If President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. had a "cheerleader" of sorts during his first day at the 2022 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Bangkok, Thailand, then it was probably Pampanga 2nd district Rep. and former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
This can be gleaned from the remarks of House Speaker Martin Romualdez, who along with Arroyo accompanied Marcos to the summit.
“You could see GMA (Arroyo) there literally cheering him on and we would see how delighted she was with his performance and the crowd itself was applauding our President for his very, very clear cut answers, and very incisive,” Romualdez said in an interview with members of the Philippine media covering the event.
Arroyo is the senior deputy speaker in the Philippine House of Representatives. She is also a former House Speaker.
Romualdez noted that Marcos earned applause from the business leaders attending the event, particularly when the Chief Executive said the best way to regain the trust of the people is performance.
“I think the President does very well in this fora, in these types of fora where there are exchanges, and in his insights into the conditionality in the Philippines whether it be economic or even political,” Romualdez further commented.
This is Marcos's first time attending an APEC Summit.