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Triumphant Marcos faces high expectations from Philippines poor

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Andrew Beatty and Faith Brown, Agence France-Presse 

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Supporters of presidential candidate Ferdinand " Jr.="" celebrate="" in="" front="" of="" the="" his="" headquarters="" Mandaluyong="" City="" on="" May="" Mark="" ABS-CBN="" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/news/05/11/20220509-election-day-bbm-hq-md-4.jpg"/><figcaption>Supporters of presidential candidate Ferdinand &quot;Bongbong&quot; Marcos, Jr. celebrate in front of the his headquarters in Mandaluyong City on May 9, 2022. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News</figcaption></figure></div><p> <br/>MANILA — Despite his Oxford education and jet-set lifestyle, the Philippines&#x27;s president-elect Ferdinand Marcos Junior sailed to victory this week as a champion of the poor.</p><p>Now they expect him to deliver.</p><p>Residents of the impoverished Baseco neighborhood in Manila do not think of 64-year-old Marcos, nicknamed Bongbong, as the mega-rich scion of a political dynasty famed for extorting billions and stockpiling designer shoes. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/05/10/22/key-dates-in-the-marcos-familys-comeback">Key dates in the Marcos family&#x27;s comeback in the Philippines</a></li></ul><p>In this thick lattice of roads, lanes and alleyways jam-packed with street kids, push trikes and hawkers, Marcos means hope.</p><p>&quot;A lot of change will happen when he becomes president,&quot; 30-year-old JR Foras says matter-of-factly, as he waits for customers in a stuffy port-side barbershop brightened by a florescent striplight and posters of K-Pop hair models.</p><p>He predicts that by the end of Marcos Jr&#x27;s 6-year term, &quot;there will be a lot of jobs&quot;, enough to go around.</p><p>&quot;Maybe I&#x27;ll get another job. Maybe -- I&#x27;ll become a security guard,&quot; he says while admitting he lacks the necessary training.</p><p>Like many young Filipinos, Foras has bought into the torrent of misinformation that has reinvented the Marcos family image.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/05/07/22/pro-marcos-accounts-dominate-online-misinformation">Pro-Marcos accounts dominate online misinformation in Philippine polls</a></li></ul><p>For believers, Marcos senior&#x27;s bloody decades-long rule has been transformed into a gilded age for the Philippines, making Bongbong the obvious choice to restore those imagined glories.</p><p>&quot;I voted for him because of what his father accomplished,&quot; says Foras. &quot;We were number one in Asia. I just feel like he would do it again.&quot;</p><p>The Marcos rebranding was so successful that, according to initial results, Baseco voters narrowly backed him as president over Isko Moreno Domagoso, an actor-turned-politician who grew up in the poverty of a nearby slum.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/09/22/marcos-leads-presl-race-in-manila-over-isko-in-partial-count">In Manila City, Marcos leads in presidential race over Isko in partial, unofficial tally</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/10/22/isko-concedes-calls-for-unity-under-marcos-presidency">&#x27;Democracy at work:&#x27; Isko concedes defeat in 2022 presidential race</a></li></ul><div> </div><div><strong> COVID SIDE EFFECTS </strong></div><p>But economists warn that even if Marcos&#x27;s government does not descend into another free-for-all of corruption and cronyism, he will have a hard time meeting lofty promises.</p><p>In a country where 43 percent consider themselves poor, and 39 percent say they are on the borderline, the COVID-19 crisis hit especially hard.</p><p>Kiosk owner Rolando Castillo, 47, says long lockdowns were ruinous, leaving him with no profit, no source of income.</p><p>&quot;There were times we had to use up stocks from our store because we had nothing to eat.&quot;</p><p>He voted for Marcos &quot;because I want our economy to perform better&quot;.</p><p>&quot;Filipinos are expecting a lot from him,&quot; he says.</p><p>But Marcos&#x27; father left the Philippines as one of the most indebted countries in the world, and his son will have limited cash to invest in recovery or -- crucially -- stabilizing the price of basic goods.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/05/11/22/jp-morgan-downgrades-ph-citing-myriad-challenges">J.P. Morgan advises clients to sell PH stocks citing &#x27;myriad&#x27; economic challenges</a></li></ul><p>Fifty-year-old Patricio Gomez has struggled to find full-time work since his right leg was amputated below the knee, but for now, he helps out on his brother&#x27;s food stall.</p><p>They survived the last few years by delivering sisig -- a local dish of mince and offal seasoned with soy and citrus -- and other homecooked meals door-to-door.</p><p>But one of COVID&#x27;s many side effects, inflation, continues to make life tough.</p><p>&quot;Before the pandemic, electricity was P400 a month, now it is P800,&quot; he says.</p><p>He is counting on Marcos to put that right.</p><p>&quot;He promised the price of rice and electricity will go down,&quot; says Gomez.</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>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/05/11/22/agri-chief-to-endorse-10-year-food-plan-to-marcos-jr">Agri chief endorse 10-year plan, food sufficiency programs to Marcos Jr</a></li></ul><div> </div><p>Older Baseco residents -- who have seen the presidency rotate between a handful of uber-rich political dynasties -- are hopeful life will improve under Marcos, but are not counting on it.</p><p>&quot;Let&#x27;s just see what he&#x27;ll do,&quot; says fishmonger Mary Jane Serdoncillo, signaling her expectations are low. </p><p>&quot;I&#x27;ve always sold fish,&quot; she says. &quot;This is what I&#x27;m used to. I&#x27;ve sold fish since I was young, until I had children and grandchildren.&quot;</p><p>&quot;I don&#x27;t have a dream anymore.&quot;</p><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse </strong></div><div><strong> RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><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=2032383" 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>

Ferdinand Marcos Jr. sailed to victory this week as a champion of the poor. Now they expect him to deliver.

Triumphant Marcos faces high expectations from Philippines poor

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Triumphant Marcos faces high expectations from Philippines poor

Andrew Beatty and Faith Brown,

Agence France-Presse

Published May 11, 2022 08:22 PM PHT

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