AFTER a hot campaign trail, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr., son and namesake of the former president, was sworn in today as the country’s 17th Chief Executive.
In his inaugural address, President Marcos pointed how the nation went through times of bitter division. “But united we came through to this when we shall begin again. But better.”
“I’ve listened to you and this is what I have heard. We all want peace in our land. You and your children want a chance at a better hope in a safer and more prosperous country,” he pointed to an adoring crowd that gathered at the historic National Museum of Fine Arts in Manila.
“All that is within reach of a hard-working, warm and giving race. Your dreams are mine. Ang pangarap n’yo ay pangarap ko,” Marcos declared.
The then-28-year-old Marcos Jr. and his family left the Philippines in 1986 amid a bloodless revolution that forced his father, Marcos, Sr. out of power.
Today, 36 years after, the son mounts a political comeback for the family as the younger Marcos was elected by an overwhelming majority of during the May 9 elections, where he garnered 31,629,783 votes to defeat then-Vice President Leni Robredo and other presidential aspirants.