MANILA: President Ferdinand Marcos Jr (pic) considers himself the “luckiest person” for having been born into the Marcos family.
He made the remark in response to a question in Part 2 of the BBM Podcast Episode 6, which aired on Thursday (Dec 11): Did you ever wish you had been born into a different family?
“Oh my gosh. Do…would I want to have been born into another family? Absolutely not. I still consider myself the luckiest person I know,” Marcos said.
“I don’t know anyone luckier than I am because that’s the kind of father I had, and that’s the kind of mother I have. That was my experience, because in every experience — even the ones you don’t enjoy — you still learn something,” he continued.
His namesake and former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr died on Sept 28, 1989, in Hawaii, where he was exiled. He was 72.
Former First Lady Imelda Marcos, now 96, is sometimes seen attending some of the President’s activities. She was present at the reopening of the Philippine International Convention Center last September.
Marcos recalled how his parents seemed to be disappointed when he initially had no intention of entering politics.
“I really did not want to enter politics, and my parents were a bit disappointed in me because, you know, I’m their only son — but I really, really did not want to. I really, really didn’t,” he said.
He added that he wanted a quiet life, but life took him down a different path.
“You can’t predict it. That’s how I ended up here. Not that I regret anything of it. I do not regret one day,” the President said.
Marcos also admitted that he misses a good night’s sleep, something he rarely achieves since assuming the presidency.
Marcos also shared how he disciplines his three children and how he sets himself as a role model for them.
“That’s one thing I truly believe in: that you teach by example. From my own experience, all the things I learned from my father weren’t like, sit here, today’s lesson is this, that, and that,” he said.
“Nothing like that. I just observed what he did. Sometimes I would ask him, Why is it like that? Why this? Why that person, and not this one?’ And he would answer me,” he continued.
Moreover, the President was asked whether there was anything he would have done differently compared with the decisions made by his father, the longest-serving president of the Philippines.
“We don’t do things the same way anymore. You shouldn’t be doing the same things as you were doing in 1975 or 1980,” he responded.
“This is a different different world. And every day we spend hours with my advisers thinking, think out of the box. Stop thinking the same old way. It doesn’t work anymore,” he added.
Marcos also expressed hope for reforms that would benefit Filipinos long after his term ends.
“I think the basic thing that I learned from my father is don’t stop. If you believe in something that you’re doing for the country, for your people do not stop,” he said.
“You will have to sacrifice. Work is like that. You will have to sacrifice. You will be hurt. You will have to make sacrifices but don’t stop. You will fail. You have to stand up again. Don’t stop. Don’t stop. Don’t stop,” he pointed out. - Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
