Metro Manila, Philippines – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday, Feb. 24, disclosed his preferred qualities for the country’s next leader following early talks for the 2028 elections triggered by Vice President Sara Duterte’s announcement.
Marcos was prodded on possible presidential picks in a fireside chat at the ASEAN Editors and Economic Opinion Leaders Forum in Makati City, but stopped short of an endorsement as “timing is everything.”
He said the next president should be “like-minded” to continue reforms begun by his administration, which he said made the country investment-friendly.
“One of the things we have tried to do to make systems more robust is to make them as widespread as possible,” Marcos said.
“I’m talking about things like education, health care, social benefits.Make them so widespread that people immediately feel the benefits, therefore they will refuse to allow any future leaders to stop those beneficial effects,” he said.
The chief executive also said the candidate must understand economics, inflation, and job creation, as well as prioritize productivity and growth to support the working population.
“Those are the kind of people that we need, the people who are actually thinking about not politics but how to make the country better,” he said.
Asked if he had narrowed down options, Marcos said: “We have some people we are talking to or in mind…some of them have said no.”
He also touched on a possible non-government person but acknowledged the difficulty of convincing someone who is uninvolved in politics to the presidential level.
Vice President Duterte had announced her presidential bid for 2028, jumping the gun on critics who wish to block her political plan.
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Political analysts said this may be a strategy to influence lawmakers in tackling Duterte’s impeachment.
Marcos had two occasions to meet with former Vice President and Naga City Mayor Leni Robredo, his rival in the 2022 polls – a visit to her hometown and a local government event in Malacañang. He denied talks to forge possible alliances.
