Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
MANILA, Philippines — Presidential candidate former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. was asked on Saturday in the presidential interview of Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI) if he was a Machiavellian.
Marcos, who did not answer the question categorically at first, said: ”Am I Machiavellian? Well, I’ve studied him quite thoroughly, and I know very many Machiavellians in my life.”
Merriam-Webster dictionary defines Machiavellian as “marked by cunning, duplicity, or bad faith.” The word comes from the surname of Niccolò Machiavelli who wrote the political treatise “The Prince.”
Professor Clarita Carlos, one of the panelists who posed the question, clarified that she meant “Machiavellian in terms of taking every means to produce an end, not the other Machiavellian.”
“Certainly, we have to be aware of everything that is going to help whatever it is that you are hoping to achieve. And on the national scale, that means you have to understand very well what the situation is on the ground,” Marcos answered.
He continued: “I suppose in the same sense… it’s a way of being careful, and being very, very knowledgeable about what are the things that have to come into play, so that you will achieve success — whatever that success, however you define that success. So in that sense, ma’am, yes I am a Machiavellian.”
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