MANILA, May 10 (Reuters) – After the election victory of Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the Philippines emerged on Tuesday in a new but familiar political landscape, paving the way for an once-unimaginable return to the country’s highest office of its worst political dynasty.
Marcos, also known as “Pang Pong”, became the first candidate in recent history to defeat bitter rival Lenny Roberto and win a landslide victory in the Philippine presidential election. In preparation. read more
Marcos was deported to Hawaii with his family during the “People’s Power” uprising in 1986, which ended his father’s 20-year rule, and has served in Congress and the Senate since returning to the Philippines in 1991.
Sign up now for unlimited free access to Reuters.com
Marcos’ runway victory in Monday’s election is now certain, with about 98% of the eligible votes coming in with 31 million votes.
The official results are expected to be released later this month.
“Thousands of you, volunteers, peer groups, political leaders have joined us in contributing to our message of solidarity because of our faith,” Marcos said in a statement streamed on Facebook, standing near the Philippine flag.
Political analysts say Marcos, 64, is campaigning on a platform of solidarity and despite his victory margin, his presidency is unlikely to grow.
Philippine Stocks (.PSI) Fell 3% on Tuesday. Although analysts cite uncertainty over what policies Marcos might pursue, the fall has seen weak global stocks.
“Investors want to see his economic group,” said Jonathan Ravelas, chief market strategist at BDO Unibank in Manila. The peso, meanwhile, rose 0.4% against the dollar.
Many millions of Roberto voters are outraged to see the humiliated ex-first family as a shameful attempt to use its prowess on social media to rediscover the historical stories of the time they were in power.
Thousands of senior Marcos’ opponents were persecuted during the brutal era of martial law from 1972-1981, and family name robbery became synonymous with cronyism and extravagant living, and billions of dollars in state wealth disappeared.
In Manila, Philippines, on May 10, 2022, students and activists outside the Electoral Commission rallied against the unofficial number of national elections to mark the victory of presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bangpong” Marcos Jr. as president.REUTERS / Eloisa Lopez
The Marcos family has denied the allegations and many of its supporters, bloggers and social media influencers claim that historical accounts have been distorted.
Students stage struggle
About 400 people, mostly students, staged a protest outside the Election Commission on Tuesday against Marcos and citing election irregularities.
The Election Commission (COMELEC) said on Tuesday that the referendum was relatively quiet, confirming Tuesday that it had rejected complaints filed by various groups, including victims of martial law seeking to exclude Marcos from the presidency under the 1995 tax. Penalty for evasion.
One of the petitioners, the left-wing group Akbayan, said he would appeal the decision to the Supreme Court, describing it as “a massive and institutional failure”.
The appointment of Sarah Duterte-Corpio, the daughter of President Rodrigo Duterte, to run for vice president is a major victory for Marcos. He won three times as many votes as his closest rival, and Marcos expanded his appeal in many areas.
The human rights group Karpadan has called on the Philippines to reject the new Marcos presidency, saying it was built to “tarnish the disgusting image of Marcos” by lies and misinformation.
Marcos, who avoided debates and interviews during the campaign, recently praised his father as a genius and a politician, but was annoyed by questions about the era of martial law.
Roberto told his supporters to continue fighting for the truth until the next election, as the turnout showed the extent of Marcos’ victory.
“It took time to create the structures of lies. We have the time and opportunity to combat and eliminate these,” he said.
Marcos gave some clues in the campaign trail of what his policy agenda would look like, but it is widely expected that he will closely follow outgoing President Duterte, who aims for greater infrastructure, closer ties with China and stronger growth. Duterte’s tough leadership style received him great support.
Sign up now for unlimited free access to Reuters.com
Additional Report by Neil Jerome Morales; Martin wrote the box; Editing by Ed Davis and Raju Gopalakrishnan
Our standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
“Friend of animals everywhere. Coffee maven. Professional food trailblazer. Twitter buff.”