Late dictator Marcos' son wins Philippines presidential election

Manila (Philippines), May 10

The namesake son of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos has won the Philippines presidential election by a landslide and Sara Duterte, the daughter of outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte, has been elected Vice-President. The alliance ushers in six years of governance that has some human rights activists concerned about the course their country may take with the pair in power.

Marcos, better known as “Bongbong”, trounced bitter rival Leni Robredo to become the first candidate in recent history to win an outright majority in a Philippines presidential election, marking a stunning comeback by the son and namesake of an ousted dictator that has been decades in the making.

Marcos fled into exile in Hawaii with his family during a 1986 “people power” uprising that ended his father’s autocratic 20-year rule, and has served in congress and the senate since his return to the Philippines in 1991. Marcos Jr has defended his father’s legacy and steadfastly refuses to apologise for or acknowledge the atrocities and plunder during the dictatorship. — Agencies

• Ferdinand Marcos fled into exile in Hawaii during a 1986 “people power” uprising
• The protests ended his father’s 20-year-old autocratic rule
• He has served in congress since his return to country in 1991

• Sara Duterte, 43, is the outgoing mayor of Davao City, which was her father’s constituency before he was elected President in 2016
• Duterte’s party wanted her to succeed him, but she chose to run for Vice-President post