MANILA (Bloomberg): Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Saturday visited Naga City, where he took part in an event attended by his former rival and now local mayor Leni Robredo.
While the two leaders spoke, they did not discuss forming a political alliance for the 2028 elections, Marcos said.
"The most political thing I did today is I wore my pink socks, in honor of Mayor Leni,” the president said at a briefing, alluding to the color used in Robredo’s political campaign in 2022. "Service first before politics.”
Marcos inspected a flood mitigation project in the city now under Robredo’s administration.
The president said his visit to the area had been planned months ago, and wasn’t in response to the declaration earlier this week by his vice president and current political nemesis, Sara Duterte, that she will vie for the presidency in the next elections.
Duterte’s announcement has spurred speculation about possible political alliances in the presidential poll.
Considered a frontrunner to succeed Marcos - who’s constitutionally mandated to step down in 2028 after serving a six-year term - Duterte’s relationship with the president has deteriorated because of growing policy differences and increased personal attacks.
The vice president, daughter of detained former President Rodrigo Duterte, enjoys stronger public-support ratings than Marcos, whose popularity has declined in recent months due to a massive corruption scandal.
Mayor Robredo, meanwhile, still has political influence, with two senate candidates aligned with her outperforming in last year’s midterm vote.
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