Marcos hopes Filipinos see sincerity in government efforts

MANILA, Philippines —  President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has expressed hope that Filipinos will realize that the government is “sincere” in its efforts to make the country better.

In the season finale of the “Unshaken With Gary V” podcast, which aired Monday, Marcos had a two-hour candid conversation with Filipino music icon Gary Valenciano about his childhood, the period when the Marcos family was exiled to Hawaii, and his eventual election as president.

Toward the end of the podcast, Valenciano asked Marcos what words of encouragement he would like to give the public.

READ: Bongbong Marcos gets ‘Unshaken’ in rare sit-down with Gary Valenciano

“Well, I just hope that people realize that, and people know, and that people feel that what we are doing is right, that what we’re doing is for the better, and to understand that at least I, the people around me, we are sincere in trying to make this country better,” he responded.

“We are not working to make ourselves, to make pasikat, to show off. We’re working… What we do is because we think it’s the best thing for Filipinos and for the Philippines,” the president added.

Marcos said he wants Filipinos to believe that, as head of the nation, he is doing what he perceives “in his heart of hearts” is best for the country.

Meanwhile, the president said he feels “blessed” to have been given the “greatest privilege” of being able to help those in need.

“I get to help millions of people. And come on, how lucky can you get, right? To be able to help many people. That for me is still, talagang I cannot believe that I have that capability. I’m able to do that,” he said.

“And I still, there are many times I still say, I can’t believe that I got this lucky. I can’t believe that people trust me this much. I cannot believe that I can do the things that I can do as President to make life better for other people,” Marcos said.

Objectivity

Valenciano also asked Marcos about his personal life, including what he hopes his children will inherit from him.

“What I hope they inherit from me is the ability to be objective. I’ve always followed the advice — don’t make any decisions if you’re too sad, too happy, too anything. It’s just whatever, never trust your first instincts,” he responded.

“Maybe the one thing that they shouldn’t get from me is being too much like that, being too cold and calculating. That’s maybe, that’s why Liza and I balance each other quite well because I tend towards that, and she tends towards being more listening to her emotions more. I distrust emotions sometimes and maybe that’s not such a great thing, but I’ve grown up that way,” Marcos responded.

READ: Marcos recalls ‘biggest earthquake’in his life: Hawaii exile

What he needed to unlearn

Meanwhile, the president also shared that one thing he needed to unlearn was the notion that he is not the center of everything.

“The world does not revolve around you. That was that for me. Because when you’re a kid, especially a president’s child, the world revolves around you. Everybody around you is trying to please you. Everybody around you is worried, is making sipsip or being nice or whatever, you know,” he said.

“Maybe they’re just sincere and they just like you. But you learn, for me, that’s what maturity is, is to understand that the world does not revolve around you. You know, if you do well in the world, you know, there’s an element of luck in there, you’re blessed,” he added. /das