Newly-elected Senator Imee Marcos insists that she isn’t out to take her critics down.
That’s what the lawmaker said right after she was proclaimed as one of the Philippines’ 12 new senators at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City this morning.
Coincidentally, Imee’s proclamation comes 60 years after her father, the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, was first elected senator in 1959.
Prior to becoming senator, Imee was the governor of Ilocos Norte.
In a conversation with reporters at the PICC, Imee told her critics that they can rest easy because she has no plans of going after them, reported ABS-CBN News.
“To all the bashers, all the haters, to everyone mad at us (Marcoses), do not be afraid of me because I am not vengeful,” she said in a mix of English and Filipino. “I will just do my job.”
Critics hounded Imee for most of her campaign because of her family’s history. Her father ruled the Philippines for 21 years, a time remembered for its numerous human rights violations and massive corruption. Meanwhile, her mother, Imelda Marcos, is known for her flamboyant lifestyle and was convicted of graft in November but remains at large.
Critics have also lambasted Imee for claiming that she graduated from the University of the Philippines (UP) and Princeton University despite statements from both institutions that she did not finish her studies.
But she said the criticisms do not bother her.
“I’m always been hit with so many issues. That’s fine. [We’re a] punching bag. My family is used to it,” she told members of the media.
She also remembered to thank those loyal to her family, many of whom are from the Ilocos region, for voting for her.
In reference to the hit show Game of Thrones, she said: “I’m thankful to the Ilocanos. Like what the television series says, ‘the North remembers.’ I certainly will never forget [them] so I’m really grateful to all the Ilocanos, to the loyalists who have remained with us. Certainly, I will remain even more loyal to them.”
Ilocanos are so loyal to the Marcos family that they also elected Imee’s son Matthew Manotoc as governor of Ilocos Norte.
Imee won last week’s election with 15,882,628 votes, enough to land her at the eighth place out of 12, based on the Commission on Election’s final and official tally released today. Members of her family accompanied her at the proclamation, including her younger sister Irene Marcos-Araneta, reported CNN Philippines.
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