Bongbong Marcos facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Bongbong Marcos
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Official portrait, 2023
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| 17th President of the Philippines | |
| Assumed office June 30, 2022 |
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| Vice President | Sara Duterte |
| Preceded by | Rodrigo Duterte |
| Secretary of Agriculture | |
| In office June 30, 2022 – November 3, 2023 |
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| President | Himself |
| Preceded by | William Dar |
| Succeeded by | Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. |
| Senator of the Philippines | |
| In office June 30, 2010 – June 30, 2016 |
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| Member of the House of Representatives from Ilocos Norte's 2nd district | |
| In office June 30, 2007 – June 30, 2010 |
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| Preceded by | Imee Marcos |
| Succeeded by | Imelda Marcos |
| In office June 30, 1992 – June 30, 1995 |
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| Preceded by | Mariano Nalupta Jr. |
| Succeeded by | Simeon Valdez |
| Governor of Ilocos Norte | |
| In office June 30, 1998 – June 30, 2007 |
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| Preceded by | Rodolfo Fariñas |
| Succeeded by | Michael Marcos Keon |
| In office March 23, 1983 – February 25, 1986 |
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| Preceded by | Elizabeth Keon |
| Succeeded by | Castor Raval (OIC) |
| Vice Governor of Ilocos Norte | |
| In office June 30, 1980 – March 23, 1983 |
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| Governor | Elizabeth Keon |
| Preceded by | Antonio Lazo |
| Chairman of Partido Federal ng Pilipinas | |
| Assumed office October 5, 2021 |
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| President | Reynaldo Tamayo Jr. |
| Preceded by | Abubakar Mangelen |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr.
September 13, 1957 Santa Mesa, Manila, Philippines |
| Political party | Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (2021–present) |
| Other political affiliations |
Nacionalista (2009–2021) Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (1978–2009) |
| Spouse |
Louise Araneta
(m. 1993) |
| Children | 3, including Sandro |
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| Relatives | Marcos family |
| Residences | |
| Education | Worth School (secondary) |
| Alma mater |
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| Signature |  |
Ferdinand "Bongbong" Romualdez Marcos Jr. ( born September 13, 1957), commonly referred to by the initials PBBM or BBM, is a Filipino politician who is the 17th and current president of the Philippines. He previously served as a senator from 2010 to 2016. He is the second child and only son of tenth president, kleptocrat and dictator Ferdinand Marcos and former first lady Imelda Marcos.
In 2024, Time magazine listed him as one of the world's 100 most influential people.
Contents
- Early life and education
- Roles in the Marcos regime
- EDSA revolution and exile (1986–1991)
- Return to the Philippines and later activities (1991–present)
- Presidency (2022–present)
- Personal life
- See also
Early life and education
Bongbong Marcos was born as Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. on September 13, 1957, at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Santa Mesa, Manila, Philippines, to Ferdinand Marcos and Imelda Marcos. At the time of his birth, his father Ferdinand was the representative for the second district of Ilocos Norte, eventually becoming a senator just two years later. His godfathers included prominent personalities and future Marcos cronies Eduardo "Danding" Cojuangco Jr. and pharmaceuticals magnate Jose Yao Campos.
Education
Marcos first studied at the Institución Teresiana in Quezon City and La Salle Green Hills in Mandaluyong, where he obtained his kindergarten and elementary education, respectively.
In 1970, Marcos was sent to England where he lived and studied at Worth School, an all-boys Benedictine institution in West Sussex. He was studying there when his father declared martial law throughout the Philippines in 1972.
Marcos attended the Center for Research and Communication, where he took a special diploma course in economics, but did not finish. He then enrolled at St Edmund Hall, Oxford to study philosophy, politics and economics (PPE). However, despite his false claims that he graduated with a bachelor of arts in PPE, he did not obtain such a degree. Marcos had passed philosophy, but failed economics, and failed politics twice, thus making him ineligible for a degree. Instead, he received a special diploma in social studies, which was awarded mainly to non-graduates and is currently no longer offered by the university. Marcos still falsely claims that he obtained a degree from the University of Oxford despite Oxford confirming in 2015 that Marcos did not finish his degree.
Marcos enrolled in the Masters in Business Administration program at the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia, United States, which he failed to complete. Marcos asserts that he withdrew from the program for his election as Vice Governor of Ilocos Norte in 1980. The Presidential Commission on Good Government later reported that his tuition, his US$10,000 (₱492,500 in 2024) monthly allowance, and the estate he lived in while studying at Wharton, were paid using funds that could be traced partly to the intelligence funds of the Office of the President, and partly to some of the fifteen bank accounts that the Marcoses had secretly opened in the US under assumed names.
Early public roles
Marcos was thrust into the national limelight as early as when he was three years old, and the scrutiny became even more intense when his father first ran for President of the Philippines in 1965, when he was eight years old.
During his father's 1965 campaign, Marcos played himself in the Sampaguita Pictures film Iginuhit ng Tadhana: The Ferdinand E. Marcos Story, a biopic based on the novel For Every Tear a Victory. The young Marcos was portrayed giving a speech towards the end of the film, in which he says that he would like to be a politician when he grows up. The public relations value of the film is credited for having helped the elder Marcos win the 1965 Philippine elections.
Marcos was still a minor on the exact year that martial law was declared. Marcos turned 18 in 1975—a year after he graduated from Worth School.
Roles in the Marcos regime
Vice governorship and governorship in Ilocos Norte
Marcos's first formal role in a political office came with his election as Vice Governor of Ilocos Norte (1980–1983) at the age of 22. On March 23, 1983, he was installed as the Governor of Ilocos Norte, replacing his aunt Elizabeth Marcos-Keon, who had resigned from the post for health reasons. In 1983, he led a group of young Filipino leaders on a 10-day diplomatic mission to China to mark the tenth anniversary of Philippine-Chinese relations. He stayed in office until the People Power Revolution in 1986.
Chairmanship of PHILCOMSAT Board
Marcos was appointed by his father to be chairman of the board of the Philippine Communications Satellite Corporation (PHILCOMSAT) in early 1985. In a prominent example of what Finance Minister Jaime Ongpin later branded "crony capitalism", the Marcos administration had sold its majority shares to Marcos cronies such as Roberto S. Benedicto, Manuel H. Nieto, Jose Yao Campos, and Rolando Gapud in 1982, despite being very profitable because of its role as the sole agent for the Philippines' link to global satellite network Intelsat. President Marcos acquired a 39.9% share in the company through front companies under Campos and Gapud. This allowed President Marcos to appoint his son as the chairman of the Philcomsat board in early 1985, allowing the young Marcos to draw a monthly salary "ranging from US$9,700 to US$97,000" (₱477,725 to ₱4,777,250 in 2024) despite rarely visiting the office and having no duties there. PHILCOMSAT was one of five telecommunications firms sequestered by the Philippine government in 1986.
Ill-gotten Marcos family wealth
After the Marcos family went into exile in 1986, the Presidential Commission on Good Government found that the three Marcos children benefited significantly from what the Supreme Court of the Philippines defined as "ill-gotten wealth" of the Marcos family.
Aside from the tuition, US$10,000.00 (₱492,500 in 2024) monthly allowance, and the estates used by Marcos Jr. and Imee Marcos during their respective studies at Wharton and Princeton, each of the Marcos children was assigned a mansion in the Metro Manila area, as well as in Baguio, the Philippines' designated summer capital. Properties specifically said to have been given to Marcos Jr. included the Wigwam House compound on Outlook Drive in Baguio and the Seaside Mansion Compound in Parañaque.
In addition, by the time their father was ousted from power in 1986, both Marcos Jr. and Imee held key posts in the Marcos administration. Imee was already thirty when she was appointed as the national head of the Kabataang Barangay in the late 1970s, and Marcos Jr. was in his twenties when he took up the vice-gubernatorial post for the province of Ilocos Norte in 1980, and then became governor of that province from 1983 until the Marcos family was ousted from Malacañang in 1986.
EDSA revolution and exile (1986–1991)
During the last days of the 1986 People Power Revolution, Bongbong Marcos, in combat fatigues to project his warlike stance, pushed his father Ferdinand Marcos to give the order to his remaining troops to attack and blow up Camp Crame despite the presence of hundreds of thousands of civilians there. The elder Marcos did not follow his son's urgings.
Fearful of a scenario in which Marcos's presence in the Philippines would lead to a civil war, the Reagan administration withdrew its support for the Marcos government, and flew Marcos and a party of about 80 individuals – the extended Marcos family and a number of close associates – from the Philippines to Hawaii despite Ferdinand Marcos's objections. Bongbong Marcos and his family were on the flight with his parents.
Soon after arriving in Hawaii, the younger Marcos participated in an attempt to withdraw US$200 million (₱9,849,999,999.96 in 2024) from a secret family bank account with Credit Suisse in Switzerland, an act which eventually led to the Swiss government freezing the Marcoses' bank accounts in late March that year.
The Marcoses initially stayed at Hickam Air Force Base at the expense of the U.S. government. A month after arriving in Honolulu, they moved into a pair of residences in Makiki Heights, Honolulu, which were registered to Marcos cronies Antonio Floirendo and Bienvenido and Gliceria Tantoco.
Ferdinand Marcos eventually died in exile three years later, in 1989, with Marcos Jr. being the only family member present at his father's deathbed.
Return to the Philippines and later activities (1991–present)
After his father's death in 1989, President Corazon Aquino permitted the return of the remaining members of the Marcos family to the Philippines to face various charges. Bongbong Marcos was among the first to return to the Philippines. He arrived in the country in 1991 and soon sought political office, beginning in the family's traditional fiefdom in Ilocos Norte.
House of Representatives, first term
After Marcos returned to the Philippines in 1991, Marcos ran for and was elected representative of the second district of Ilocos Norte to the Philippine House of Representatives (1992–1995). When his mother, Imelda Marcos, ran for president in the same election, he decided against supporting her candidacy, and instead expressed support for his godfather Danding Cojuangco. During his term, Marcos was the author of 29 House bills and co-author of 90 more, which includes those that paved the way for the creation of the Department of Energy and the National Youth Commission. He also allocated most of his Countryside Development Fund (CDF) to organizing the cooperatives of teachers and farmers in his home province. In October 1992, he led a group of ten representatives in attending the first sports summit in the Philippines, held in Baguio. In late 1994, he was made president of the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan party, which is known for its support for the Marcos regime.
In 1995, Marcos ran for the Senate under the NPC-led coalition but lost, placing only 16th.
Compromise deal attempt
In 1995, Bongbong Marcos pushed a deal to allow the Marcos family to keep a quarter of the estimated US$2 billion to US$10 billion (₱98,499,999,999.61 to ₱492,499,999,998.03 in 2024) that the Philippine government had still not recovered from them, on the condition that all civil cases be dropped – a deal that was eventually struck down by the Philippines' Supreme Court.
Ilocos Norte governor, second stint
Having previously served as Ilocos Norte governor from 1983 to 1986, Marcos was again elected as governor of Ilocos Norte in 1998, running against his father's closest friend and ally, Roque Ablan Jr. He served for three consecutive terms ending in 2007.
House of Representatives, second term
In 2007, Marcos ran unopposed for the congressional seat previously held by his older sister Imee. He was then appointed as deputy minority leader of the House of Representatives. During this term, Marcos supported the passage of the Philippine Archipelagic Baselines Law, or Republic Act No. 9522. He also wrote his own version of the law, but the bill only remained in the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. He also promoted the Republic Act No. 9502 (Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicines Act) which was enacted on 2009.
Senate career
Marcos made a second attempt for the Senate in 2010. On November 20, 2009, the KBL forged an alliance with the Nacionalista Party (NP) between Marcos and NP chair Senator Manny Villar at the Laurel House in Mandaluyong. Marcos became a guest senatorial candidate of the NP through this alliance. Marcos was later removed as a member by the KBL National Executive Committee on November 23, 2009. As such, the NP broke its alliance with the KBL due to internal conflicts within the party, however Marcos remained part of the NP senatorial lineup. He was proclaimed as one of the winning senatorial candidates of the 2010 senate elections. He took office on June 30, 2010.
In the 15th Congress (2010–2013), Marcos authored 34 Senate bills. He also co-authored 17 bills of which seven were enacted into law.
In the 16th Congress (2013–2016), Marcos filed 52 bills, of which 28 were refiled from the 15th Congress. One of them was enacted into law: Senate Bill No. 1186, which sought the postponement of the 2013 Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections, was enacted as Republic Act No. 10632 on October 3, 2013.
Marcos also co-authored 4 Senate bills in the 16th Congress. One of them, Senate Bill No. 712 which was principally authored by Ralph Recto, was enacted as Republic Act No. 10645, the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010.
He was the chair of the Senate committees on urban planning, housing and resettlement, local government, and public works. He also chaired the oversight committee on the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Organic Act, the congressional oversight panel on the Special Purpose Vehicle Act, and a select oversight committee on barangay affairs.
2014 PDAF Pork Barrel Scam
In 2014, Bongbong Marcos was implicated by Janet Lim Napoles and Benhur Luy in the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) Pork Barrel scam through agent Catherine Mae "Maya" Santos. He allegedly channeled ₱100 million through 4 fake NGOs linked with Napoles. Marcos claimed that the large amounts of money was released by the budget department without his knowledge and that his signatures were forged. In connection to the PDAF scam, Marcos was also sued for plunder by iBalik ang Bilyones ng Mamamayan (iBBM), an alliance of youth organizations. The group cited Luy's digital files, which showed bogus NGOs with shady or non-existent offices.
2016 Commission on Audit suit
In 2016, Marcos was also sued for plunder for funneling ₱205 million of his PDAF via 9 special allotment release orders (SARO) to the following bogus foundations from October 2011 to January 2013, according to Luy's digital files:
- Social Development Program for Farmers Foundation (SDPFFI) – ₱15 million
- Countrywide Agri and Rural Economic Development Foundation (CARED) – ₱35 million
- People's Organization for Progress and Development Foundation (POPDFI) – ₱40 million
- Health Education Assistance Resettlement Training Services (HEARTS) – ₱10 million
- Kaupdanan Para Sa Mangunguma Foundation (KMFI) – ₱20 million
- National Livelihood Development Corporation (NLDC) – ₱100 million
These NGOs were found by the Commission on Audit (COA) as bogus with shady or non-existent offices.
2016 vice presidential campaign
On October 5, 2015, Marcos announced via his website that he would run for Vice President of the Philippines in the 2016 general election, stating "I have decided to run for vice president in the May 2016 elections." Marcos ran as an independent candidate. Prior to his announcement, he had declined an invitation by presidential candidate, Vice President Jejomar Binay, to become his running mate. On October 15, 2015, presidential candidate Miriam Defensor Santiago confirmed that Marcos would serve as her running mate.
Marcos placed second in the tightly contested vice presidential race losing to Camarines Sur 3rd district Representative Leni Robredo, who won by a margin of 263,473 votes, one of the closest since Fernando Lopez's victory in the 1965 vice presidential election.
Election results protest
Marcos challenged the results of the election, lodging an electoral protest against Leni Robredo on June 29, 2016, the day before Robredo's oathtaking. President Rodrigo Duterte has stated several times that he would resign if Marcos would be his successor instead of Vice President Leni Robredo.
A recount began in April 2018, covering polling precincts in Iloilo and Camarines Sur, which were areas handpicked by Marcos's camp. In October 2019, the tribunal found that Robredo's lead grew by around 15,000 votes – a total of 278,566 votes from Robredo's original lead of 263,473 votes – after a recount of ballots from the 5,415 clustered precincts in Marcos's identified pilot provinces. On February 16, 2021, the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET) unanimously dismissed Bongbong Marcos's electoral protest against Leni Robredo.
2022 presidential campaign and election
Marcos officially launched his campaign for president of the Philippines on October 5, 2021, through a video post on Facebook and YouTube. An interview with his wife Liza Marcos revealed that he decided to run for president while watching the film Ant-Man, though Marcos admitted that he could not recall this moment. He ran under the banner of the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas party, assuming chairmanship of the party on the same day, while also being endorsed by his former party, the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan. Marcos filed his certificate of candidacy before the Commission on Elections the following day. On November 16, Marcos announced his running mate to be Davao City mayor Sara Duterte, daughter of President Rodrigo Duterte. Under the campaign theme of unity, Marcos and Duterte's alliance was given the name "UniTeam".
Seven petitions were filed against Marcos's presidential bid. Three petitions aimed to cancel Marcos's certificate of candidacy (COC), one petition aimed to declare Marcos a nuisance candidate, and three petitions aim to disqualify him. Most petitions are based on Marcos's 1995 conviction for failing to file tax returns. Three disqualification petitions were consolidated and raffled to the commission's first division, while three other petitions were handed to the second division. The final petition was also handed to the first division. Marcos dismissed the petitions as nuisance petitions with no legal basis and propaganda against him.
Marcos regularly maintained a wide lead in presidential surveys throughout the months leading up to the May 2022 election; he was the first presidential candidate in the country to attain poll ratings of over 50% from surveys conducted by Pulse Asia since it began polling in 1999. His refrainment from attending all but one of the presidential debates during the campaign season was widely criticized.
In a joint session of the 18th Congress of the Philippines, overseen by Senate President Tito Sotto and House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco and stated by Senate Majority Leader Migz Zubiri and Majority Floor Leader Martin Romualdez, Marcos was proclaimed the president-elect of the Philippines on May 25, 2022, alongside his running-mate, Vice-President-elect Sara Duterte. Marcos received 31,629,783 votes, or 58.77% of the total votes cast, about 16.5 million votes ahead of his closest rival, Vice President Leni Robredo, who received over 15 million votes. He became the first presidential candidate to be elected by a majority since the establishment of the Fifth Republic in 1986. According to analysts, Marcos, together with Sara Duterte, "inherited" Rodrigo Duterte's popularity when they both won landslides in the election. Historians noted the significance of his victory as a "full circle" of the Philippines from the People Power Revolution, which deposed his father from the presidency, thus marking the Marcos family's return to national power after 36 years. His majority was the largest since 1981 (surpassing his father's 18,309,360 votes); as the opposition boycotted that election, it is the largest majority since 1969 for a competitive election, and his 31-percentage point margin over his nearest opponent was the greatest since Ramon Magsaysay scored a 38-point margin over incumbent President Elpidio Quirino in 1953. His vote count was not only the largest ever recorded in a presidential election, but close to the sum total of the two previous records combined.
On June 20, 2022, Marcos announced that he will serve as the Secretary of Agriculture in concurrent capacity.
Presidency (2022–present)
| Presidential styles of Bongbong Marcos |
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| Reference style | President Marcos Jr., His Excellency |
| Spoken style | Your Excellency |
| Alternative style | Mr. President |
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Early actions
On June 30, 2022, at 12:00 noon PST, Marcos Jr. took the oath of office as the 17th President of the Philippines at the National Museum of the Philippines and was administered the oath by Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo. At concurrent capacity, Marcos appointed himself as Secretary of Agriculture, in order to address inflation and personally monitor the food and agricultural sectors, while enacting efforts to boost farm outputs through various loan programs, affordable pricing measures, and machinery assistance. Marcos's first executive order as president were abolishing two offices: the Presidential Anti Corruption Commission and the Office of the Cabinet Secretary.
The next day after his inauguration, Marcos signed a memorandum seeking to provide free train rides to students, and extends the free rides of the EDSA Carousel until the end of December 2022. Twelve days later, on July 13, 2022, Marcos announced that the free train rides will only be limited to students using the LRT Line 2, due to the line's access points to the University Belt.
Two days after his inauguration, on July 2, 2022, Marcos vetoed a bill sponsored by his sister Senator Imee Marcos that aimed to create a free economic zone within New Manila International Airport. Bongbong Marcos said that the bill would cite "substantial fiscal risks", lacked coherences with existing laws, and the proposed economic zone's location near the existing Clark Freeport and Special Economic Zone; Marcos also called for further studies in establishing the planned economic zone. On the same day, Marcos also ordered that the list of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program beneficiaries to be cleansed after receiving reports of unqualified beneficiaries receiving cash assistance grants and downturned calls to surrender their accounts.
On July 5, 2022, five days after his inauguration, Marcos held his first cabinet meeting, which was delayed during his inauguration, and laid out his first agenda, which primarily focuses on reviving the economy in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the meeting, Marcos led the discussions with his economic managers, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno, National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Felipe Medalla, to give a briefing about the country's economic status, and to lay out plans to further revive the country's economy, while combating inflation. Marcos also tackled issues regarding food security, transportation issues, and the reopening of face-to-face classes within the year. On July 23, 2022, Marcos has vetoed a bill which seeks to strengthen the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC), as he cited that several provisions of the bill are "inequitable".
On July 25, 2022, the same day of his first State of the Nation Address, Marcos allowed Republic Act No. 11900, known as the Vaporized Nicotine and Non-Nicotine Products Regulation Act to lapse into law. The law became controversial, due to the hounding health risks regarding the usage of electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products. In an effort to boost the country's booster shot campaign, Marcos launched the "PinasLakas" campaign to continue administering COVID-19 booster doses within the public, by targeting a total of at least 39 million Filipinos to get their booster shots.
Two days after his first State of the Nation Address, following a meeting with Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra, Presidential Legal Adviser Juan Ponce Enrile, Executive Secretary Vic Rodriguez, Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, and former presidential spokesman and lawyer Harry Roque on July 27, 2022, Marcos expressed that the Philippines has no intention of rejoining the International Criminal Court, as the death cases linked to the country's drug war of his predecessor's administration are already being investigated by the government, and stated that the government is taking the necessary steps regarding the deaths. On July 30, 2022, Marcos vetoed a bill which grants tax exemption on poll workers' honoraria and the creation of a transport safety board, stating that the honoraria "counters the objective of the government's Comprehensive Tax Reform Program", while mentioning that the proposed creation of a transport safety board "undertakes the functions by the different agencies" within the transport sector.
Domestic policy
Agriculture and agrarian reforms
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Subsequently serving as the Secretary of Agriculture, Marcos launched initiatives which aims to improve domestic agricultural output and production, while expanding measures to further establish a farm-to-market approach in providing agricultural products to local markets and far flung areas. In August 2022, as high sugar prices impacted the country due to the effects of Typhoon Odette in December 2021, the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) in August 2022 released an order to import 300,000 metric tons (660,000,000 lb) of sugar, which is aimed to reduce costs and increase the sugar stockpiles. A few days later, Marcos rejected the proposed importation, and Malacañang deemed the move as illegal, as the move was made without Marcos's approval, nor signed by him. SRA Undersecretary Leocadio Sebastian later apologized for the move and later resigned his post on Marcos; behalf, prompting SRA Administrator Hermenegildo Serafica and SRA board member Roland Beltran to follow suit a few days later. The move also caused Malacañang to instigate reforms within the SRA organization, and launched a campaign into alleged efforts of using the sugar order as a "cover measure" for hoarding by sugar traders.
In November 2022, Marcos expanded the Kadiwa Project launched by the Duterte administration, which aims to offer fresh local produces to local markets and other key areas in lower prices, and creates a direct farm-to-market approach of goods and services. The programs is located in various areas throughout the country and temporarily occupies various facilities owned by local governments. The move is also aimed to be expanded permanently to accommodate more consumers affected by inflation.
In January 2023, amid rising prices of onions in the country, Marcos approved the importation of 21,060 metric tons (46,430,000 lb) of onions to cater the gap caused by low local outputs, and stated that the government was "left without a choice" despite approving the smuggled onions to be supplied in local markets.
Marcos signed his fourth executive order on September 14, 2022, which establishes a one-year moratorium on the amortization and interest payments of agrarian reform beneficiaries. The move is seen to assist farmers from debt payments and allows a flexible approach in financial assistance.
In July 2023, Marcos signed the New Agrarian Emancipation Act, freeing at least 600,000 agrarian reform beneficiaries of decades-old debts worth ₱57-billion under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program.
After serving as Secretary of Agriculture for over a year that was marked by a rise in food prices, Marcos relinquished his position and appointed Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., president of a deep-sea fishing company and a donor to Marcos' 2022 presidential election campaign.
Defense
In August 2022, the Marcos administration said it was considering ordering helicopters from the United States military, such as the Boeing CH-47 Chinook, to replace the 16 Russian Mil Mi-17 military helicopters purchased by the Duterte administration, but cancelled the program a few days before the end of Duterte's term out of concerns about existing United States sanctions such as the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). Negotiations are also ongoing to procure limited units which was paid by the government to Rosoboronexport.
Marcos expressed support for the AFP Modernization Program, which aims to boost the country's defense capabilities. Stating that the country's external security situation is becoming "more complex and unpredictable", Marcos ordered the Armed Forces of the Philippines to shift its focus on its defense operations against external threats.
During the 125th-anniversary celebration of the Philippine Navy, Marcos announced plans to acquire the Philippines' first submarine. The French-based Naval Group, along with other contenders, has offered its Scorpène-class submarines to strengthen the Navy.
With an aim to enhance the country's defense capabilities, Marcos has approved the "Re-Horizon 3" of the AFP Modernization Program, which is also known as the RAFMP. The $35 billion plan revised modernization program will be spread out over 10 years and aims to modernize the Armed Forces of the Philippines based on the Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept (CADC), a defense concept aimed at strengthening the country's external defense deterrence by projecting power within the Philippine's 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone, Benham Rise, the Luzon Strait, and the Sulu Sea through inter-island defenses doctrines, multi-layered domain strategies, and long-range strike capabilities. The concept also aims to strengthen the country's aerial and maritime domain awareness, connectivity, and intelligence capabilities.
Education
In August 2022, despite the low COVID-19 vaccination rate among Filipino students with a total vaccination rate of only 19%, Marcos, along with Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte, reopened onsite classes throughout the country, with 46% or 24,000 schools throughout the country reopening their classes on August 22. Meanwhile, 29,721 schools were allowed to continue implementing blended learning from August to October 2022, while the full implementation of onsite classes began within November 2022, with 97.5% of public schools returning to onsite classes, while the remaining 2.36% of classes were temporarily held online due to the effects of Severe Tropical Storm Paeng.
Marcos also reviewed the implementation of the K–12 program as part of his push to modernize the country's education system, and laid out measures such as system reforms to address the lack of jobs and potential job mismatches, reviewing the usage of English as a medium of instruction in schools, and improving the country's education technology systems. Marcos also expressed his support to modernize the country's schools by improving science-related subjects and courses, theoretical aptitude, and vocational skills.
Economy
Marcos prioritized the revival of the country's economy in the aftermath of the lockdowns and restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in the country, and laid out his eight-point economic agenda aimed to address the country's economic problems in the medium term, which included food security, supply chain management, decreasing energy costs and preserving energy security, reducing economic vulnerability from the pandemic by addressing health care issues and strengthening social protection, infrastructure development, creating a green economy, strengthening market competition, and promoting entrepreneurship.
During his first State of the Nation Address, Marcos laid out his administration's economic vision and targets throughout his term, such as a 6.5 to 7.5% real gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate, with a 6.5 to 8% annual real GDP growth rate, a 9% or single-digit poverty rate by 2028, a 3% national government deficit-to-GDP ratio by 2028, lowering the country's debt-to-GDP ratio to less than 60% by 2025, and securing an upper middle-income status by 2024 with a US$4,256 income per capita, which is part of his 2023–2028 fiscal strategy. Marcos also supports the creation of additional economic zones in various areas of the country to attract investments in manufacturing, healthcare, and technology, and laid out plans to impose digital taxes and improve the country's tax compliance procedures which should improve revenue collections and cut the country's debts, while maintaining the country's disbursements at above 20 percent of its GDP.
Foreign policy
Early in his presidency, Marcos promised to continue his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte's foreign policy of being "friends to all, enemies to none". Marcos initially sought closer ties with China, but has since been increasingly seen as more pro-American than Duterte in an attempt to create a centrist-style balancing act between the two superpowers. During his first State of the Nation Address, Marcos promised to "not preside over any process that will abandon even one-square inch of territory of the Republic of the Philippines to any foreign power".
Under his presidency, Marcos intensified the Philippines' cooperation on both economic and defense arrangements to Western countries, such as the United States, Japan, Australia, and the European Union, while strengthening its defense posture within the region. Marcos approved the designation of four additional bases to be used by the United States military under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement. In May 2024, the Philippines and the United States held its largest Balikatan military exercises, fueling concerns from local civilians who fear they would be affected in any future war between the US and China. The deployment of the United States' Typhon Weapons System in an undisclosed location in northern Luzon also caught the attention of Russian president Vladimir Putin, who said that Russia should resume producing nuclear-capable missiles and consider where to deploy them.
Marcos called on all involved parties on the South China Sea to abide by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in order to diffuse potential conflicts in the future. Due to Marcos' "transparency thrust" in dealing with the aggressive actions of the Chinese Coast Guard and the Chinese Maritime Militia, China–Philippines relations have significantly deteriorated during Marcos's tenure, with increasing tensions over territorial disputes in the South China Sea and the Philippines withdrawing from the Belt and Road initiative.
Personal life
Marcos is married to lawyer Louise "Liza" Cacho Araneta, a member of the prominent Araneta family. Marcos and Araneta were married in Fiesole, Italy, on April 17, 1993. They have three sons: Ferdinand Alexander III "Sandro" (born 1994), Joseph Simon (born 1995) and William Vincent "Vinny" (born 1997). Although he is Ilocano by ethnic ancestry, he was brought up in a Manileño household and does not speak the Ilocano language. The Marcos family maintains a residence in Forbes Park, Makati.
Aside from his common nickname "Bongbong", Marcos is known by his peers as "Bonggets". Marcos is an avid listener of rock and roll, rhythm and blues, and jazz music. He once held a record collection in Malacañang Palace that he described as "the best record collection in the Philippines" but left it when his family was exiled from the country in 1986. He is a fan of the Beatles, citing Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band as his favorite album of theirs, and often collects the band's memorabilia. Marcos can also play the saxophone.
Marcos exercises regularly and claims to abstain from consuming confections and soft drinks. Marcos is also an avid reader, a cinephile, and a gun enthusiast, where he holds a competition under his name. He follows Formula One racing as a supporter of Scuderia Ferrari; during his presidency, he attended the 2022 and 2023 Singapore Grand Prix with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and other foreign dignitaries.
See also
In Spanish: Bongbong Marcos para niños
