Another House leader has pegged President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. as the "it" leader of Southeast Asia.
"There's no question that he (Marcos) is emerging as the new leader in Southeast Asia. He has successfully organized his administration and is ready to take off," reckoned House Minority Leader and 4Ps Party-list Rep. Marcelino Libanan.
Libanan made the statement Friday, Oct. 7, which was incidentally Marcos's 100th day in office as Chief Executive.
One of Marcos's upcoming working trips abroad is the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Cambodia. The regional summit, the Filipino leader's first, will take place next month.
Earlier this week, House Majority Leader and Zamboanga City 2nd district Rep. Mannix Dalipe described Marcos as the region's de facto leader of sorts.
"Let’s face it, right now. If you look at the political landscape of Southeast Asia, si President BBM ang ating kuwan eh, siya ang tumatayong leader for Southeast Asia (President BBM stands as the leader for Southeast Asia),” Dalipe said.
Marcos is slowly but surely engaging more global leaders in a bid to strike deals beneficial to Filipinos.
Late last month, Marcos or PBBM, as he is sometimes called, made his "world debut" during the 77th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York City, in the United States (US). His speech was among the highlights of the event.
House Speaker Martin Romualdez, who accompanied Marcos to New York, said that Marcos "verbalized what an average Filipino family would want to tell world leaders: please get your acts together so that we keep families all over the world feeling safe and secure for generations to come".
On the sidelines of the UNGA, the Filipino leader met with his US counterpart, President Joe Biden, to discuss opportunities to expand cooperation between the two nations on a wide range of issues, including energy security, climate action, and infrastructure.
"President Marcos strengthened our relationship with the Western world, especially the US," Libanan noted.