The decision of former senator Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. to follow the footsteps of his late father was made after watching the Marvel movie "Ant-Man" — a movie about a convicted thief turned superhero.
This was revealed by his wife, Liza Araneta-Marcos, during a one-on-one interview with Boy Abunda that aired Wednesday night.
"You know, six months ago, he wasn't yet sure what to do, he had no party. And then one day, we were watching 'Ant-Man' in the room, because we love Marvel movies, and then he looked at me and he goes, 'Okay, we're gonna do this,' he told me. 'Do what?' 'Run for the presidency," Liza recalled.
Upon hearing this, Liza admitted to feeling nervous.
"Also, I didn’t want him to get hurt because you know in 2016, when he lost [in the vice-presidential elections], it was really a painful experience for him and he was like, ‘wow, what happened?’," she said.
"You see this groundswell and poof, you lost, and that’s everyday campaigning. So it’s really painful. It was a painful experience," she continued.
In 2016, Marcos lost to Vice President Leni Robredo by 263,473 votes. He, later on, filed an electoral protest which was dismissed by the Supreme court in 2021.
The two are once again battling, this time, for the highest government position.
Meanwhile, when asked if she could already imagine what role would she play should she become the First Lady, Liza brushed it off and said they don't want to jinx it.
"You know, I don't want to jinx it because in 2016, we really thought we would win. And it was really painful. Try losing and living with it for six years, that's difficult," she said.
Bongbong is vying for the presidency with his running mate, vice presidential candidate, and Davao City Mayor Inday Sara Duterte-Carpio.
