Takes his oath as chair and standard bearer of Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP)
(Eagle News) — Former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., announced on Tuesday, Oct. 5, that he will run for president in the 2022 elections.
“I am today announcing my intention to run for the presidency of the Philipines in the upcoming May 2022 elections,” said the 64-year-old Marcos who ran for vice-president in the 2016 elections.
He joins a growing field of contenders seeking to succeed the President Rodrigo Duterte whose term of office ends next year.
Marcos Jr. — who has defended President Rodrigo Duterte’s controversial drug war and supported the death penalty for traffickers — declared his candidacy in a Facebook Live broadcast.
“I will bring… unifying leadership back to our country.”
Marcos Jr was in second place behind Duterte’s daughter, Sara, in a recent PulseAsia Research survey of voter preference for president, though she has denied plans to run.
He said that amid the COVID-19 pandemic, “we must face the challenge as one, as one country, as one people.”
“I know that it’s this manner of unifying leadership that can lead us through this crisis, get our people safely back to work for all of us to begin to live our lives once again.”
He appealed to Filipinos to join together so the nation could recover from the pandemic.
“Sama-sama tayong babangon muli (We will rise up from this together),” he said.
-Standard bearer of PFP party-
The former senator and vice-presidential candidate took his oath as member and the new chairman of the party, Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) on Tuesday, Oct. 5, the party’s third year anniversary.
He is also the declared standard bearer of the party.
Boxing champ Senator Manny Pacquiao and Manila mayor Francisco Domagoso — who is more known for his screen name Isko Moreno — have also confirmed they will run for president in 2022.
Marcos Jr., narrowly lost the vice-presidency to Leni Robredo. He is however still contesting the 2016 poll results.
Losing the election was a blow for the Marcos family, which had gone into exile in the United States after the patriarch’s downfall in 1986.
(with a report from Agence France-Presse)