Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. may have been bashed at the vice presidential debate on Sunday, but he saw no reason to hold grudges and even described the event as “fun.”
“Masaya, masaya yung debate kagabi. Okay naman, masaya dahil masaya yung sagutan. Pero I think, more importantly, kaysa yung mga deba-debate na directed sa isang kandidato, I think more importantly, para sa akin, at least kahit papano meron tayong nasabi na ating mga programa na ating mga binabalak kapag tayo’y bibigyan ng pagkakaton na magsilbi,” he told reporters on Monday.
The son and namesake of the late dictator said the tirades against him were a “standard political strategy” of his rivals.
READ: Cayetano presses Marcos on corruption
“Alam mo that is a standard political strategy; ‘pag gusto mong gumanda ang numbers mo, e you attack the one who is leading. So ganyan naman talaga. Expected ko naman ‘yan e, kaya’t hindi ako nagugulat. So I hope that we can raise the level of discussion higher than what it was and bring it to the programs and the projects that we plan to do in the next administration,” he said.
Marcos was heckled during his opening remarks at the debate, and rival Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano also criticized him on the issues of corruption and human rights abuses, especially during the time of his father.
READ: Heckling started even before Bongbong Marcos spoke
But despite this, Marcos believed that the attacks were “constructive” and said he does not take the attacks against him personally.
“Wala naman akong sama ng loob sa kanya, pero biglang nagkaroon siya ng maraming sama ng loob sa akin na hindi naman niya sinasabi sa anim na taon kaming magkapartido. Sa anim na taon kaming magkasama sa Senado, wala naman siyang sinasabi tungkol dyan. I just put it down to politics. I hope that even after the elections e maisantabi na namin yung politika at bumalik kami sa dati naming pagsasama,” he said.
Marcos has secured the solo lead in the latest Social Weather Stations survey conducted from March 30 to April 2, with results released on Monday. He is on the top spot with 26 percent, while Sen. Francis Escudero, whom he used to share a spot with, was at 21 percent. JE
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