Shooin result reinstates Marcos dynasty
MANILA: The Philippines woke to a new but familiar (to older voters) political dawn yesterday after an election win by Ferdinand Marcos jun paved the way for a once unimaginable return to the country’s highest office for its most notorious political dynasty.
Marcos, better known as ‘‘Bongbong’’, trounced bitter rival Leni Robredo to become the first candidate in recent history to win a Philippines presidential election majority, marking a stunning comeback that has been decades in the making for the son and namesake of an ousted dictator.
Marcos fled into exile in Hawaii with his family during a 1986 ‘‘people power’’ uprising that ended his father’s autocratic 20year rule, and has served in congress and the senate since his return to the Philippines in 1991.
Victory in the election looks unassailable with 96% of the eligible ballots counted in an unofficial tally, showing he has more than 30 million votes, about double Robredo’s tally.
An official result is expected near the end of the month.
‘‘There are thousands of you out there, volunteers, parallel groups, political leaders that have cast their lot with us because of our belief in our message of unity,’’ Marcos said in a statement streamed on Facebook, standing beside a national flag.
Though Marcos (64) campaigned on unity, analysts say his presidency is unlikely to foster that, despite big voter support.
Marcos has pledged to subsidise food and fuel and Philippine stocks fell about 3% yesterday.
Many among the millions of Robredo voters were angered by what they call a brazen attempt by the disgraced former presidential family to use its mastery of social media to reinvent historical narratives of its time in power.
Younger voters influenced by carefully crafted digital platform messaging about the Marcos’ time in power were born too late to know how many thousand pairs of shoes first lady Imelda Marcos had, or other details of funnelling state wealth offshore.
Thousands of opponents of Ferdinand Marcos sen suffered persecution during a brutal 19721981 era of martial law, and the family name became synonymous with plunder, cronyism and extravagant living, with billions of dollars of national wealth disappearing.