Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. was heckled by some audience members right before he could give his speech during the opening of the lone vice presidential debate sanctioned by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Sunday.
The heckling stopped Marcos from delivering his speech, and host Pinky Webb asked the unruly audience members to be escorted out of the venue.
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The hecklers chanted “Never again, never again to martial law!”
After the five hecklers were escorted out of the venue, Marcos answered the question on what will describe his term as vice president.
The namesake of the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos said that under his term as vice president, he will not engage in politicking.
“Ang kinakailangan natin ay mga lider na hindi namumulitika lamang,” Marcos said.
“Ang kailangan na lider ay tapat sa pagsilbi. Ang kailangan nating lider ay iuuna ang kapakanan ng marami,” he added.
Marcos also emphasized his record as a legislator and as an executive as a former Ilocos Norte governor.
“Nandiyan po ang aming record. Nasa record ko, maliwanag na maliwanag na ‘yan ang sinundan ko—na magiging totoo sa pagsilbi sa taong bayan at sa ang kapakanan ng marami bago ang sarili,” he said.
Meanwhile, interviewed outside the Quadricentennial Pavillion, the hecklers, who are members of Youth Alliance Against the Return of the Marcoses Alliance (YAARMA), said that Filipinos should be alarmed that Marcos seemed to turn a blind eye to the supposed horrors of his father’s dictatorship.
“Ibig sabihin po na hindi niya nakikita ang kadiliman ng martial law. Dapat maalarma ang mga mamayan na maupo na hindi malayo na maging presidente. Maaaring maulit ang martial law. Marami siyang kasalanan sa taong bayan. Baikan nila ang kasaysayan. Malagim ang panahon ng martial law kaya ayaw nating balikan ito,” YAARMA spokesperson Lloyd Magsoy said.
The vice presidential debate, hosted by CNN Philippines and Business Mirror, is underway as of this writing. JE