He has denied responsibility for his family's hidden wealth even if he was oficially identified as a beneficiary. He has, of course, downplayed the cruelty of the Martial Law, preferring instead to talk about the infrastructural accomplishments of the time. Some people still think that he was too young when it all happened but, of course, he was not. He became vice governor and governor of Ilocos Norte in the 1980s, during which at least two extra-judicial killings took place in his province. In 1985, Ferdinand Junior, at 27, was the chairman of the board of Philippine Communications Satellite Corporation. Later on, investigators found out that Philcomsat was a conduit of the family's ill-gotten wealth.