If elected president, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said Wednesday, Jan. 19, he will not appoint anyone in a government position based on "utang na loob" or debt of gratitude), especially if he or she is not an expert in the field.

Marcos Jr. said he might rather designate a political rival or anyone belonging to other political parties to run a government office if he or she can do it.

"The only solution to that is to run it as professionally as possible," he said in a Facebook page Luminous interview when asked what he would do to family members or anyone he has debt of gratitude who would ask him to appoint him in the government.

"If there’s a job that needs to be done, don’t get your cousin unless your cousin is the recognized expert in that field," he added.

Marcos Jr. said we should ensure that people in the government "know their job and are very good at their job" because we "cannot waste time" on people who "have no good ideas."

"To pull ourselves out of this economic situation that the pandemic brought, we are going to have to be imaginative and to come up with new solutions," he said.

"And to do that we have to have the best people around you."

Therefore, Marcos Jr. said he is open to appointing political rivals—even those he fought against during the campaign period—"if they are really good."

"Let's not compromise the performance of the government because when government’s