ALLIES OF MARCOS JR. SET TO DOMINATE CONGRESS
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 300seat 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.
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 vice-presidential running mate and daughter of the outgoing populist leader, Sara Duterte, appeared to have also won with a massive margin.
The separately elected president and vice president are set to take office on June 30.