Will it be Bongbong Marcos-Martin Romualdez in 2022?

Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago and her running mate, Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr, have yet to be seen campaigning together after the kick-off rally of their tandem on February 9.

The vice presidential candidate has since gone solo, but he is never alone because his cousin, Leyte Representative Martin Romualdez, is often seen by his side.

For the first month of the campaign period, Romualdez, a senatorial candidate running under his cousin’s ticket and the United Nationalist Alliance, has been very visible in most of Marcos’ local sorties. He was at the kick-off campaign in Ilocos Norte and when Marcos met with Governor Chavit Singson in Ilocos Sur. The lawmaker was also present in Cavite and Laguna.

Even if he’s not around, his presence is felt in Marcos’ campaign as his “Malasakit” mobile always tailgates Marcos’ “Progresibong Bukas” caravan. The cousins’ campaigns are so intertwined, it’s as if they’re running as a tandem in the coming election.

A local leader even mistook them for presidential and vice presidential candidates. 

In a Laguna sortie on Wednesday, March 2, Los Baños Mayor Caesar Perez introduced the cousins as: “senator Martin, the next vice president” and, referring to Marcos, “the senator, running for president” who can help address the needs of the municipality.

Romualdez responded to the mayor’s remark and quipped that Marcos’ presidential bid would just be “for 2022,” and insinuated that his bid (as vice president, presumably) would wait for another 6 years too.

Based on the latest Pulse Asia survey, Marcos is tied for top spot with Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero in the 6-way vice presidential race.

Some say this makes the Marcoses’ return to Malacañang just a heartbeat away. His mother, former First Lady Imelda Marcos, has long wished for her son to be president. Could a Marcos-Romualdez tandem really be possible in 2022? – Patty Pasion/Rappler.com