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Game for martial law queries? 'If you have something new to ask,' Bongbong says

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ABS-CBN News

Former senator Ferdinand &quot;Bongbong&quot; Marcos Jr. said on Wednesday it would be difficult to engage in &quot;the same conversation I’ve been having for 35 years&quot; when asked if he was willing to answer questions on his father&#x27;s dictatorship. The son and namesake of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, who <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/10/06/21/bongbong-marcos-files-candidacy-for-president">registered his candidac</a>y for president on Oct. 6, said he has &quot;never refused any interview on any basis whatsoever.&quot; Pressed on whether or not he was willing to be interviewed about his father&#x27;s martial law, Marcos replied, &quot;My comment to other people always is if you have something new to ask me.&quot; &quot;Mahirap naman (it is difficult) if we will be talking, having the same conversation I’ve been having for 35 years,&quot; he told reporters after filing his certificate of candidacy.&quot;But of course, I have never, I do not know where that comes from, I have never turned down an interview. I have never specified the subjects that we have to talk about,&quot; continued Marcos. Since returning to the Philippines in 1991 from a 5-year exile in Hawaii after his father&#x27;s overthrow in a &quot;People Power&quot; uprising, Marcos and his family have been trying to rebuild their image, which was tainted by <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/21/21/martial-law-victims-inalala-ang-lagim-ng-batas-militar">human rights violations</a> during the patriarch&#x27;s dictatorship. The government has recovered <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/11/09/18/imelda-marcos-found-guilty-of-graft">P174 billion</a> in Marcos ill-gotten wealth, according to the Presidential Commission on Good Government.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/07/16/why-the-recovery-of-marcos-ill-gotten-wealth-has-taken-ages">Why the recovery of Marcos &#x27;ill-gotten wealth&#x27; has taken ages</a></li></ul>The family denies any wrongdoing. Matriarch Imelda has been <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/21/18/supreme-court-affirms-imelda-marcos-dollar-salting-acquittal">found guilty</a> of several counts of graft in lower courts but has won most of her appeals in higher courts. None of the members of the former first family has been imprisoned. <ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/29/21/sandiganbayan-decision-debunks-marcos-did-not-plunder ">Sandiganbayan decision debunks Marcos did not plunder</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/21/21/fight-efforts-to-rewrite-history-vp-robredo ">Fight efforts to rewrite history: VP Robredo </a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/09/21/17/the-best-of-times-data-debunk-marcoss-economic-golden-years">The best of times? Data debunk Marcos’s economic ‘golden years’</a></li></ul>CARMMA, a group campaigning against the resurgence of the Marcos family, earlier said Bongbong was &quot;not an innocent bystander during the Marcos dictatorship, directly benefiting while holding positions in crony corporations.&quot;His refusal to apologize to martial law victims and denial of involvement in the military rule &quot;completes Bongbong&#x27;s self-centered image and blind focus on restoring the stature of the Marcos family to their former glory.&quot; Bongbong has asked the public to &quot;move on and move forward,&quot; saying the past cannot be changed and that &quot;blaming others and finding scapegoats are not solutions&quot; to the many problems the country is facing.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/focus/11/22/16/no-martial-law-babies-imee-bongbong-held-key-posts-under-dads-rule">No &#x27;Martial Law&#x27; babies: Imee, Bongbong held key posts under dad&#x27;s rule</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/focus/02/23/13/imelda-looks-forward-another-marcos-president">Imelda looks forward to another Marcos as president</a></li></ul> Marcos, 64, is a former governor, congressman, and senator. He on Tuesday said he would seek the top government post to bring back &quot;unifying leadership&quot; as the country faced the COVID-19 crisis that he dubbed &quot;one of the greatest tests in its history.&quot; <ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/10/06/21/bongbong-bong-in-2022-well-see-says-marcos">Bongbong-Bong in 2022? &#x27;We&#x27;ll see,&#x27; says Marcos, Jr.</a></li></ul><div> </div>

Is Bongbong Marcos Jr. willing to answer questions on his father's dictatorship? Here's what he has to say.