MANILA (UPDATE) — President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr. on Thursday vowed to deliver on his promises to the people without any "excuses," emphasizing his goal for immediate pandemic recovery and better lives for the Filipinos.

Marcos, 64, who prefaced his speech about his campaign call for unity, urged Filipinos to work with him in his government. If this can happen, "we will go very far under my watch", he said.

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"I will need your help. I want to rely on it but rest assured I do not predicate success on the wide cooperation that's needed. I will get it done," he said in his 25-minute inaugural address at the National Museum after taking his oath as the Philippines' 17th president.

"I once knew a man who saw what little had been achieved since independence in the land of people with the greatest potential for achievement and yet they were poor. But he got it done. Sometimes with needed support, sometimes without. So will it be with his son. You will get no excuses from me," he added.

Marcos is the son of the late President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. who ruled from 1965 until 1986.

The new leader said his administration will be geared towards fresh techniques in handling crises — local or foreign — and putting more opportunities for every Filipino to assist them during difficult times.

"I am here not to talk about the past. I am here to tell you about our future. A future of sufficiency, even plenty of readily available ways and means to get done what needs doing by you, by me," said Marcos.

"We do not look back but ahead. Up the road that we must take to a place better than the one we lost in the pandemic. Gains made and lost, opportunities missed, well-laid plans superseded by the pandemic."

HOPE

What drives Marcos? These are hope and dreams for the country, he said.

He will fulfill his duties as president giving "the last ounce of courage and sacrifice", he said.

"Your dreams are mine. Ang pangarap niyo ay pangarap ko (your hope is my hope)."

"If you ask me why I am so confident of the future, I will answer you simply that I have 110 million reasons to start with. Such is my faith in the Filipino. Believe. Have hope."

The successor of Rodrigo Duterte will inherit nearly P13 trillion in debt and the problems of the unabated rise in fuel prices amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

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Marcos won the May elections with over 31 million votes, making him the first majority president since 1986, when a popular uprising toppled the 2-decade rule of his father.

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