The Philippines and the political dynasty of the frames. Ferdinand, the deceased father, first was president for five years. Then, after a martial law, dictator for another 14. The son of him, also called Ferdinand, but nicknamed 'Bongbong', 64, is the favorite among the candidates who are presented to the presidential elections next May 9. Imee, another daughter of the dictator, is a senator, and has a son, Matthew, who is the governor of North Ilocos, province of the Island of Luzon.
Yesterday the electoral campaign began in the Philippines. Surname Marcos is again in front of more than three decades after Ferdinand Father, who was at the forefront of a terror and corruption regime, died exiled in Hawaii. After his death, a court of the Central Pacific archipelago declared him responsible for human rights violations and granted 2,000 million dollars of his heritage to compensate for more than 9,000 Filipinos who submitted a claim against torture, extrajudicial executions and forced disappearances .
To his widow, IMELDA, and his children were allowed to return to the Philippines in 1991. Since then, the Mark Dynasty was recovering political ground at the polls, achieving seats in Congress and leadership positions in the provinces. Little by little, they have been surrounding the presidential throne. Now, one of them, 'Bongbong' Marcos, who has been governor of province, congressman and senator, is very close to sitting on the same chair as his father.
The always controversial President Rodrigo Duterte exhausts his mandate and has not managed to circumvent as a constitution pretended that does not allow him to return to position. Everything pointed out that the successor of him would be the daughter of him Sara Duterte-Carpio, current Mayor of Davao. But, in the end, she joined Marcos as an electoral travel companion to aspire to vice president.
In the Philippines, the president and vice president are elected separately. The outgoing leader Duterte did not support him in principle that his daughter approach Marcos, but he knows that he needs in power allies to help him face future demands for his bloody campaign against drugs.
The latest data from the Philippine government say that the police and other security forces have killed at least 6,117 alleged drug traffickers during their operations. But government figures cited by the UN in June 2020 already showed at least 8,600 deaths. A Filipino police report in 2017 referred to 16,355 "cases of research homicide" as achievements in the war against drugs. And some human rights organizations raise the figures of murders to suspicion in more than 30,000. Last year, the International Criminal Court (CPI) gave green light to an investigation against Duterte for crimes against humanity.
In Manila it is not yet ruled out that it is Sara Duterte the next president if she and frames win the elections and he ends up disqualified by the Supreme Court. There have been several requests to disqualify the candidate by citing a 1995 fiscal sentence.
After Marcos, the current Vice President, Leni Robredo appears in the second place, "which defeated Marcos little by the 2016 vice presidency, followed by the Mayor of Manila and former Actor Francisco Moreno. The rest of the candidates with options are the superstar of the MANNY PACQUIAO boxing and the former police boss Pánfilo Luss.
"In the country's system wins the candidate with the highest number of votes, this year's election is another personality-based popularity contest. With the exception of Robredo and Senator Lacson, who trust in his experience in government, the others Presidential candidates emphasize their stardom and family connections to be elected, "explains analyst Andrea Chloe Wong, who worked at the Institute of the Foreign Service of the Foreign Affairs of the Philippines.
"Such alignment means that the campaign narratives of candidates generally revolve around their personality. Duterte victory was attributed to its well-maintained image of strong man, amplified by a solid campaign on social networks," continues Wong . "While they have names that describe them as nationalists, democratic and liberal, the various Filipino political parties are far from being ideological organizations, they are seen as parties that seek to generate support from all sectors of society. The Filipino voters come to the polls To choose who will govern them, but not necessarily how they will be governed. "
More than 67 million Filipinos have been registered to issue their vote. The show of the campaign has already begun. With the Covid hitting the country, at the impossibility of great rallies, the race develops mostly in social networks. There, beyond substantive political debates, and the vague promises usual to improve the weakened economy of the country, what premium is the show.
Date Of Update: 08 February 2022, 20:47
