Bongbong Marcos
The son of a deposed dictator who returned from political exile to win the Philippine presidency, reshaping the nation's memory and future.
Born 1957 (age 69)·President of the Philippines since 2022·Birthday: September 13·Baby Boomers
Biography
Ferdinand Marcos Jr., known universally as Bongbong, was born into a political dynasty that defined and nearly broke the Philippines. His childhood was spent in Malacañang Palace, the presidential residence, during his father's two-decade rule, which ended in a 1986 revolution that sent the family into exile in Hawaii. Marcos Jr. returned to the Philippines after his father's death, embarking on a decades-long political project to rehabilitate the family name. He served as a governor, congressman, and senator, often leveraging nostalgia for his father's era while downplaying its documented brutality and corruption. His 2022 presidential victory, in a landslide alongside vice-presidential candidate Sara Duterte, marked a stunning reversal of fortune. His presidency has been characterized by a recalibration of foreign policy, warmer ties with Beijing and Washington, and an active campaign to reshape the historical narrative of the Marcos years through education and media.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Bongbong was born in 1957, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Bongbong Was Born
The biggest hits of 1957
#1 Movie
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Best Picture
The Bridge on the River Kwai
#1 TV Show
Gunsmoke
Bongbong's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1957Born
Sputnik launches the Space Age
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $10,550Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"All Shook Up" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: The Bridge on the River Kwai
1962Started school
Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,800Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Stranger on the Shore" — Acker BilkBest Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
1970Became a teenager
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
1973Could drive
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1975Could vote
Fall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
Gas: $0.57/galHome: $27,600Min wage: $2.10/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & TennilleBest Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1978Turned 21
First test-tube baby born
Gas: $0.63/galHome: $35,300Min wage: $2.65/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Shadow Dancing" — Andy GibbBest Picture: The Deer Hunter
1987Turned 30
Black Monday stock market crash
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $72,400Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Walk Like an Egyptian" — The BanglesBest Picture: The Last Emperor
1997Turned 40
Princess Diana dies in Paris car crash; Harry Potter published
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $104,100Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Candle in the Wind 1997" — Elton JohnBest Picture: Titanic
2007Turned 50
iPhone released; Great Recession begins
Gas: $2.80/galHome: $172,600Min wage: $5.85/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Irreplaceable" — BeyonceBest Picture: No Country for Old Men
2017Turned 60
#MeToo movement; solar eclipse crosses the US
Gas: $2.42/galHome: $195,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Shape of You" — Ed SheeranBest Picture: The Shape of Water
2026Age 69 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Elected the 17th President of the Philippines in 2022, winning the largest electoral mandate in decades.
- Served as a Philippine Senator from 2010 to 2016, chairing the Committee on Local Government.
- Served as Governor of Ilocos Norte, the family's political stronghold, from 1998 to 2007.
- Led a successful political movement to rehabilitate the Marcos family legacy after their 1986 exile.
Did You Know?
He was a teenager when he left the Philippines in 1986 and spent several years in exile in the United States.
He studied at Oxford University's St Edmund Hall but did not complete a degree there.
His nickname 'Bongbong' is a common Filipino diminutive for a second son.
He is an accomplished guitarist and has performed with a band.
“I am not a politician. I am a public servant.”
