Top 10 Amazing Facts about Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.

Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr.. Photo sourced from Wikimedia

Top 10 Amazing Facts about Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.

Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is a Filipino Politician who Is the current president of the Philippines. He was the second child and only son of former president Ferdinand Marcos Sr. and former first lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos.

He has served in many political seats. He started as vice governor, became governor, served in the House of Representative, served in senate and now president.

In this article, you will get to know more about Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in these top 10 amazing facts.

1. Marco was Born When His Father Was Representative for the Second District of Ilocos Norte

Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. was born on 13 September 1957 at the Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Santa Mesa, Manila, Philippines, to Ferdinand Marcos and Imelda Marcos.

During his time of birth, his father was the representative for the Second District of Ilocos Norte and eventually became a senator two years later.

2. Marcos didn’t Complete His Studies

He obtained his kindergarten and elementary education at Institution Teresiana and La Salle Green Hill in Manila, respectively. In 1970 he went to England and studied at Worth School, an all-boys Benedictine Institution in West Sussex.

Marcos later enrolled at St. Edmund Hall, Oxford, to study philosophy, economics and politics; it’s said he didn’t obtain such a degree. He failed economics and politics twice and passed philosophy. Instead, he received a special diploma in social studies.

He then enrolled at the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, United States, to pursue Masters in Business Administration which he failed to complete. Marco later claimed that he withdrew from the master’s program for his election as Vice Governor of Ilocos Norte in 1980.

3. He served as Governor

Marco’s first official political role came when he was elected vice governor of Ilocos Norte (1980-1983). He was running for the seat unopposed with his father’s political party; Kilusang Bagong Lipunan.

In 1983 he became governor of Ilocos Norte, replacing his aunt, who had resigned due to health reasons. He also led a group of young Filipino leaders on a 10-day mission in china to mark the tenth anniversary of Philippine-Chinese relations.

He stayed governor until 1986 when the People Power Revolution threw his family out of power. Marco fled into exile in Hawaii in February 1983.

4. Marcos was the Chairman of the PHILCOMSAT Board

Photo sourced from Wikimedia

Marco’s father appointed him as the chairman of the board of the Philippine Communication Satellite Corporation (PLILCOMSAT) in 1985. Finance minister Jaime Ongpin later called this “crony capitalism because the Marcos administration had sold majority shares to the Marcos cronies.

PHILCOMAST was the sole agent for the Philippines’ link to global satellite network Intelsat and was very profitable and one of the five telecommunication firms sequesters by the Philippine government in 1986. President Marco obtained 39.9% company shares through front companies under Campos and Gapud.

President Marco then appointed his son in early 1985 as the chairman of the PHILCOMAST board. Marco Jr. earned a salary ranging from $9,700-$97,700 despite not attending to his official duties.

5. Marcos served in the House of Representative

Marco returned to the Philippines in 1991. He ran for and was elected representative of the second district of Ilocos Norte to the Philippine House of Representatives (1992-1995).

During his term as the house of representative, he was the author of 29 house bills and co-author of 90 more which paved the creation of the Department of Energy and the National Youth Commission.

 He also allocated most of the Countryside Development Fund (CDF) to organizing the cooperatives of teachers and farmers in his home province. In 1992 he led a group of 10 representatives in attending the summit of the first sports in the Philippines, held in Baguio City.

In 2007, he was appointed deputy minority leader of the House of Representatives. During this term, he supported the passage of the Philippine Archipelagic Baselines Law or Republic Act No. 9522. He wrote his version of the law but remained in the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

He also promoted the Republic Act No.9502, which promoted the Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicine Act which was enacted on 2009.

6. Marco was Senator from 2010-2016

Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Photo by Cesar Tomambo-Wikimedia

In 2010 he won the senatorial seat under Nacionalista Party when he was proclaimed the winning senatorial candidate of the 2010 senate elections. He took over the office on June 30, 2010.

In the 15th Congress (2010-2013), he authored 34 senate hills and co-authored 17 bills and seven were enacted into law. Also, in the 16th Congress (2013-2016), he filled 52 bills, of which 28 were refiled from the 15th Congress and he co-authored 4 senate bills.

As the senator, he was the chair of the Senate committee on local government and public works. He chaired the oversight committee on the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Organic Act, a congressional oversight panel on the Special Purpose Vehicle Act and a selected oversight committee on barangay affairs.

7. Marcos Jr. Family was Exiled in 1986

During the last days of the People Power Revolution, there was a scary scenario in which Marco’s presence in the Philippines would lead to civil war. Reagan administration withdrew its support for the Marcos government.

The Reagan administration flew Marcos and about 80 party officials to Hawaii despite Marco’s objection. Marcos Jr. was together with his parents. After arriving in Hawaii, Marcos Jr. tried withdrawing money from the secret family account in Switzerland, which led to the swiss government freezing the account.

Ferdinand Marcos died in exile three years later in 1989, with Marcos Jr. being the only family member present at his father’s deathbed.

8. Marcos Jr. is the Current President of the Philippine

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken pays a courtesy call to Philippine President Bongbong Marcos at Malacañang Palace in Manila on August 6, 2022. Photo by Kenneth Paciente-Wikimedia

He officially launched his presidential campaign on 5 October 2021 through a video post on Facebook and YouTube. Marcos only attended one presidential debate and refrained from the others, an action which was widely criticized during his campaign season.

During campaign season, he maintained a wide lead in presidential surveys and became the first presidential candidate to attain poll ratings of over 50% in surveys conducted by Pulse Asia.

During the 18th Congress of the Philippines, overseen by Senate President Tito Sotto and Speaker of the House of Representative of the Philippines Lord Miguel Zubiri and Majority Floor Leader Martin Romualdez, Marcos was announced the president-elect of the Philippines on May 25, 2022.

9. His Family Wealth is Popularly Referred to as Ill-Gotten

The Philippine court determined the Marcos family acquired wealth through illicit means during his father’s presidency, Ferdinand Marcos. The wealth includes real estate, a collection of jewelry, artworks, shares and financial instruments, amongst many others.

The wealth is said to have been acquired through diverting foreign economic aid, US Government military aid and kickbacks from public works contracts over a 2 decades-long rule.

After the family was exiled, Presidential Commission on Good Government was mandated to investigate and recover the ill-gotten wealth. The committee found that Marco’s three children had significantly benefited from the wealth.

10. Marco’s Wife is a Lawyer

Marcos is married to lawyer Louise “Liza” Cacho Araneta. She is a member of the prominent Araneta family. 

They were married in Fiesole, Italy, on April 17, 1993, and have three sons; Ferdinand Alexander III (Sandro), Joseph Simon and William Vincent (Vinny).