Marcos Jr predicted to win by a landslide

FILIPINOS VOTE TOMORROW FOR DUTERTE’S SUCCESSOR

The son of late Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos addressed hundreds of thousands of supporters yesterday on the final day of presidential election campaigning, as polls show him heading towards a landslide win.

Up to 65 million Filipinos are eligible to cast ballots tomorrow to decide on the successor to President Rodrigo Duterte, plus thousands of other posts, from lawmakers and governors to city mayors and councillors.

A two-horse presidential race has emerged between Vice President Leni Robredo and frontrunner Ferdinand Marcos Jr, the son and namesake of a strongman whose two-decade rule ended with his overthrow in a 1986 “people power” uprising.

Victory in the election would cap a decades-long effort to rehabilitate the Marcos legacy after the patriarch was deposed and the disgraced clan chased into US exile.

Major milestone in sight

Polls indicate Marcos Jr will win more than half the votes, which would make him the first presidential candidate in the post-Marcos era to secure an absolute majority.

“If he wins really big that could give him the kind of confidence and momentum to more radically alter the Philippines political system,” analyst Richard Heydarian told AFP.

The latest poll by Pulse Asia Research showed Marcos Jr on 56 per cent — 33 percentage points ahead of his nearest rival Leni Robredo, who narrowly beat him in the 2016 vice-presidential race.

Robredo, 57, has warned supporters that the “future of the country” is at stake.

Her recent poll bump has raised hopes among progressive supporters that their volunteer-driven campaign could yet deliver an upset.

But pollster Ana Maria Tabunda of Pulse Asia Research said there was little chance of that. “Our error margin is only plus or minus two percentage points — given the large gap it’s not going to be affecting the results,” she told AFP.

Robredo faces an “uphill battle”, said Cleve Arguelles, an assistant lecturer in political science at De La Salle University in Manila.

56% Marcos Jr’s voteshare in latest poll by Pulse Asia Research

AFP Supporters of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his running mate Sara Duterte, daughter of President Rodrigo Duterte, gather for a campaign rally in Paranaque City, suburban Manila, yesterday.

Reuters Supporters of Vice President and presidential candidate Leni Robredo dance during a rally in Makati, Metro Manila, yesterday.