President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. rejected the claims his administration shares significant policy parallels with the late President Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” Aquino III.

During his recent media interview in Washington, D.C., after attending the trilateral summit with the United States and Japan, Marcos dismissed notions of continuity between his government and Aquino’s.

The similarities were purported to concern their economic focus, ties with the United States, and sovereignty stance regarding the West Philippine Sea.

Discussions online covered the recently signed Executive Order (EO) 56 and Administrative Order (AO) 18, which netizens claimed resembled Aquino’s policies.

EO 56 aimed to prevent abuse and improve transparency among government officials by tightening regulations on the issuance of special plates given to government officials.

AO 18 bans government officials from using sirens (wang-wang), which was also implemented under the Aquino administration.

In 2010, during Aquino’s inaugural speech as president, he said that the use of wang-wang was illegal because it showed entitlement at the cost of regular Filipinos.The late Ferdinand Marcos Sr., who was Marcos’ father and namesake, also banned the same things during martial law years.

Marcos said that his recently signed orders do more than just discourage using wang-wang.

“The Executive Order is not just about sirens; it’s about really reducing the number of vehicles with special privileges,” Marcos said.

“It’s about imposing discipline,” he reiterated, emphasizing the government’s responsibility to set a positive example for the driving public.

Marcos remained firm in his stance regarding comparisons to Aquino’s administration, especially concerning sovereignty issues in the West Philippine Sea.

“I don’t see it. I don’t see it at all because, well, I just don’t see it,” Marcos added.

Under the Aquino administration, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague rejected China’s nine-dash line claim.

However, since Marcos took office, China has become more aggressive against the Philippines on the West Philippine Sea.

The Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam and Indonesia all have claims in the disputed waters that differ from China’s.