Former Philippine President's son wins presidency
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The son of late Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos wins the presidential election by a landslide, with an impregnable lead of 16 million votes.
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Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Junior
The son of late Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos achieved a sweeping presidential election win Tuesday.
Hundreds of euphoric fans chanted in victory as they blew off fireworks late into the night, waved the national flag, and jumped upon parked cars.
Marcos thanked volunteers for months of "sacrifices and work," from his campaign headquarters in Manila on Monday, noting that "the count is not yet done."
A final count is expected by May 28.
With the first count nearly complete, Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Junior had garnered over 50% of the vote, more than double his nearest challenger, leftist Leni Robredo.
His apparently impregnable lead of 16 million votes is yet another stunning reversal in the Marcos family's fortunes, who have gone from the presidential palace to pariahs and back again in half a century.
The Marcos win is a slap in the face to millions of liberal Filipinos who wanted to turn the page after six years of departing President Rodrigo Duterte. His daughter Sara easily won the vice presidency, which is elected separately.
In 1986, Marcos senior and first lady Imelda Marcos were exiled after the "People Power" revolution.
A supporter and retired policeman, Anthony Sola, believes Marcos junior will "lift our country from the poverty we're experiencing now."
Robredo expressed disappointment about the results but pledged he would continue to fight.
Marcos is challenged with proving how his government will materially aid the lives of Filipinos opposed to him.
Eurasia Group analyst Peter Mumford says he is "yet to set out a coherent, detailed, plan for getting the Philippines' economy back on track after the devastation of the pandemic."
Marcos will have to strive to match those expectations.
According to Mumford, "One of the key watchpoints under his administration will be whether corruption and cronyism -- already notable risks in the Philippines -- worsen."
