Life is Simple,

Just before the 25th Anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution, now senator Bongbong Marcos facetitiously said that had his father, the late Ferdinand Marcos, not been ousted in 1986, he would have turned the Philippines into the next Singapore.

Quite sad, for such brilliant minds to have such distorted views of history and social responsibilities.  Had he seen Philippine history with a very objective mind, he would have seen a golden opportunity to rise above his father's unused grave. 

Had Bongbong Marcos, Senator been true to his calling, that is to redeem the tarnished view of Filipinos on his late father and the rest of the marcos and romualdez families (from his mother's side), he could have taken this golden opportunity to rise to the level of a statesman ready for the presidency in the next elections. 

If only Bongbong Marcos, Senator read Philippine history correctly, before, during and after his father's two decades of rule, he would have instead said ' Had my father not been president of the Philippines, Singapore would not have grabbed the stature of the Philippines in Southeast Asia as second only to Japan in terms of economy'.  Prior to his late father becoming president, the Philippine Peso was almost at par with the Australian Dollar today vis-a-vis the US Dollar and far more valuable than the Singaporean Dollar at a stable exchange rate of P2 to US$1.  I knew it because I was already 12 years old when his late father became president for the first term. The Philippines was second only to Japan in terms of economic activities, only because the United States has infused US1Billion into the Japanese economy after the end of World War II for reparations on the effects of the two atomic bombs that were dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, otherwise, Japan would have been second only to the Philippines in terms of economic activity. 

As a young boy,  I came to be aware of the late Ferdinand Marcos, who my own father idolized at the time after he defended himself while in prison against the murder charge on the late Julio Nalundasan, the opponent of Bongbong Marcos's grandfather in the elections.  My father so idolized the late Ferdinand Marcos that he named a brother Ferdinand himself.  So I was always aware of the late Ferdinand Marcos as a young boy.

I have chronicled the political life of Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. up until I went to the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Q.C. in 1970.  At that time the National Union of Students of the Philippines President, Edgar Jopson, was questioning then president Marcos if he intends to extend his term after his second term lapses and Marcos was so angry that he blurted out, who is this son of a grocer who would question me, yip yip yip, yak yak yak.  The following year, students took over the UP Diliman Campus in January 1971, the start of peope power movement to protest the obvious decline of the Philippine economy due to massive corruption in government infrastructure deals.  A year later in September 1972, Ferdinand Marcos Sr. declared martial law, as feared by then NUSP President Edgar Jopson in 1970.

Edgar Jopson, would later be killed by military operatives and shot in the face, to sow fear on any other citizen wanting to oppose the Marcos martial law regime.  More militant students soon followed the late Edgar Jopson, including eminent members of the UP academe that included now Communist Party Chairman, Benito Tiamzon, a scholar of then Senate President Jovito Salonga, Nilo Tayag, Professor Posadas, Romulo Kintanar, Popoy Lagman, and many more unknown nationalist students belonging to the Kabataang Makabayan (KM) and Samahan nang Demokratikong Kabataan (SDK) where I was a member with Benito Tiamzon, son of a rice farmer,  who is a childhood friend in Marikina City.

If only Bongbong Marcos, Senator, visits the Bantayog nang Mga Bayani in Quezon Avenue, Quezon City, he might perhaps understand the cost of the struggle to free the people from the chains of his late father's martial rule that enthroned their families among the oligarchs that his late father promised to eliminate, albeit, joined their ranks.

It would have been very nice to hear if Bongbong Marcos, Senator, would have instead delivered a speech before the 25th Anniversary of the People Power Revolution that toppled his late dictator father, along this line:

"I am Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., son of former president Ferdinand E. Marcos, and now a duly elected Senator of the Philippine Congress.  I thank everyone here today for giving me the opportunity to let you know how I have grown up and discerned the events of the last four decades that started when I was a young boy growing up in Malacanang Palace along the Pasig River.

As a young boy, I did not understand the whys and the wherefores of me growing up in a sheltered environment and enjoying the comforts of life that the average Filipino dies dreaming of.  I have gone through life and carved my own future hoping to emulate my late father's vision of a New Society for the Philippines.

Events of the 1986 Revolution have sort of given me the wider perspective of the whys and wherefores of my comfortable life that to this day, even my children are reaping he benefits of as well as the children of my siblings.  Perhaps, to some mediocre minds, it would be better for me to stay in the background and enjoy all t riches and comforts that our money can buy us.

I have chosen to run for the Senate of the Philippines and thank everyone who helped catapult me to a very honorable seat in the Senate of the Philippines.  After 25 years since we were flown out of Malacanang Palace, it is only now that I have realized that despite the good intentions of my late father, to lead the Philippines to a better and new society, many lives and limbs were lost, many brilliant minds were snuffed out, and many children were orphaned in the struggle to oppose my late father's rule.

Forgive me for having realized the pains and agonies that were inflicted on so many lives only now.  I have my own human limitations and imperfections, but I am proud to tell you that despite all of these, I still have the heart of a Filipino.  I, therefore, Bongbong Marcos, Senator of the Republic of the Philippines, humbly ask for forgiveness from all the families who have been hurt along the way.  My father was a Machiavellian and believes that the end justifies the means.  Although this is one of the important philosophies I have learned, it is not necessarily the best philosophy to lead a nation.

I have run for the Senate of the Republic of the Philippines with the future hope that I may be able to run for President, this time, to rectify all the ills and wrongs that have been institutionalized during the martial rule of my late father.  I do not intend to desecrate the memory of my late father, however, he having had a brilliant mind, I know he would understand that I am merely following his footsteps, but using a different philosophy, not the Machiavellian way.

I promise to utilize all the resources within my reach to heal the hurt, pain and sufferings of those who were victims of human rights violations during my late father's martial rule.  I hope you would help me along the way.

I will see you again in 2016 and hope you will give me the same trust and confidence that you have given to our new generation of leaders.

Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., Senator, Republic of the Philippines"

 ...... to be continued