Bongbong Marcos
Who was Bongbong Marcos?
Current president of the Philippines since 2022 and son of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos, marking the family's return to power after 36 years.
Biographical data adapted from Wikipedia’s article on Bongbong Marcos (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Biography
Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr., born on September 13, 1957, in San Juan, Philippines, is the 17th president of the Philippines, having taken office in 2022. Frequently called Bongbong, or by the initials BBM and PBBM, he is the second child and only son of the late 10th president Ferdinand Marcos and former first lady Imelda Marcos. His presidency marked the Marcos family's return to power more than thirty years after their fall during the People Power Revolution of 1986.
Marcos entered politics young, benefiting from his father's extensive network during his authoritarian rule. In 1980, he was elected vice governor of Ilocos Norte, without opposition, under the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan party while Ferdinand Marcos Sr. ruled under martial law. He later became governor of Ilocos Norte in 1983, serving until the entire Marcos family was exiled to Hawaii in February 1986 after the People Power Revolution. After his father's death in 1989, Marcos was the first family member to return to the Philippines in October 1991, when President Corazon Aquino allowed them back to address several legal charges.
Back in the Philippines, Marcos restarted his political journey, winning a seat as the representative of Ilocos Norte's second district from 1992 to 1995. He was elected governor of Ilocos Norte again in 1998 and later returned to the House of Representatives from 2007 to 2010. He then secured a Senate position under the Nacionalista Party, serving from 2010 to 2016. In the 2016 vice-presidential race, he narrowly lost to Camarines Sur representative Leni Robredo. Marcos challenged the result at the Presidential Electoral Tribunal, but his protest was dismissed in 2021 after a recount increased Robredo's lead.
In the 2022 presidential election, Marcos ran with Sara Duterte, daughter of the outgoing president Rodrigo Duterte, under the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas. He won decisively, earning over 31 million votes, the largest victory margin in Philippine presidential elections. His campaign actively used social media to improve the public perception of his father's regime, criticized for human rights issues, corruption, and repression. Marcos and his mother Imelda face possible arrest in the US for not following a court order to pay over $353 million to human rights victims of Ferdinand Marcos Sr.'s dictatorship. However, as president, Marcos has diplomatic immunity during official US visits.
Before Fame
Bongbong Marcos was born into one of the most powerful political families in Philippine history. He went to Worth School and La Salle Green Hills for his early education before studying at St Edmund Hall, University of Oxford, and later at The Wharton School. His education put him among a global elite, though he has faced questions about the exact nature of his academic credentials from Oxford, with the university clarifying that he received a special diploma rather than a full degree.
Growing up as the son of a dictator during the martial law period from 1972 to 1986, Marcos was exposed to the workings of authoritarian governance from a young age. His early political appointments in Ilocos Norte were entirely due to his father's control over Philippine institutions, setting the pattern for a career built on his family's name and political networks in the Ilocos region.
Key Achievements
- Elected 17th president of the Philippines in 2022 with the largest electoral margin in the country's presidential history
- Served as governor of Ilocos Norte across two separate terms, first from 1983 to 1986 and again from 1998 onward
- Won a seat in the Philippine Senate under the Nacionalista Party, serving from 2010 to 2016
- Restored the Marcos family's national political standing after more than three decades following the 1986 People Power Revolution
- Recognized as Asia's Most Influential in the Philippines category in 2022
Did You Know?
- 01.Marcos received a special diploma from the University of Oxford rather than a full degree, a distinction that became a significant point of public controversy during his 2022 presidential campaign.
- 02.He was the first member of the Marcos family to return to the Philippines after the 1986 exile, arriving in October 1991, two years after his father's death in Hawaii.
- 03.His 2022 presidential victory margin of over 31 million votes is the largest recorded in Philippine presidential election history.
- 04.Marcos and his mother Imelda face a US court order requiring them to pay over $353 million in restitution to victims of human rights abuses from his father's dictatorship, though his presidential status grants him diplomatic immunity while abroad.
- 05.He was awarded Asia's Most Influential Philippines recognition in 2022, coinciding with his election to the presidency.
Family & Personal Life
Awards & Honors
| Award | Year | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Asia's Most Influential Philippines | 2022 | — |