HIGHLIGHTS: Inauguration of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as Philippine president

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. believes Vice President Sara Duterte will be able to solve problems in the Philippines’ education system. Marcos gives his marching orders to Duterte: improve on the sciences, sharpen theoretical aptitude, impart vocational skills, and emphasize the national language with equal emphasis on a global language. Marcos believes these are key in ensuring Filipino graduates would secure jobs. 

“What we touch in our schools, the materials used, must be rethought. I am not talking about history, I am talking about the basics: the sciences, sharpening theoretical aptitude, and imparting vocational skills, such as in the German example, alongside the national language with equal emphasis and facility in a global language, which we had and lost,” said Marcos. 

“Once we had an education system that prepared coming generations for more and better jobs, there is hope for a comeback. Vice President and soon to be Secretary of Education Sara Duterte-Carpio will fit that mission to a tee,” added the President. 

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. makes a bold promise to Filipinos – to make their dreams his own, and to dedicate the next six years achieving it with them.

“The campaigns I’ve run have taken me here, where I stand today. I listened to you and this is what I have heard: We all want peace in our land. You and your children want a good chance at a better life, in a safer, more prosperous country. All that is within reach of a hardworking, warm, and giving race. Your dreams are mine. Ang pangarap ‘nyo ay pangarap ko,” said Marcos. 

Consistent with his family’s longtime messaging to bury the past, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. called on Filipinos to look to the future and focus on rebuilding the life they lost due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“I am here not to talk about the past. I am here to tell you about our future, a future of sufficiency…. We do not look back, but ahead, up the road that we must take to a place better than the one we lost in the pandemic,” said Marcos. 

“Our future we decide today. Yesterday cannot make that decision anymore, nor can tomorrow delay it. The sooner we start, the surer and quicker the prospect of achieving our future,” he added. 

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In his inaugural speech, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. continued with his unity messaging from his campaign. He thanked Filipinos for standing by him and argued that he offended none of his rivals during the election season.

“Aking mga minamahal na mga kababayan, magandang tanghali po sa inyong lahat. This is a historic moment for us all. I feel it deep within me. You, the people, have spoken, and it is resounding. When my call for unity started to resonate with you, it did so because it echoed your earnings, mirrored your earnings, and expressed your hopes for family, for country, and for a better future,” said Marcos.

“By your vote, you rejected the politics of division. I offended none of my rivals in this campaign. I listened instead with what they were saying,” he added. 

What he did not mention: Marcos’ well-oiled campaign was also built on disinformation that fueled the historical amnesia of Filipinos about the abuses committed during his father’s 21-year rule. While Marcos himself avoided directly criticizing his opponents in the presidential race, pro-Marcos bloggers and trolls attacked his rivals for him.

As expected, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. paid homage to his father, after whom he was named. He vows to honor the late president Ferdinand E. Marcos, whose 21-year rule was marred by rampant corruption, killings, torture, disappearance of critics, and media oppression. 

“I once knew a man who saw what little had been achieved since independence, in a land of people with the greatest potential for achievement, and yet they were poor. But he got it done. Sometimes, with the needed support, sometimes without. So will it be with his son. You will get no excuses from me,” said Marcos Jr. 

Actress and singer Toni Gonzaga, a staunch supporter of Ferdinand Marcos Jr., sings the Philippine national anthem at the newly-elected president’s inauguration ceremony at the National Museum on Thursday, June 30.

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Dictator’s son Ferdinand Marcos Jr. officially takes his oath as the 17th President of the Philippines at the National Museum on Thursday, June 30.

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