On being called the dictator's son, martial law, and his family's multibillion-peso estate tax case: Highlights of Marcos Jr.'s first presidential interview

The P20/kilo promise 

One of the plans that Marcos Jr promised during his presidential campaign was to bring down the price of rice to P20 per kilo. Experts have since raised eyebrows on the promise, citing agricultural issues and how farmer rights will fare.

"There’s a way to do it but it will take a while," Marcos Jr. said to Gonzaga. “We have to return [the National Food Authority] to its old function.”

He also said that it is not “realistic” to implement the P20/kilo rule just yet and sees it happening down the line “in a couple of years."

"Everything is possible,” he said when Gonzaga pressed if it was possible. “You just have to work very hard and be clever about it and come up with new ideas.”

Amid his presidency so far, food shortages have plagued the country, with the most recent sugar 'crisis' serving as a major test for the President's priority agricultural sector. Marcos Jr. has also appointed himself as the head of the country’s agricultural department.

No 'reason' to rejoin the ICC

During a chance interview with reporters on Aug. 1, Marcos Jr. confirmed that the Philippines has no intention of rejoining the International Criminal Court (ICC). Former President Rodrigo Duterte pulled the country out of the ICC back in 2018 due to its investigation of the deadly war on drugs.

Marcos Jr. reiterated his stance to Gonzaga, stating that he didn’t see any reason to join the international tribunal and ask for criminal help from foreign organizations.

“I don’t see any reason why we should [rejoin ICC]. The ICC is supposed to take action when a country no longer has a functioning judiciary, the police, etc. And that condition does not exist in the Philippines. So, I do not see what role ICC is going to play here in the Philippines.“

“We will allow them to come in and investigate then tell us who to arrest?” he asked. “The alleged crimes were all committed in the Philippines, committed by Filipinos, why would we need a foreigner to tell us how to deal with it?”

When prodded on what would make him reconsider, Marcos Jr. stated if the "whole system collapses": "Kung magka-gyera tayo dito, kung walang judiciary, walang gobyerno, walang pulis, then kailangan natin sila," he added.

Unchanged position on ABS-CBN

Marcos Jr. reiterated that he’s not going against the franchise renewal of media giant ABS-CBN, which went off-air in May 2020 after 70 lawmakers voted to deny it a new franchise at the behest of former president Rodrigo Duterte.

“I have not changed my position ever,” he said, adding that if ABS-CBN is able to “attend to” and “resolve” its supposed violations, then he doesn’t see any reason for lawmakers to not grant it a new franchise.

Last June, or over two years since the media giant went off the air, Duterte admitted to using his "presidential powers" to make Congress do his bidding.

Lawmakers harped on ABS-CBN's supposed tax deficiencies, though the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Securities and Exchange Commission has already cleared the network of any outstanding tax liabilities.

During the campaign period in January, Marcos Jr. echoed the lawmakers’ sentiments about ABS-CBN’s supposed tax deficiencies despite already being cleared by the government's tax authorities.

ABS-CBN was about to enter a landmark deal with TV5 to air Kapamilya shows on the Kapatid network but on Sept. 1, the media giants announced that they "mutually" agreed to terminate the agreement, as state regulators and a lawmaker have expressed their misgivings. The media giants earlier announced a mere "pause" in their negotiations.

AllTV, business tycoon Manny Villar’s new media company where Gonzaga now belongs, is using the former frequencies of ABS-CBN.

‘No strong feelings’ about NAIA

As for plans to rename the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) back to Manila International Airport (MIA), a chuckling Marcos Jr. said he hasn’t “actually thought” about it. “I have no strong feelings about renaming it,” he added.

The MIA was renamed NAIA via Republic Act 6639 in 1987 during the term of Cory Aquino in honor of the assassinated opposition senator.

In 2018, suspended lawyer Larry Gadon filed a petition nullifying RA 6639 to revert NAIA's name to MIA, claiming Aquino is "not even considered a hero" and "does not deserve to have an airport named after him." Gadon also claimed the renaming is a violation of the guidelines of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines. The Supreme Court, however, unanimously dismissed his petition in 2020 for lack of merit.

On June 25, 2020, lawmakers Paolo Duterte (Davao 1st District), Lord Allan Velasco (Marinduque), and Eric Yap (ACT-CIS Party-list) filed House Bill No. 7031, seeking to rename NAIA to Paliparang Pandaigdig ng Pilipinas. They said the country needs a "more representative branding for the international gateway."

Last June, Negros Oriental 3rd District Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr. filed a bill seeking to rename NAIA to Ferdinand E. Marcos International Airport, after Marcos Jr.’s father, falsely claimed that the airport was built during the late dictator’s term.

In July, Duterte Youth Party-list Rep. Drixie Mae Cardema joined the bandwagon and wanted NAIA reverted to MIA, arguing that the airport's name "should not have been politicized in the first place"—even as she called Ninoy Aquino an "anti-Marcos leader."

The multi-billion tax case to be "finally resolved"

The Marcos family’s 25-year-old estate tax case was also brought up by Gonzaga, as it remains a looming issue since the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR’s) confirmation in March.

“We are encouraging this to be finally resolved because I don’t want to make a legal opinion for which I am not qualified.” Marcos Jr. said.

He maintained they were never allowed to argue the estate tax case because they were all in the United States when it came out. 

“All of the things that we should have been able to say in 1986, 1987, 1989. Iisa-isahin talaga namin yung sinabi ng property kasi hindi maliwanag ang pag-aari ng mga property na sinasabi na akin.”

Former BIR Chief Kim Henares has said that collecting the reported deficiencies in estate taxes is indeed plagued with issues due to the location of the assets.

"For the Marcos estate, there's a lot of difficulty because one, a lot of their properties were sequestered, so it's owned by the government. Second, a lot of their properties are abroad. The BIR cannot go abroad and attach those properties since we don't have jurisdiction," Henares said during a March 22 airing of ANC's Headstart.

With their family's estate tax case the subject of contention through the years, Marcos Jr. has previously said that "there's a lot of fake news involved" in the case. Victor Rodriguez has also previously said that the issue is “all about politics.”

Martial Law and being described as a 'dictator's son'

Finally, Gonzaga asked Marcos Jr. how he feels about his father declaring Martial Law in 1972, which marks its 50th anniversary on Sept. 21.

She first asked Marcos Jr. if he was affected by being called "the son of the late dictator," to which he responded in the negative.

"I know they're wrong," Marcos Jr. claimed, dismissing the title as mere "opinion." "How many times have I been here, in this room where (Marcos Sr.) was in consultation with different groups?"

When asked if he was ever hurt by Marcos Sr. being called a dictator, the president answered: "It would hurt me if they were right, but they are wrong."

He then justified the martial law declaration, reiterating Marcos Sr.’s claims about rising disorder due to student protests, alleged threats from the Communist Party of the Philippines, and the Muslim separatist movement of the Moro National Liberation Front.

Gonzaga then rhetorically—but falsely—asked that such reasons were “not discussed” in schools or publications, and that what she’s taught was that Marcos Sr. wanted to “stay in power.”

No less than the Official Gazette has chronicled the run-up to the martial law declaration. It even talked about the fake ambush staged by Marcos Sr.’s then defense secretary Juan Ponce Enrile, who’s now Marcos Jr.’s chief legal counsel, to serve as final excuse in declaring martial law.

During the dark period in Philippine history, Amnesty International data showed there were over 3,200 extrajudicial killings, 35,000 tortures, 70 “disappearances” or desaparecidos, and 70,000 imprisoned.