Former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. recently went to Baguio City where he extended his assistance to frontline health professionals.
Marcos or “BBM” personally gave a number of personal protective equipment (PPEs) to Baguio Mayor Benjamin Magalong, since the city government still needs the protective shield of its health workers from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Baguio City, which is part of the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), is very close to Marcos since the residents are Ilocanos like him.
Earlier, Marcos extended assistance to the residents of at least three towns of Batangas that were directly affected by Taal Volcano’s restive movement.
Then, after being told about the fire in Pateros that rendered several families homeless, Marcos immediately sent sacks of rice and other essential needs directly to the affected families temporarily billeted at the LGU-designated evacuation center.
In a statement, Marcos underscored the need to provide for the families from Metro Manila’s only remaining municipality, as they could hardly make ends meet amid limited funds.
“With the help of some friends, we were able to pool a little assistance for those families who are facing a double-whammy – the continuing pandemic scare and losing everything they worked for in just a snap,” he said.
While many other politicians are busy trading barbs, the young Marcos took it upon himself to pool resources to be able to help the displaced families from Pateros.
When he went to Baguio, Marcos intentionally did not inform the city-based journalists on the assistance he extended because the veteran lawmaker made it a policy for himself to avoid fanfare, or media publicity, when it comes to helping people.
Marcos said he was doing his long-time job as a public servant in a silent manner since he previously declared that helping fellow Filipinos should be voluntary in nature if the politician is jobless.
As to his plan for the presidential elections next year, Marcos remains mum as he continues to consult a number of local government officials and political leaders from Luzon to Mindanao.
Surveys showed that since December last year, Marcos is one of the three leading contenders for the top government positions.
June’s survey revealed that Marcos has a good score in both the National Capital Region (NCR) and the Balance of Luzon (BL).
Aside from that, Marcos’ bailiwick is Region 1 that includes Ilocos Norte and some parts of the Visayas Region, including Leyte, where his mother, former First Lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos, originally came from.