Marcos Jr. expected to be Philippines’ next leader
MANILA, Philippines — The namesake son of late Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos appeared to have been elected Philippine president by a landslide in an astonishing reversal of the 1986 “People Power” prodemocracy revolt that ousted his father.
Marcos Jr. had more than 30.8 million votes in the unofficial results with more than 97 percent of the votes tabulated as of Tuesday afternoon. His nearest challenger, Vice President Leni Robredo, a champion of human rights, had 14.7 million votes in Monday’s election, and boxing great Manny Pacquiao appeared to have the thirdhighest total with 3.5 million.
His running mate, Sara Duterte, the daughter of the outgoing president and mayor of southern Davao City, had a formidable lead in the separate vice presidential race.
The alliance of the scions of two authoritarian leaders combined the voting power of their families’ political strongholds in the north and south.
A group of activists who suffered under the dictatorship said they were enraged by Marcos’s apparent victory and would oppose it.
“A possible win based on a campaign built on blatant lies, historical distortions and mass deception is tantamount to cheating your way to victory,” said the group Campaign Against the Return of the Marcoses and Martial Law. “This is not acceptable.”
Marcos Jr. and Duterte avoided volatile issues during their campaign and instead stuck steadfastly to a battle cry of national unity, even though their fathers’ presidencies opened some of the most turbulent divisions in the country’s history.
Marcos Jr. has not claimed victory but thanked his supporters in a late-night 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.
Robredo has not conceded defeat but told her supporters the fight for reforms and democracy won’t end with the elections.
“The voice of the people is getting clearer and clearer,” she said.
The election winner will take office June 30 for a single sixyear term as leader of a Southeast Asian nation 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.