PBBM's second wind

BABE'S EYE VIEW

- AMBASSADOR B. ROMUALDEZ

From day one, when Bongbong Marcos was about to begin his term as president of the Philippines, there was one thing he was clearly focused on: do well as the leader of our country to honor his father, whom he loved and completely respected.

Fully aware of the accusations being thrown against the family and being accused as a "revisionist" bent on rewriting history, with skepticism about the kind of leader he would be or that he would use the enormous powers of the presidency to exact revenge on perceived enemies — PBBM surprised his critics and proved many of them totally wrong.

"Prejudged as a mere version 2.0 of his father and his predecessor, both of whom are imaged as strongmen who many accuse to have violated human rights, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is coming out as both a liberal and a nationalist in so many aspects," wrote political analyst Antonio Contreras in an October 2024 opinion piece titled, "The audacity of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr."

Early on, PBBM once said he had really wanted to become a businessman and was not at all keen about going into politics. Yet, following his father's plans for him to serve as a public servant, he dutifully but reluctantly followed his father's wish.

I spent many years with Bongbong, and having witnessed his initial foray into politics as a young vice governor of Ilocos Norte at the age of 23 — then as congressman and eventually as senator — I know that the President ultimately saw public service as his way of thanking and giving back to, in his own words, "the people who put us there."