With the final two years of his administration approaching, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. expressed his desire for his presidency to be defined by unwavering public service and strict adherence to his core values.
In a Bloomberg Television interview published on YouTube on May 29, the Chief Executive shared his vision of how he wants history to evaluate his tenure after his term ends in 2028.
”That I served. That I was true to my principles of, again, duty, honor, country,” Marcos said.
The President underscored his commitment to being remembered as a statesman who carried out his obligations with a profound sense of patriotism and integrity.
”History has always kind of been the contemporary. When it’s written, I hope that shines through. I wanted to serve because it’s my duty. And I served with honor. And I served my country,” Marcos said.
Marcos also looked back on the impact of his father, the late former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., whose twenty-year administration transitioned into authoritarian rule.
He explained that observing his father’s time in power offered him firsthand knowledge regarding the immense difficulties of national leadership.
These formative experiences, the President noted, taught him early on that managing the highest office in the nation would always present complex challenges.
However, Marcos made it clear that his administration must carve its own path separate from his father’s legacy, pointing out that the nation’s current needs and landscape have evolved dramatically.
”I have to be. It’s a different time. There are fundamental lessons that I still hold close to my heart. But in terms of the practical things that you do, very few of those things apply any longer,” Marcos said.
While he admitted that the core pressures of leading a nation remain constant, he maintained that the specific dilemmas modern leaders face are distinct from those of the past.
”The nature of the job really is not different. You have a great deal of work to do. All of it is fairly urgent. Everything is important. That has not really changed. It’s the things that you worry about, the issues that you worry about. Those have changed,” he said.