Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos, Jr. (born September 13, 1957), widely known as Bongbong Marcos, is a Filipino politician and senator in the 16th Congress of the Philippines. He is the second child and only son of former President Ferdinand E. Marcos and former First Lady Imelda R. Marcos.

Marcos served as Governor of Ilocos Norte (1983–1986, 1998–2007) and as Representative of the Second District of Ilocos Norte (1992–1995, 2007–2010) under Kilusang Bagong Lipunan, the political party founded by his father. He was also Deputy Minority Leader during his second term in the House of Representatives. In 2010, Marcos was elected as Senator of the Philippines under the Nacionalista Party. Senator Marcos chairs several senate committees, including the Committee on Local Government and the Committee on Public Works, and is a member of several other committees.

On October 5, 2015, Marcos announced his candidacy for Vice President of the Philippines in the 2016 election.

Early life

Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. was born on September 13, 1957 to then Representative Ferdinand E. Marcos and Imelda Remedios Visitacion Romualdez. He studied in Institucion Teresiana and La Salle Greenhills in Manila, where he obtained his kindergarten and elementary education, respectively.

Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos, Sr. (September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino politician, who ruled as President of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled under martial law from 1972 until 1981.

At the age of 18, Marcos was charged with the assassination of Julio Nalundasan, a political opponent of his father, Mariano Marcos. Both were arrested and held until they were released by Supreme Court Justice José P. Laurel.

Marcos served during World War II. As part of his election campaign, he would later claim to have been "the most decorated war hero in the Philippines". In fact, he received only three medals. Prior to Marcos's presidency, he served as a member of the Philippine House of Representatives from 1949 to 1959 and of the Philippine Senate from 1959 to 1965, where he was also Senate President from 1963 to 1965.

He was elected President in 1965 and the Philippine national debt then grew from $2 billion to $30 billion. US corporations in the Philippines prospered: an explanation as to why the US did not protest Marcos's imposition of martial law in 1972. The Carter Administration engineered an $88 million World Bank loan to Marcos, increased military aid to him by 300%, and called him a "soft dictator". In contrast, a 1976 Amnesty International report had alleged 88 government torturers. By 1977, the armed forces had quadrupled and over 60,000 Filipinos had been arrested for political reasons. Yet, in 1981, Vice President George H. W. Bush praised Marcos for his "adherence to democratic principles and to the democratic processes". Public outrage led to the snap elections of 1986 and to the People Power Revolution in February 1986, which removed him from power. Marcos was overthrown by followers of Corazon (Cory) Aquino, widow of the assassinated opposition leader Senator Benigno (Ninoy) Aquino, Jr..