For his oathtaking, inauguration on June 30 as nation’s 17th President
President-Elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will take his oath of office at the National Museum, the incoming chief of his Presidential Management Staff (PMS) said Thursday.
“The National Museum of (the) Philippines building and its surrounding areas match our requirements for President-elect Marcos’ inauguration. Preparations are already in full swing to ensure that it will be ready by then,” said PMS secretary-designate Zenaida Angping.
The National Museum, formerly known as the Old Legislative Building, has served as the venue for the inauguration of former presidents Manuel L. Quezon (1935), Jose P. Laurel (1943), and Manuel Roxas (1946).
It is one of three historical sites earlier being considered by the Marcos camp as possible inaugural venues.
The other two were the Quirino Grandstand and Fort Santiago.
The Quirino Grandstand was where Marcos’ father and namesake, the late president Ferdinand Marcos Sr., held his inauguration as the country’s 10th president in 1965.
Angping said the Quirino Grandstand was not chosen as the venue for Marcos’ inauguration because the ocular inspection team had noticed that it was surrounded by several field hospitals accommodating patients with COVID-19.
“The safety and welfare of our people are paramount. As such, we chose to avoid disrupting the medical care being given to the COVID-19 patients housed there. That’s why we opted for the National Museum as the venue,” she added.
On May 25, Marcos was proclaimed by Congress as the country’s new president after winning the 2022 national elections by a landslide 31,629,783 votes, or more than 16 million votes ahead of the closest contender, Vice President Leni Robredo.
Marcos said he was humbled as Congress formally declared him President-elect on Wednesday, then promised Filipinos he would “strive for perfection” as the country’s 17th Chief Executive while asking “all to pray for me… (and) wish me well.”
With Congress, sitting as the National Board of Canvassers, certifying the results of the May 9 general elections after the fastest official counting of votes in the country’s history—done over just two days—Marcos Jr. and running mate Sara Duterte-Carpio were declared President and Vice President, respectively.
“I want to do well because when a President does well, the country does well, and I want to do well for this country,” Marcos, 64, told reporters at the Batasang Pambansa complex in Quezon City.
“I am humbled because for anyone in public service or in a public life, the most valuable you may receive from fellow citizens is their vote because embedded in that vote are their hopes and aspirations for the future,” said Marcos Jr., who went by “presumptive president” for about 16 days before Congress ratified the results of the automated elections.
“Also embedded in that vote are the trust and confidence that they give to you to take them to that aspirational future.
And that is why to have received over 31 million votes from our countrymen is as valuable an expression of trust as can be had by anyone in public life,” he added.