President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. on Thursday said the "survival" and "legacy" of his family after years of exile abroad became his motivation to enter politics.
"When we were first allowed to come back, the political issue was Marcos. For us to defend ourselves politically, somebody had to enter politics and be in the political arena. So that, at least, not only the legacy of my father but even our own survival, required that somebody go into politics," he said during the dialogue at World Economic Forum (WEF) 2023 in Davos, Switzerland.
"And so, upon arrival in '91, the following election was in '92, I immediately run as Congressman in our province in the House of Representatives," Marcos shared.
After 20 years of ruling the country, late former president Ferdinand Marcos Sr. together with former first lady Imelda Marcos and their children fled to Hawaii in 1986.
Marcos Jr. said their exile was "dark days" for them and even for the Philippines.
"We're not sure if we were coming back at all, physically coming back. My father did not make it. That was a very trying times," he added.
In the same dialogue, Marcos Jr. also admitted that when he was young, he had no intention at all to be a politician as he witnessed the difficulty of the career of his late father.
"You know, like I always say, if you ask me when I was 23, 24, 25 years old, will you enter politics? Before you finish asking the question, I already said 'No'" he said.
But Marcos Jr. said since this is where life brought him, he said he wanted to do his best.
"If I am going to be in politics, let's do the best we can and take it as far as we take it. This is your career now. Work hard at it and do it well," he underlined.
Marcos also said he was blessed that the majority of Filipino voters elected him for the post.
"Filipino voters agreed with the message we put out in the campaign and return the very strong mandate for the Presidency," he said.
