Marcos describes successor: Exceptional, nation-builder
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. —SCREENGRAB FROM BONGBONG MARCOS/FACEBOOK
MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday said he is keen on endorsing someone who has done “exceptional” service in government as his candidate for president in 2028.
“So you look at people in government and you see who is doing well, who is exceptional. And we have, I’m glad to say, exceptional people in government,” he said in an interview with broadcaster Rico Hizon during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Editors and Economic Opinion Leaders Forum in Makati.
Marcos said his successor should be someone who understands economics, creates jobs and keep inflation rates down, understands the food supply systems, and thinks about productivity.
Patriotism not enough
In essence, the candidate should be someone who is “actually thinking about not politics, but how to make the country better.”
“We need to have nation builders. People who want to make the Philippines better. People who actually love the Philippines and love Filipinos, and want to make things better,” he added, saying that patriotism alone will be insufficient to run the country’s affairs.
The next president must be able to work with the private sector, and has similar priorities as his administration, Marcos said.
“If we do not elect a like-minded president in 2028, all of these [reforms] will just go by the wayside,” he said.
When pressed by Hizon if he has narrowed down his shortlist to “two or three personalities,” Mr. Marcos said: “You’re going to get me into trouble.”
He did not give names, but said the administration and his political allies have been talking to a number of prospects. However, he admitted that “some” of them had already declined the overtures.
The President met with his former rival, Naga City Mayor Leni Robredo, during a visit to the city last Saturday, fueling talk about a possible alliance following Vice President Sara Duterte’s declaration to run for president in 2028.
But Marcos and Robredo said they did not discuss politics. /cb
