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From pariah to president: Marcos Jr returns family to Philippines supremacy

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Cecil Morella, Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Presidential candidate Ferdinand " Marcos="" Jr.="" greets="" supporters="" during="" a="" grand="" rally="" at="" the="" Lima="" Commercial="" Estate="" along="" border="" of="" Lipa="" and="" Batangas="" on="" April="" Jonathan="" ABS-CBN="" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/life/05/07/20220420-campaign-marcos-batangas-jc-22.jpg"/><figcaption>Presidential candidate Ferdinand &quot;Bongbong&quot; Marcos Jr. greets supporters during a a grand rally at the Lima Commercial Estate along the border of Lipa and Malvar, Batangas on April 20, 2022. <em>Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News.</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA - Ferdinand Marcos Jr, whose strongman father and namesake plundered the Philippines for decades, on Tuesday won a historic election victory, capping his clan&#x27;s journey from pariahs to the presidential palace.</p><p>Marcos Jr, known by his nickname &quot;Bongbong&quot;, won in a landslide, following relentless whitewashing of the family&#x27;s past and leveraging of powerful alliances with rival families that control swathes of the poverty-plagued country. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/10/22/marcos-votes-reach-30m-as-leni-falls-behind-further">#Halalan2022: Marcos votes reach 30M, as Leni falls behind further</a></li></ul><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2017325" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div><p>In the 36 years since a popular uprising toppled the patriarch and chased the family into US exile, the Marcoses have been rebuilding their political fortunes. </p><p>Despite his own father&#x27;s concerns about his &quot;carefree and lazy&quot; nature, Marcos Jr, 64, made it the furthest. </p><p>After narrowly losing the vice presidential race to Leni Robredo in the 2016 election, he was determined their rematch in the presidential contest would end differently. </p><p>Vowing to unify the country, Marcos Jr made sweeping promises on the campaign trail to boost jobs and tackle rising prices as part of a pathway out of the pandemic.</p><p>&quot;Unity is my cause because of my firm belief that unity is the first step towards getting out of this crisis we are now in,&quot; Marcos Jr said in February -- without ever explaining further what the slogan meant.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/05/07/22/what-can-people-expect-from-a-marcos-jr-presidency">What can people expect from a Marcos Jr. presidency?</a></li></ul><div><strong>POLARIZING FIGURE</strong></div><p>Growing up in the presidential palace in Manila, Marcos Jr wanted to be an astronaut before he followed in his father&#x27;s footsteps into politics. </p><p>He served as vice governor and twice as governor of the family&#x27;s northern stronghold of Ilocos Norte province, and also had stints in the House of Representatives and the Senate.</p><p>His 92-year-old mother, Imelda, said she had dreamed of him becoming the country&#x27;s leader. While he consulted her about running for president, Marcos Jr told CNN Philippines the decision was his. </p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1784793" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div><p>Marcos Jr&#x27;s links to his father, especially the bloody repression of the martial law years, have made him one of the nation&#x27;s most polarising politicians.</p><p>But he has benefited from a deluge of fake and misleading posts on social media platforms targeting a largely young electorate with no memory of the corruption, killings and other abuses committed during the elder Marcos&#x27;s 20-year rule. </p><p>Marcos Jr has denied using social media trolls. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/02/05/22/find-me-one-marcos-jr-denies-troll-farms-in-campaign">&#x27;Find me one&#x27;: Marcos Jr. denies troll farms in campaign</a></li></ul><p>His campaign was bolstered by teaming up with vice presidential candidate Sara Duterte and the backing of other elite families who wield enormous influence in the feudal and corrupt democracy. </p><p>Marcos Jr and Duterte&#x27;s shared history as the offspring of authoritarian leaders has alarmed rights groups and Catholic priests, who fear they will use their victory to entrench themselves in power. </p><div><strong>POLITICAL GENIUS</strong></div><p>Marcos Jr was at boarding school in Britain in 1972 when his father declared martial law, unleashing large-scale corruption and a bloody crackdown on dissent. </p><p>He has defended his father&#x27;s rule by citing the initial surge of economic growth and government spending under martial law, which he said was necessary to save the country from communist and Muslim insurgencies.</p><p>While he describes his father as a &quot;political genius&quot;, Marcos Jr has distanced himself from charges of pillaging state coffers and economic mismanagement during his regime that later impoverished the nation.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2029718" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div><p>After the fallen dictator&#x27;s death in Hawaii in 1989, the Marcoses returned home and began their remarkable revival, tapping local loyalties to get elected to a succession of higher positions.</p><p>The eldest of Marcos Jr&#x27;s three sons with wife Louise -- a lawyer from another wealthy family -- was a first-time candidate in these elections, seeking one of two congressional seats in Ilocos Norte.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/focus/09/21/17/marcos-gold-bars-fact-or-fiction">Marcos gold bars: Fact or fiction?</a></li></ul><p>The clan&#x27;s turnaround has been aided by public disenchantment over an enduring gulf between the rich and poor, and graft allegations that marred post-Marcos administrations.</p><p>Seeking to avoid a repeat of the 2016 campaign when he was hounded by questions about his family&#x27;s past, Marcos Jr this time snubbed debates with rivals and gave few interviews.</p><p>When he did, he appeared awkward and ill at ease.</p><p>Opponents tried in vain to have him disqualified from the presidential race over a previous conviction for failing to file income tax returns.</p><p>They also accused him of exaggerating his educational qualifications and the family of failing to pay nearly $4 billion in estate taxes. </p><p>Until recently, Duterte was a supporter of Marcos Jr, crediting the Marcos family&#x27;s backing for sealing his presidential victory.</p><p>But although his party endorsed Marcos for president, Duterte called him a &quot;weak&quot; leader.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/11/19/21/duterte-on-bongbong-marcos-spoiled-weak-leader">Duterte says daughter Sara&#x27;s running-mate Marcos is &#x27;spoiled, weak leader&#x27;</a></li></ul><p>This fueled speculation that Duterte, who faces an international probe into his deadly drug war, was trying to secure assurances from Marcos Jr for when he is out of office.</p><p>In the final week of campaigning, as Robredo appeared to be gaining momentum, Marcos Jr warned of vote-rigging, without providing any evidence.</p><p>&quot;We will win as long as you stay awake on Monday so there won&#x27;t be another tragedy,&quot; Marcos Jr told hundreds of thousands of fans at his final campaign rally. </p><p>&quot;Many undesirable things happen if we stop paying attention.&quot;</p><div><strong>cgm/amj/arb/sw</strong></div><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div>

Ferdinand Marcos Jr, whose strongman father and namesake plundered the Philippines for decades, on Tuesday won a historic election victory, capping his clan's journey from pariahs to the presidential palace.

From pariah to president: Marcos Jr returns family to Philippines supremacy

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From pariah to president: Marcos Jr returns family to Philippines supremacy

Cecil Morella,

Agence France-Presse

Published May 10, 2022 09:03 AM PHT

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