The child of the former totalitarian dictator of the Philippines has won the country’s presidential election. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. accumulated over 30 million votes since the night of May 9, with over 95% of votes counted. The outcomes have actually not been made official, though, it is thought the child of Ferdinand Marcos had two times as much support as the runner-up, Vice President Leni Robredo.
“Even though the counting is not over yet, I cannot wait to thank all of you … to those who helped, to those who joined our fight, to those who sacrificed,” Marcos Jr. said to his supporters in a speech the night of the election, per CNN. Marcos did not formally declare victory during the address.
“If we’ll be fortunate, I’ll expect that your help will not wane, your trust will not wane because we have a lot of things to do in the times ahead,” he said.
The triumph marks the Marcos household’s effective return to power after Marcos Sr. was toppled in 1986. Imelda Marcos, Marcos Jr.’s mom, ran and was defeated two times for political office after she returned from exile in the United States in the early 1990s.
Marcos Jr., who is known by the nickname of his youth “Bongbong,” has actually been associated with nationwide politics and formerly acted as a congressman and a senator.
“Marcos Jr. has defended his father’s legacy and steadfastly refuses to apologize for and acknowledge the atrocities and plunder during the dictatorship,” reports Fox News. “Married to a lawyer, with whom he has three sons, he has stayed away from controversies, including a past tax conviction and the Marcos family’s refusal to pay a huge estate tax.”
When he avoided the nationwide governmental arguments and made just a restricted number of media looks, the political leader drew criticism.
“Critics say the campaign sought to discredit historical accounts of cronyism, plunder and brutality during the two-decade Marcos dictatorship, about half of which was under martial law,” per Reuters.
Populist Sara Duterte Carpio, the daughter of existing President Rodrigo Duterte, is Marcos Jr’s running mate and the most likely victor of the vice-presidential race. Carpio’s father is under examination for supposedly breaching human rights laws as part of his war on drugs.
In the Philippines, the president and vice president are chosen independently as opposed to the joint tickets here in the United States.
The Philippines were “hit hard by two years of COVID-19 outbreaks and lockdowns and long troubled by crushing poverty, gaping inequalities, Muslim and communist insurgencies and deep political divisions,” reports Penn Live.
Robredo was able to claim over 14 million votes and has not formally yielded the election. The former pro -boxer and Senator Manny Pacquiao took 3rd place with 3.5 million votes according to informal results reported on May 10.
The president-elect will take office on June 30 and can serve for only one six-year term.
H/T Timcast