By Deighton Acuin

PHOTO: Bandera

Former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos was inspired from watching a Marvel movie entitled “Ant-Man” to pursue his presidential bid for the 2022 elections, according to his kin.

According to Marvel, Ant-Man, with an identity of Scott Lang, “is a former convicted thief who was struggling to pay child support to his estranged wife for visitation rights to his daughter, Cassie Lang. With the promise of money, he was convinced by Hank Pym to take on the mantle of Ant-Man: a superhero with an advanced suit designed to shrink its wearer to a tiny size while increasing one's toughness, agility, and physical strength.”

“You know, six months ago, he wasn’t yet sure what to do, he had no party. And then one day, we were watching ‘Ant-Man’ in the room, because we love Marvel movies, and then he looked at me and he goes, ‘Okay, we’re gonna do this,’ he told me,” Bongbong’s wife, Liza Araneta Marcos said during an interview with “Asia’s King of Talk” Boy Abunda.

“I said, ‘do what?’ ‘Run for the presidency,’ [he responded],” she added.

Upon hearing her husband’s decision, she said that she felt nervous as to what happened in 2016 when Marcos lost to incumbent Vice President Leni Robredo with 263,473 votes, despite multiple pleas for recount before the Supreme Court’s Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET).

“Also, I didn’t want him to get hurt because you know in 2016, when he lost [in the vice presidential elections], it was really a painful experience for him and he was like, ‘wow, what happened?’,” Liza said.

“You see this groundswell and poof, you lost, and that’s everyday campaigning. So it’s really painful. It was a painful experience,” she continued.

“It’s his decision. I didn’t encourage, but I didn’t discourage,” she added, when Abunda asked a follow-up question on whether Liza discouraged Bongbong or not.

Bongbong Marcos, son of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. who was ousted in 1986 due to a People Power Revolution held in Epifanio Delos Santos Avenue (EDSA), is running for presidency under Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) along with Davao City Mayor and presidential daughter Sara Duterte-Carpio who is vying for vice presidency under LAKAS-Christian Muslim Democrats (LAKAS-CMD).

Moreover, their senatorial slate candidates are incumbent senator Sherwin Gatchalian, House Deputy Speaker Loren Legarda, former Presidential spokesman Harry Roque, former DPWH secretary Mark Villar, former senator Jinggoy Estrada, former Quezon City mayor Herbert Bautista, former Defense secretary Gilbert Teodoro, incumbent Senate majority leader Migz Zubiri, former DICT secretary Gringo Honasan, SAGIP Partylist Representative Rodante Marcoleta, suspended lawyer Larry Gadon, and actor Robin Padilla whom Sara Duterte said is a “guest candidate.”


Edited by: Phylline Calubayan