PARTIDO Federal ng Pilipinas standard bearer and presidential aspirant Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Saturday said the public is more concerned now about jobs, having money to spend, and putting food on the table than on questions about the alleged ill-gotten wealth and alleged unpaid taxes of his family, which he said have been answered repeatedly in the past 30 years.
Marcos made the statement during the prerecorded “The Chatroom” program hosted by Communications Secretary Martin Andanar and broadcaster Erwin Tulfo, which aired over government channel PTV 4 and the other government social media channel.
The airing was about an hour before the presidential debate hosted by the Commission on Elections, which Marcos skipped.
Andanar said the “The Chatroom” is a series of one-on-one interviews with presidential candidates.
PTV 4 in an advisory said it has partnered with Comelec and the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) in coming up with the “new talk show” that aims to “give voters a closer view of candidates.”It will air every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday at 7 to 8 p.m.
Andanar said other presidential candidates will also be featured such as Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso was the guest in its March 17 pilot episode, and Sen. Manny Pacquiao will be the guest on March 22.
Andanar said others are in the process of taping their interviews. PTV said Leody De Guzman has recorded his interview which will be aired on March 24).
Marcos, during the program, said the allegations about the ill-gotten wealth and unpaid taxes were expected to continue to come up because of the campaign season and because some sectors are just trying to come up with issues to throw at them.
“Hindi naman nagbabago ang sagot namin, hindi naman nababago iyong opinyon ng nagtatanong. Kaya, sige kung iyan ang gusto niyong gawin, pero hindi iyan ang iniisip ng taongbayan. Ang iniisip nila, papano kami magkakatrabaho.Iyung ang gusto nilang pakinggan (We have not changed our answers and the opinion of those who ask those questions has never changed. So if that is what you want, go ahead, but that is not what is in the mind of the people. What is in the mind of the people is, how we will have jobs. That is what the people want to hear),” he said.
He also said the people want to hear about the services and answers to their concerns such as the access to quality education, how to pay for electricity, and how to survive the (COVID-19 crisis, among others.
Last week, Marcos said there was a lot of fake news revolving around the alleged ill-gotten wealth and alleged estate tax debt of the Marcos family and he prefers to leave the issue with the lawyers concerned.
During the program, Marcos again talked of his programs like creating more jobs, improving the tourism and agriculture sectors to create more jobs; providing affordable and reliable electricity to entice more investors to come in, ensuring quality education, and improving internet service.
Marcos’ running mate. Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, yesterday urged voters to vote for both her and Marcos.
“Hindi pwedeng isa, dapat laging dalawa… UniTeam ni Bongbong Marcos at Sara Duterte (It cannot be one, it should always be two… The UniTeam of Bongbong Marcos and Sara Duterte),” she said in their campaign rally in Malabon.
