MANILA — In a rare show of candor, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. sat down for two hours with Mr. Pure Energy Gary Valenciano to talk about parts of his life not usually seen in official presidential functions.
On its 20th episode, the Unshaken podcast with the seasoned Kapamilya performer unraveled tales of the President's private life— from his childhood dreams to more personal things like not liking desserts to love for sci-fi films.
"Growing up, sir, what did you think you were going to become when you grew up?" Valenciano asked Marcos.
"The funny thing is, I'll tell you what, I knew I wasn't going to be – was a politician," Marcos said.
"I absolutely said that is one walk of life that I am not going to go down cause I saw how difficult it is," Marcos added.
"Sabi ko I'll do something else. I had the affinity with mathematics and science. I wanted to be a scientist. I dreamed of working in a white lab gown, continue to study and maybe teach a little bit," he said.
Marcos said he was also heavily influenced by music while growing up, which encouraged him to consider pursuing a life in music.
"And my mother, because she's so musically minded, we always had music in our house. There was always music playing," he said.
"So I learned to play the flute because Ian Anderson played flute. So I learned to play the flute. Then I played in the orchestra. Then my instructor said that, you know, if you play the flute, you should play the saxophone. So I learned to play the saxophone," Marcos added.
Marcos said two of his childhood dreams, way before entering politics, was to either be an astronaut or a rockstar.
"I would have done anything to fly in space and I would have done anything to have a life in music," he said.
The two-hour conversation took on several topics— where Valenciano asked mundane questions like Star Wars or Star Trek, eventually transitioning to harder questions like his philosophy in leadership, his life in exile, and how he manages working under heavy public scrutiny.
"Were you competitive in your younger years?," Mr. Pure Energy asked.
Marcos replied in the affirmative.
"Yes. I think up to now. When you do something and someone does it better than you, I can improve pa. Ayaw magpatalo. But I'm not obnoxious about it," he added.
Marcos shared that there are times he forgets being a President, saying it actually took a while before it sunk in him that he was elected as the country's chief executive.
"It feels like I'm just speaking to a man who happens to be called the President. But I'm getting to know the man behind the power," Valenciano said.
"I'm glad, I still see myself that way. Oo nga pala, President. I sometimes have that thought. After the elections people would ask, has it sunk in? It really hasn't sunk in yet. But that thinking goes away when you start working," Marcos added.
Valenciano came prepared with a string of existential to philosophical questions, which included a view in his personal virtues that he applies in his leadership.
"One of the best pieces of advice I had is always work for the ideal. It's ingrained to me because I'm in the public eye. I'm a public servant. To serve well, you have to get it right," Marcos said.
He ended with a candid message to all Filipinos.
"I just hope people realize and people know and feel that what we're doing is right, what we're doing is for the better and to understand that at least myself the people around me, we're sincere in making this country better," Marcos ended.
"Unshaken with Gary V" is available in Youtube, Spotify, and other digital streaming platforms.