Marcos, better known as “Bongbong”, beat his rival Leni Robredo to become the first candidate in recent history to win a majority in the Philippine presidential elections, marking a resounding comeback for the son and namesake of a ousted dictator. , which lasted for decades.
Marcos went into exile in Hawa with his family during the 1986 popular uprising that ended his father’s 20-year autocratic rule. He has served in Congress and the Senate since returning to the Philippines in 1991.
Marcos’ landslide victory in Monday’s election seemed certain when the first results of an unofficial vote rolled in and with 95% of eligible ballots counted, he had more than 30 million votes, double that of Robredo. .
An official result is expected towards the end of the month.
Marcos declined to celebrate, offering instead what he called a declaration of gratitude.
“There are thousands of you, volunteers, parallel groups, political leaders who have set their sights on us because we believe in our message of unity,” he said, standing next to a national flag, in comments posted on Facebook.
“Any business as big as this doesn’t involve just one person, it involves many, many people working in many, many different ways.”
Although Marcos, 64, campaigned on a platform of unity, political analysts say his presidency is unlikely to foster that, despite the huge margin of victory.
Among Robredo’s millions of voters, many are furious at what they see as a brazen attempt by the disgraced former first family to use their mastery of social media to reinvent the historical narratives of their time in power.
Thousands of Marcos senior opponents were persecuted during the brutal martial law period of 1972-1981, and the family name became synonymous with plunder, cronyism and extravagant living, with billions of dollars of wealth vanishing. of the state.
The Marcos family have denied any wrongdoing and many of their supporters, bloggers and social media influencers say historical accounts are distorted.
A DESPICABLE IMAGE
Human rights group Karapatan has called on Filipinos to reject the new Marcos presidency, which it says is built on lies and misinformation “to deodorize the ugly image of the Marcos”.
“Marcos Jr has not publicly acknowledged his father’s crimes and his family’s role as direct beneficiaries,” he said in a statement.
“Marcos Jr continues to spit on the graves and suffering endured by all victims of Marcos Martial Law while feigning ignorance over the many documented atrocities.”
Marcos, who shunned debates and interviews during the campaign, recently praised his father as a genius and a statesman, but was also irritated by questions about the era of the martial law.
As the vote count showed the magnitude of Marcos’ victory, Ms. Robredo told her supporters to continue their fight for the truth until the next election.
“It took time to build the structures of lies. We have the time and the opportunity to fight them and dismantle them,” she said.
Marcos gave few clues on the campaign trail as to what his political program would be, but he is expected to closely follow incumbent President Rodrigo Duterte, who has seen major infrastructure works, ties ties with China and strong growth. Duterte’s tough leadership style won him great support.
Political science professor Aries Arugay said Marcos has a lot to do to prove he is sincere about unity.
“This polarization will happen anyway,” he said.
“Under a Marcos presidency it will perhaps become more pernicious because I don’t think the slogan of unity will be implemented, which is to reach out to the other side.”
“It will be difficult to sell because it is not credible”.