Presidential candidate and UniTeam member Bongbong Marcos reiterated Monday, March 21 that he views himself as being on the same side as President Duterte--the side of the administration.
Marcos had this to say after he was asked in a pre-taped interview if getting Duterte's endorsement wax still important to him despite his lofty survey numbers roughly two months away from the May polls.
"Oo, syempre. Malaking bagay dahil pare-pareho naman kami, magkapanig kami eh ( Yes, of course. The endorsement is a big deal because we're the same, we're from the same side)," Marcos during the "Kandidatalks: Negosyo, Trabaho at Kalusugan" by Go Negosyo.
"Nasa administration side kami pareho. Kaya't sana, ayun na nga, unity ulit, maipagkaisa natin yung administration side (We're both from the administration side. That's why, again it's about unity, hopefully we unite the administration side)," he added.
This was the second time in less than a week that Marcos, who last served in government in 2016 as a senator, identified himself as an administration stalwart.
He said he doesn't see any candidate turning out an endorsement coming from a president who garnered an 80 percent approval rating.
"Kapag sinabi ng Pangulo ito yung dapat nating tulungan, marami talagang tutulong sayo. Sino bang kandidato ang hihindi sa ganyan (If the President says that this is the one we should help, a lot of people will really help you. Which candidate would say no to that)," he said.
Former chief presidential legal counsel, senatorial candidate Salvador Panelo had earlier teased that Marcos was Duterte's secret preference in the Palace race.
Marcos's running mate in the May 2022 elections is presidential daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio.