Allies of Marcos Jr. set to dominate Philippine Congress
MANILA, PHILIPPINES >> Allies of Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the presumptive next president of the Philippines, appear set to dominate both chambers of Congress, further alarming activists after the late dictator son's apparent election victory restored his family to the seat of power.
Ongoing counts from Monday's vote show they're set to capture most of the 300-seat House of Representatives and half of the 24-seat Senate that was up for election, and likely their top leaderships. Their family members and siblings have been also proclaimed winners in local posts, reflecting the strong grip of political dynasties on the Southeast Asian democracy despite a constitutional prohibition that was never enforced.
“It's going to be problematic because an opposition is very much needed in a democracy,” said Jean Franco, a political science professor at the state-run University of the Philippines. “There has to be alternative ideas and there has to be monitoring of what the executive is doing, otherwise, we will be like North Korea.”
The electoral triumph of Marcos Jr. and his allies is an astonishing reversal of the army-backed but largely peaceful “People Power” revolt in 1986 that forced his father out of office following years of massive human rights atrocities and plunder that his son never acknowledged.
Marcos Jr. had more than 31 million votes in the unofficial count in what's projected to be one of the strongest majority mandates for a Philippine president in decades. His vicepresidential running mate and daughter of the outgoing populist leader, Sara Duterte, appeared to have also won with a massive margin.
U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping were among the world leaders who have congratulated them on their huge victory and the relatively smooth conduct of the elections. The separately elected president and vice president are set to take office on June 30 for a single, six-year term after Congress confirms the results.
“It's like a storm surge, a tsunami in Congress for the opposition,” left-wing House Rep. Carlos Zarate, whose nine-year term ends in June, told The Associated Press. “The challenge for the broad opposition is not to concede but to press the fight for good governance, accountability and democracy wherever it takes.”
The small fraction of a left-wing opposition bloc would likely be trimmed further in the incoming Congress largely due to a military campaign to link it to communist guerrillas, Zarate said.
Hundreds of students and anti-Marcos activists protested alleged election fraud, including the breakdown of some voting machines, but riot troops blocked them from getting close to a main vote-counting center in metropolitan Manila.