I have no impulses authoritarianism, to BBM tells Aussies

MELBOURNE – President Marcos claimed he has not been tempted to enforce an authoritarian system in the Philippines even as he justified his late father and namesake’s decision to declare martial law.

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In an interview with ABC News aired on Monday, Marcos was asked how he, as the only son of a president overthrown by a people’s revolt, “resists the impulse to authoritarianism.”

Marcos replied, “I have no impulses to authoritarianism whatsoever.”

“We have a good system going. We have a Constitution that we have gone by for the last 36 years now. We are hoping to make some changes to it. But no, I have not felt any tug or temptation to make it a more authoritarian system,” he told ABC News’ Sarah Ferguson.

According to Marcos, stakeholder participation was permitted during his father’s presidency, but the peace and order situation made it necessary to implement martial law.

“Well, it was a different sort of authoritarian rule. I think when people think of authoritarian rule, it was non-participatory,” the President said.