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Imelda Marcos disappointed Bongbong only aiming for VP
By ROSEMARIE FRANCISCO, Reuters
(UPDATED 8:03 p.m.) Former first lady Imelda Marcos is disappointed that her son has set his sights on winning the vice presidency in next year's elections, wishing instead he would follow his late father's footsteps into the presidential palace.
Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., the only son of the late dictator with the same name who ruled in the Philippines for almost two decades, said this week he would run for vice president, though he has yet to find a running mate.
"As to my mother, yes, she was disappointed," Marcos, 58, told reporters on Wednesday.
"She's wanted me to become president since I was three years old. Imagine how disappointed she is."
The elder Ferdinand Marcos was forced from power in 1986 and died in exile in 1989. Imelda, 86, is currently a member of the House of Representatives.
Imelda Marcos was not immediately available for comment. She has spoken of her pride in her son and how she would be even more proud if he sought the highest position in the land.
More than 54 million Filipinos will vote for a new president, vice president, and about 18,000 lawmakers and local government officials in the May elections.
Investors are closely watching the succession in one of Asia's fastest growing economies, hoping nothing will derail gains made during President Benigno Aquino's rule.
The British-educated younger Marcos, who has been a legislator and a local government executive for nearly half his life, said whatever office he gained was a "question of destiny."
"The time was just not right to run for president," he said.
But with ratings in the single digits, his decision not to run for the top job was also perhaps a realistic one.
Politics in the Philippines has long been dominated by families and clans, as well as film and sports stars.
Marcos said historians would judge his father's rule and voters today wanted good public servants. He also said he stood to benefit from his famous name.
"Being a Marcos has only given me an advantage I wouldn't have if I wasn't a Marcos," he said. "In politics, it is very clear, of course, name recognition is important."
Higher goal
Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., the only son of the late dictator with the same name who ruled in the Philippines for almost two decades, said this week he would run for vice president, though he has yet to find a running mate.
"As to my mother, yes, she was disappointed," Marcos, 58, told reporters on Wednesday.
"She's wanted me to become president since I was three years old. Imagine how disappointed she is."
The elder Ferdinand Marcos was forced from power in 1986 and died in exile in 1989. Imelda, 86, is currently a member of the House of Representatives.
Imelda Marcos was not immediately available for comment. She has spoken of her pride in her son and how she would be even more proud if he sought the highest position in the land.
More than 54 million Filipinos will vote for a new president, vice president, and about 18,000 lawmakers and local government officials in the May elections.
Investors are closely watching the succession in one of Asia's fastest growing economies, hoping nothing will derail gains made during President Benigno Aquino's rule.
The British-educated younger Marcos, who has been a legislator and a local government executive for nearly half his life, said whatever office he gained was a "question of destiny."
"The time was just not right to run for president," he said.
But with ratings in the single digits, his decision not to run for the top job was also perhaps a realistic one.
Politics in the Philippines has long been dominated by families and clans, as well as film and sports stars.
Marcos said historians would judge his father's rule and voters today wanted good public servants. He also said he stood to benefit from his famous name.
"Being a Marcos has only given me an advantage I wouldn't have if I wasn't a Marcos," he said. "In politics, it is very clear, of course, name recognition is important."
Higher goal
Imelda was not immediately available for comment. She has spoken of her pride in her son and how she would be even more proud if he sought the highest position in the land.
But the vice presidency is a step towards the higher goal of the presidency, and with Marcos' ratings at single digits in latest pre-election surveys, his decision not to run for the top job was also perhaps a realistic one.
Some still see Marcos as a beacon of hope who will continue in his father's footsteps.
"Marcos' laws back then were okay during (the period of) martial law. It was better for the Philippines because of what his father did when he declared martial law," said seaman Gilbert Mact, who recalled how there was a very low crime rate when the Philippines was under more than a decade of martial law.
For 19-year-old college student Dennis Betito, who never experienced martial law but heard of the countless human rights violations from history books, felt another Marcos running for a higher post might just be a repeat of history.
"He clearly has justified his father's actions as the president and as a dictator of the Philippines during the martial law era, and if he was able to justify what his father did during his term, Bongbong Marcos (Ferdinand Marcos Jr.) might be able to do the same to get away with, like, human rights violations and stuff like that, and justify it if he does it while he's the vice president, so I don't think he should be the vice president for the Philippines," he said.
Marcos is the fifth candidate for vice president after congresswoman Leni Robredo and senator Francis Escudero. Two other senators from Marcos' party Nacionalista Party had also announced decisions to run without a standard bearer.
Politics in the Philippines is a multi-party system long dominated by powerful clans, as well as film and sports stars.
The election next May is viewed as a potential risk by investors worried over political succession and sustainability of reforms in one of Asia's fastest growing economies.
Marcos hopes voters, comprised two-fifths of students and young professionals born in the 1980s after the martial law period imposed by his father and with no memory of atrocities during that time, will carry him to win in the May polls. — Reuters
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