Philippines Congress officially proclaims Marcos as next President

Manila, May 25 (EFE).- The Philippines Congress proclaimed Wednesday Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. as the country’s next president after the official scrutiny in the lower house of the votes cast in the May 9 elections.

Marcos secured more than 31.6 million votes, or over 58.77 percent of the total, well ahead of his immediate rival, Leni Robredo, who got 15 million votes.

With the confirmation of his overwhelming electoral victory, “Bongbong” Marcos, son of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, is expected to be sworn in on Jun.30.

The Congress also proclaimed Sara Duterte, as the next vice-president – which is voted separately in the Philippines – after ratifying her overwhelming electoral victory.

Sara Duterte obtained more than 32 million votes, or 61.2 percent of the total, far ahead of Kiko Pangilinan, who was the second most voted candidate with 9.2 million votes.

More than 55 million people voted in these elections, representing a voter turnout of more than 82 percent, a percentage unprecedented in Philippine democracy, Congressional spokesperson Juan Miguel Zubiri said during the proclamation.

Outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte, father of the next vice president, was absent at the proclamation.

However, the occasion witnessed the unexpected presence of former first lady and mother of the next Head of State, the nonagenarian Imelda Marcos, nicknamed the Iron Butterfly.

Imelda and Ferdinand Marcos ruled the Philippines from 1965 to 1986, a period that was known as the “conjugal dictatorship” after Marcos turned his presidency into a despotic regime, during which the press was brutally silenced and more than 3200 people were killed on charges of having ties to the Communist insurgency.

The recent election campaigns were marked by intense disinformation through social networks, in which the Marcos’ kleptocratic and oppressive regime was projected as a “golden age” of growth. EFE

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