MANILA, Philippines — Former Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. confirmed on Wednesday that he was considering running for president in the 2022 elections.
“I feel that at least it’s a possibility. It’s certainly part of the plan. The presidency is not taken off the table by any means,” Marcos said in an online forum organized by the Anvil Business Club.
According to Marcos, he’s considering aiming for the presidency because many of his supporters prefer him to do that rather than running as vice president.
“In fact, if you look at the surveys, I do better in the presidential survey than the vice presidential survey. So that’s a common sentiment — that many of our supporters want me to run for the presidency,” Marcos said.
“That’s the reason why I’m even considering it. The support is there,” he went on, speaking partly in Filipino. “It seems there are people who will help us and support us. These are the elements you have to determine in order to decide,” he added.
He also revealed that there were political parties willing to back him if he would run for president but would withdraw support if would run for vice president.
Asked when he would reveal his final plans, Marcos replied that he would take as much time as he would need to come up with the best decision.
Marcos also confirmed that he was indeed in talks with the split factions of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino–Lakas ng Bayan (PDP–Laban), as Sen. Imee Marcos, his sister, said.
“In truth, we talk to everybody. All of them are my friends, anyway. I’ve worked with them. We’ve been together. Even the opposing party, we still talk,” he said. “The senator is right. We are talking to the factions and others besides.”
However, Marcos said he has yet to decide under which political party he would be running.
The filing of candidacy in the 2022 elections will start in the first week of October.
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