President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. (Yummie Dingding/PPA Pool)

Members of the “Young Guns” bloc in the House of Representatives gave their congratulatory remarks to President Marcos for being featured in the “100 Most Influential People of 2024” list by the renowned TIME magazine. 

Marcos was collectively praised in a joint statement on Friday, April 19, by Reps. Migs Nograles (PBA Party-list), Jay Khonghun (Zambales), Zia Alonto Adiong (Lanao del Sur), Pammy Zamora (Taguig), and Paolo Ortega (La Union).

In the TIME article published on Wednesday, correspondent Charlie Campbell gave credit to Marcos for elevating the Philippines onto the world stage, steadying the post-pandemic economy, and bringing back technocrats into the government.

“TIME magazine gave credit where it is highly due. For one, people from inside and outside of government have observed how discerning our President is in choosing members of his team, who are technocrats to begin with,” said Nograles, referring to the Cabinet members chosen by Marcos.

“This is a very good start for the administration. This also bodes well not just for our improving and stellar economy, but for the things to come in the next four years. The best is yet to come as they say,” she added.

Khongun, who is an assistant majority leader, said Marcos' entry to the list is “something that makes us proud of our President”.

He described it as “affirmation” that the 31 million Filipinos who voted for Marcos in the May 2022 national elections “simply made the right choice”.

For her part, Zamora said she is elated that the popular magazine gave credit to the President for his nearly two-year leadership.

“This is not an easy feat I should say, as we all know how judicious and high-brow the magazine is,” the solon said.

“This is a highly-coveted article coming from a very prestigious magazine that is known globally for its integrity and credibility,” she added.

The TIME article also commended Marcos for standing steadfast amid heightened Chinese aggression in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

“We’re glad that TIME magazine acknowledged that despite being a silent and low-key head of state, they gave credit to President Marcos for standing up against China’s continued advances over our very own maritime territory,” said Adiong.

“I can imagine how the President feels that after all his hard work, it has now come to this—a credit from no less than one of the most respected news magazines in the world for several decades. What he started to plant is now bearing fruit, so to speak,” he said.

Ortega said that from the perspective of Congress, TIME's gesture suggests that efforts in passing the priority bills of the Marcos administration “have paid off".

“Seeing our President on the world stage inspires us to work even more,” he stressed.