MANILA, June 30 (Xinhua) -- Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos was sworn in as the 17th president of the Philippines on Thursday at the National Museum in Manila in front of thousands of people who witnessed the inauguration.
Born on Sept. 13, 1957, Marcos is the second child and the only son of former president Ferdinand Marcos and former congresswoman Imelda Marcos. He is fondly called Bongbong by his family and friends.
Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos has been in public service for decades. He started the political career as vice-governor of his hometown Ilocos Norte province in northern Philippines in 1980 at the age of 23, when his father was president. He served as governor and representative of the second District of Ilocos Norte before elected as a senator from 2010 to 2016.
He ran for the vice presidency in 2016 but lost to Maria Leonor Robredo.
Marcos completed his secondary education at Worth School in Sussex of Britain. He also studied at the University of Oxford and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Marcos has held several positions in both the legislative and executive branches of government: as a senator (six years), a member of the House of Representatives (six years), a governor (12 years), and a vice-governor (three years).
When he was a governor, Marcos transformed Ilocos Norte province into a first-class province by capitalizing on the strengths of the land and its people. He looked for new and modern opportunities to develop the province and pursued it to the end.
Despite the province's dry landscape, Marcos modernized the agricultural and tourism landscape in Ilocos Norte. Under his efforts, the northern Philippine province became both an agricultural exporter and tourism hotspot.
Marcos has two sisters, Irene and Imee. Imee serves as a senator, while Irene does not hold any public office.
Marcos married Louise Araneta-Marcos in 1993. They have three sons: Ferdinand Alexander, Joseph Simon, and William Vincent. ■
