][40][41]

On February 2016, Marcos answered his critics by stating:[42][43][44]

“Ipaubaya natin ang kasaysayan sa mga propesor, sa mga nag-aaral tungkol sa kasaysayan ng Pilipinas. Kami hindi namin trabaho yun. Ang trabaho namin ay tingnan kung ano ba ang pangangailangan ng taong bayan ngayon.” (Let us leave history to the professors, to those who study the history of the Philippines. It is not our job. Our job is to look at what the people need at present.)

In response, over 500 faculty, staff and history professors from Ateneo de Manila University released the following statement:[45][46][47][48][49]

“In response to Ferdinand “Bongbong” Romualdez Marcos, Jr.’s call that teachers and students of history should make a judgment about the Marcos administration, we, the undersigned members of the Ateneo de Manila community, vehemently oppose and condemn the ongoing willful distortion of our history. We deplore the shameless refusal to acknowledge the crimes of the Martial Law regime. We reject the revision of history, disturbing vision of the future, and shallow call for “unity” being presented by Marcos Jr. and like-minded candidates in the 2016 elections.

The Marcos regime’s economics of debt-driven growth was disastrous for the Philippines. The regime was not interested in inclusive development, long-term state-building, nor genuine social transformation of the country, despite its “New Society” rhetoric. Instead, Marcos was mainly concerned with perpetuating his personal hold on power by favoring family members, friends, and other cronies. Thus, Marcos simply created new elites or “oligarchs” rather than abolish them — supposedly one of his main justifications for declaring martial law. Those who dared challenge the regime’s monopoly on power, whether politicians, business people, political activists, organized labor, peasants or urban poor, Church workers, students — young or old, rich or poor — were intimidated, imprisoned, kidnapped, tortured or summarily executed.

We refuse to forget the atrocities committed by the Marcos regime, and we renew our demand that the perpetrators of these crimes be brought to justice. We also reiterate our position that the government should relentlessly pursue and reclaim all the ill-gotten wealth accumulated by the Marcos family and its cronies. Moreover, victims and their families should be given justice and compensation in full. Any call for unity, most especially from the heirs of the Marcos regime which bitterly divided the country, will be empty and meaningless unless truth and justice are upheld.”

To this, Marcos replied: “…people have their own opinion; they have the right to their opinion. We’ll agree to disagree, I guess.”[50]

On March 7, 2016, more than 1,400 Catholic Schools through the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) joined the call of the Ateneo faculty through a statement titled “CEAP Supports Call Against Marcosian Snares and Imeldific Lies.” In it, they stated:[51][52]

“The Trustees of the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines, representing the 1,425 CEAP member-schools, colleges, and universities, support the faculty of the Ateneo de Manila University in their call against the attempt of Ferdinand Marcos Jr to canonize the harrowing horrors of martial rule,”

“With the same fervor, we cry our hearts out, ‘Never Again!’”

Personal life

He is married to Louise Cacho Araneta, with 3 sons: Ferdinand Alexander III (born 1994), Joseph Simon (born 1995) and William Vincent (born 1997).

References

  1. “1,400 Catholic schools slam ‘Marcos snares, Imeldific lies'”. ABS-CBN News. March 8, 2016.