Unsurprisingly, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, a candidate for the reactionary right, won the Philippine presidential election, the ballot for which was held on Monday May 9. In a speech Tuesday morning from his headquarters in Manila, “BBM”, 64, refrained from proclaiming his victory. He contented himself with thanking his supporters for their months of “sacrifices and work”. “Let’s wait for it to be very clear, for the count to reach 100% of the votes, and then we can celebrate.” A statement from the Elections Commission is expected during the day.
With more than 97% of the 65.7 million votes counted this Tuesday morning, the son of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos obtained more than 30 million votes. This is twice as much as her main rival, outgoing vice-president Leni Robredo, 57, a representative of the social left. A lead impossible to recover.
This accession to power frightens Filipinos who lived through the father’s dictatorship (1965-1986) during which he arrested, tortured and killed thousands of people. Many do not understand how such a rapid return of the Marcos clan to the highest office of the state was possible.
“I saw kids being killed”
For months, a nightmare has shaken the nights of Rey Baltazar G. Reyes, a man with a face marked by time and ash-colored temples. In his dream, he sees the smiling face of Marcos Junior greeting a large crowd of Filipinos. He celebrates his victory in the presidential election. Today, this vision of horror has become reality. “I don’t know if they realize what they’ve done, they don’t know their storyblows this 68-year-old retiree, a student during the martial law imposed by Ferdinand Marcos. I don’t want to believe it.”
However, like his son today, Ferdinand Marcos was democratically elected in 1965. At the start of his mandate, he governed in an authoritarian manner but launched a program of infrastructure construction and economic reform. Re-elected, he proclaimed martial law to fight against communism and stem the rise of violence in the country. Fundamental freedoms are abolished. Tens of thousands of opponents are imprisoned, others are tortured. The dead number in the thousands.
Rey Baltazar, the hoarse voice, recounts having witnessed unprecedented violence between the police, the armed forces and the students at the head of the demonstrations against the regime in the 1980s: “I saw 16-year-old kids being killed in front of my eyes, others being molested by the police or the army before being dumped in trucks and imprisoned. They had carte blanche. The government wanted people to believe that all these young people were communists and that they had to be fought. It was their way of justifying their atrocities.”
Rey Baltazar’s wife, seated next to him, continues: “I also fear that we are deprived of other fundamental freedoms such as the right of expression or the freedom of the press. Forty years ago, people dared not speak out against the regime for fear of reprisals from the government. Already Rodrigo Duterte’s anti-terrorism law has muzzled a lot of people…» This provision created an Anti-Terrorism Council whose members have the power to order the arrest of those they consider to be terrorists, without giving a clear definition. Human rights organizations have opposed the text fearing that populist President Duterte will use it to silence his critics. The Reyes fear it will get worse with Marcos Junior.
Hope Robredo lives on
Andrew tells a story of expropriation experienced by his parents when Ferdinand Marcos was in power. “It was the late 1970s, my father owned a house on Ayala Avenue, one of the main thoroughfares in [Makati]. One day, the authorities came, they razed the house without asking, without warning. My father was an opponent of Ferdinand Marcos and overnight my family found themselves on the street.
So, to keep hope alive, everyone prefers to consider the defeat of their candidate, Leni Robredo, who had promised to rid the country of corruption and the stranglehold of political dynasties, as the beginning of a new story. “She will take the lead of the opposition and, if necessary, of the Revolution. I’m sure she’s a fighter, thinks Rey Baltazar. And then let’s hope she comes back in six years.”
An intuition that the former lawyer and human rights defender confirmed in a televised address. In it, she expresses her “clear disappointment” against the result. “Nothing is lost, we have not fallen”declares the former vice-president before promising to continue the fight against the Marcos once the results are officially validated, within a few weeks. “We’re just getting started”she warned.