Placeholder when loading item promotions
MANILA — Millions of Filipinos lined up in the blazing sun on Monday to vote for a new president, with the late dictator’s son, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., appearing poised to lead the country from which his family once plundered billions had.
The election is a test of truth and a reminder of history for some 65 million registered voters in this archipelago, where the Marcos family has spent over a decade rehabilitating its name through an elaborate historical revisionism campaign on social media.
The next Philippine president will succeed hardline populist Rodrigo Duterte, whose war on drugs has left thousands dead, and a country whose economy and healthcare system have been ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic. Presidents serve only six-year terms and are elected separately from the vice president.
The race for Filipino Duterte is a fierce competition of characters
Marcos and his running mate Sara Duterte-Carpio, mayor of Davao City and daughter of the incumbent president, enjoy a clear lead over their opponents, according to the latest polls. Other contenders for the top spot include Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo, boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao, former actor and mayor of Manila Francisco Domagoso, and former senator and police chief Panfilo Lacson.
A Marcos presidency may not be as brutal as his father’s dictatorship or even Duterte’s tenure, but it is expected to complete the whitewashing of the family reputation and shield him from accountability. Between $5 billion and $10 billion was stolen from public coffers during the family’s two-decade rule, and only a fraction was reclaimed. The family fled to Hawaii after the People Power Revolution of 1986, where they lived in exile. They returned to the Philippines in the 1990s.
The family continues to face several controversies, including a conviction over a transplant from Marco’s mother, former First Lady Imelda, and billions in back taxes. To date, no family member has served a prison sentence.
“If there really had been ill-gotten gains, it would have been reclaimed a long time ago,” said Jesse James Pangilinan, 24, a Manila resident who voted for Marcos and Duterte Monday morning. He said he believed the concerns about the Marcos estate’s unpaid taxes, but dismissed them because “they will not be forced to pay them.”
Dante Mapili, 30, and Jonariza Estera, 37, also voted for Marcos and said they believed in his message of unity and were impressed by how he hadn’t fought negatively. Nor do they believe the family stole government funds. “As far as I know, he was already rich,” Estera said.
“I heard that Marcos’ father was paid in gold when he won a case,” Mapili added, echoing a popular theory fed from the internet to explain the family’s wealth. Some of their supporters believe that the Marcoses will distribute their own wealth when they return to power.
If he wins, Marcos is also expected to protect the outgoing Duterte from possible charges before the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity during his drug war that claimed thousands of lives in extrajudicial killings.
Voting was mostly peaceful, but there were reports in Manila of technical problems with the voting machines causing this long delays According to election watchdog Kontra Daya, around 1.1 million votes were affected.
The Electoral Commission told voters they could leave their ballots behind, but many endured the wait for fear of tampering and to ensure their votes are fed into the machine. The phrase “don’t turn in your ballot” was trending on Twitter.
Marcos’ main challenger is independent candidate Robredo, a vocal critic of both Marcos and the elder Duterte – despite being his vice president. She has been the main target of disinformation operations and is 33 points behind Marcos.
Her supporters believe it could be a much closer fight as the rush of volunteers for her – including celebrities, church workers, farmers and students – culminated in a star-studded closing rally on Saturday that drew more than a million people.
In the Philippines, the grassroots campaign takes on the juggernaut Marcos
Donna Jolo, a 33-year-old building administrator who attended the rally and then voted in Manila, said she believes in Robredo’s ideas and platform and is upset by the online campaigns, which she says have slandered the candidate.
“I heard how she helped people,” she said, describing Robredo’s commitment to farmers. “She has even helped women earn a living – she is an economist and she knows the answer to poverty.”
A public-interest advocate and former congresswoman who, unlike her opponent, mostly waited in line on Monday, she narrowly beat Marcos for the vice presidency in 2016. He spent the next five years challenging the decision until the Supreme Court, which acted as an electoral court, unanimously dismissed his appeal last year.
In an elegantly edited video released last week, Marcos stood on a podium and urged his followers to be vigilant. “Let’s protect our decision and not let it be stolen from us again,” he said.
Marcos is already drafting a narrative in case Robredo causes a stir, said Julio Teehankee, a political scientist at De La Salle University. But because Marcos is the government’s “de facto candidate… the opposition is in no position to cheat in the election,” he added.
How the brutal history of the Philippines is being whitewashed for voters
Electoral Commission officials are all appointed by Duterte, and the panel previously dismissed disqualification cases against Marcos related to a previous conviction of inability to file income tax returns.
This has raised concerns about whether the Philippines will be able to hold clean elections, adding to the swirling mass of public disinformation fueled by online armies of Marcos and Duterte supporters. Violence at elections and vote-buying are also commonplace in a country that has long been characterized by a policy of patronage dominated by a few families.
The Marcos-Duterte tandem is a political marriage of two of the most powerful dynasties in the country. Experts claim that this system, in which families and personalities dominate politics, is closely linked to corruption and poverty, as government spending and policies are linked to personal favors rather than public obligations.
But if Philippine history is any indicator, Teehankee warned, another corruption scandal “could be deadly for them.” [Marcos’s] Return to power.” After the 1986 revolution, a second popular power uprising in 2001 deposed then-President Joseph Estrada after corruption scandals dogged his tenure.
If Robredo’s grassroots campaign continues after the election, she would become a major force in the opposition.
“If it’s a Robredo presidency, this will be a movement that’s a partner,” said Barry Gutierrez, their spokesman. If not, this could be the start of a new opposition, detached from traditional parties. “It’s an opposition I’m looking forward to.”