The outcome of Monday’s presidential and legislative elections in the Philippines paints a bleak picture for a country that regained democracy 35 years ago after the bloody and corrupt dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos (1965-1986) and whose democratic and institutional decay is already raging started in 2016 with the mandate of the ultra-nationalist Rodrigo Duterte. The electoral campaign of misinformation, demagogy and fear-mongering has culminated in the election of Ferdinand Marcos Júnior, aka Bongbong and the former dictator’s son, as the new president, and Sara Duterte-Carpio, daughter of the controversial outgoing president. as Vice President. Both will take up their positions on June 30th. The preliminary count by the Electoral Transparency Commission points to an overwhelming victory for Marcos Júnior with 30.5 million votes against 14.5 for the reformist Leni Robredo.
The Philippines is thus moving even further in an illiberal and populist direction, embracing a reinterpretation of its own history that sweetens and glorifies a dictatorship that, protected by arbitrary martial law, has imprisoned, tortured and murdered thousands of Filipinos. It holds the sad and bitter record for the largest plundering of public coffers by a ruler in the 20th century: it is estimated at around 9,500 million euros at current exchange rates. The constant denunciations of Robredo, the current Vice President, who fell victim to a brutal and effective disinformation campaign propagated by social networks, in which she was accused of murdering her husband and linking her to communist terrorist groups, were useless. The internet hocus-pocus and attacks, including alleged sex tapes of the daughters of the vice president, a renowned human rights lawyer, were rampant.
The voters’ decision is not a sudden reversal. It is confirmation of the victory of the anti-political discourse initiated six years ago by Duterte, who governs with a national-populist message that has silenced any criticism of the country’s plight. Immediately after taking power, he launched a “war on drugs” that has resulted in the deaths of thousands – human rights organizations put insane numbers at 27,000 to 30,000 deaths – and has forced the Justice Department to open an official investigation.
So it will be the offspring of the former dictator and the incumbent president in question who, for years to come, will steer the fortunes of one of Asia’s oldest democracies, which ended 2021 with an economic growth of 7.7% and that with Duterte in the face of a Turn to China, to be seen as it consolidates. The President-elect has asked that he be judged for his actions and not for his family past, and he is right, but the panorama we see today is bleak.