Politics

Marcos claims victory in Philippine presidential race

Manila, May 11 (EFE).- Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, son of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, on Wednesday declared win in the presidential elections held at the start of the week in the Philippines, pending official results.

Marcos’s spokesperson, Vic Rodriguez, said at a press conference that the candidate has declared himself “president-elect,” while Sara Duterte-Carpio, daughter of outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte, will be the vice president.

According to the provisional results, which will not be audited for several weeks, Marcos obtained more than 31 million votes – over 56 percent of the total, twice that of his closest rival, Leni Robredo. Duterte-Carpio also secured 31 million votes.

“The Filipino people have spoken decisively, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr will be the 17 president of the Philippines. In historic numbers, the people have used their democratic vote to unite our nation. This is a victory for all Filipinos and for democracy,” Rodriguez said.

“It is his promise to be president for all Filipinos. To seek common ground across political divides and to work together to unite the nation,” the spokesperson added.

“Bongbong looks forward to working across the Philippines and with international partners and organizations to address critical issues facing the country and to begin delivering for the Filipino people.”

One of the first things Marcos did after winning the elections was to visit his father’s grave at the National Heroes’ Cemetery in Manila.

He placed a bouquet of flowers on the grave, according to the photographs of the visit posted on his official Twitter account Wednesday.

The visit came a day after Marcos vowed to work for all Filipinos and told the world not to judge him by his family’s past.

“Judge me not by my ancestors, but by my actions,” he said in a statement through his spokesperson late Tuesday.

His father, Ferdinand Marcos, died in exile in Hawaii in 1989 after fleeing the Philippines three years earlier on a military plane following a popular revolution that brought about the fall of his authoritarian regime from 1965 to 1986.

During the “conjugal dictatorship” of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos, as their rule came to be known, some 3,257 people were victims of extrajudicial killings, and around 35,000 were tortured, according to Amnesty International.

However, an extensive disinformation campaign in recent years, especially on social media, has led to a softening of the legacy.

Many Filipinos today regard the Marcoses as the country’s modernizers, patriots, compassionate and consider their tenure to be the golden age of the Philippines. EFE

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