SAWT BEIRUT INTERNATIONAL

| 25 April 2024, Thursday |

Philippines election 2022: Marcos Jr claims victory, says ‘don’t judge me by my ancestors, but by my actions’

Son of the notorious late Philippines dictator Ferdinand Marcos vowed to work for all people, after his stunning election victory on Tuesday, telling the world to judge him by his presidency, not his family’s past.Ferdinand Marcos Jr, sometimes known as “Bongbong,” has become the first candidate in recent history to win an outright majority in a Philippine presidential election, opening the path for the country’s most notorious political dynasty’s seemingly unthinkable return to power.

“Judge me not by my ancestors, but by my actions,” Marcos told the world, according to a statement by his spokesperson Vic Rodriguez.
“This is a victory for all Filipinos, and for democracy,” spokesman Rodriguez said.
Marcos and his family escaped to Hawaii following a 1986 “people power” rebellion that ended his father’s 20-year dictatorial dictatorship, and he has served in congress and the senate since his return to the Philippines in 1991.

Marcos’s landslide victory in Monday’s election now appears assured, with 98 percent of eligible ballots counted in an unofficial tally indicating he had 31 million votes, more than twice that of his closest competitor, Vice President Leni Robredo.

The official outcome should be available before the end of the month.

On Tuesday, over 400 people, mostly students, protested Marcos outside the election commission, alleged election irregularities.

The election commission upheld its dismissals of objections submitted by several groups, including victims of martial regime, seeking to remove Marcos from the presidential run based on a 1995 tax evasion conviction.

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