SENATOR Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Saturday he is considering a run for the presidency in 2016.
In an interview over radio dzMM, Marcos said although seeking reelection as a senator was his “default setting,” there were calls for him to run for president.
“Many have been saying that I should run (for President). I listen to all of them, and I’m happy for their strong support. So, we will thoroughly study everything,” Marcos said.
The only son of the late President Ferdinand Marcos and Ilocos Norte Rep. Imelda Marcos, Senator Marcos had kept silent on any plan to run for President.
In her birthday celebration last year, Mrs. Marcos said she dreamed of returning to Malacañang with her son becoming president.
The senator said he has seen the presidency from different sides, while most people just see the grandeur and power.
“I saw my father at the end of the day and at the beginning of the day, the kind of problems he had to face. The kind of very serious sacrifices you have to make if you want to become a good president,” he said.
Marcos said anybody can be a president, but not everyone can be a good one. There is no use in becoming president if you cannot be a good one, he added.
The Nacionalista Party senator told dzMM that he was going to be a candidate for 2016, but it was as yet unclear for which position.
“But we have a saying that luck is only being ready when opportunity presents itself. This means one should be ready for luck. So I will make myself the luckiest to the best of my ability,” he said.
Anticipating questions about his graduation from Oxford, Marcos said he would go to London over the Holy Week to collect his records to put an end to the controversy.
“Slowly, I am addressing these concerns. I already got my file from La Salle, that’s for my high school. I will get everything so that when questioned again, I can show them the papers, and there’s no need for me to explain,” he said.
He also said he expects some people will take it against him for being the son of the martial law strongman.
“We cannot change history, and we really cannot change what actually happened,” the senator said. “You can’t say this happened, and this did not happen. It would just be easy to prove my father accomplished many things, and there were significant developments in the country when he was President,” he said.
“Now, if there are personal issues or whatever it is, that’s a different matter. But as a President, I cannot perhaps turn my back on the record of my father. Also, I have always been saying that whatever opinions you have about my father, I think that can no longer be changed, regardless of what I may say or do. So the record of my father will stand. My father does not need help to explain his record. History speaks for itself,” he added.