“Bongbong” will take office as president in June, raising fears of threats to democracy and the defense of human rights.
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The victory of “Bongbong” is overwhelming. The Philippine Parliament proclaimed Ferdinand Marcos Junior, 64 years old, country president, Wednesday, May 25. He won more than 31.6 million votes (58.8%) in the presidential election on Monday May 9. This is more than double the votes obtained by her main rival, Leni Robredo, outgoing vice-president and human rights lawyer.
>> Philippines: Four things to know about Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, whose presidential victory worries rights defenders
Son of the late Filipino dictator of the same name, Ferdinand Marcos Jr will take office in June. He is a continuation of his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, whose violent anti-drug policy has been strongly criticized. The latter’s daughter, Sara Duterte, was also his running mate during the one-round ballot.
During his mandate (2016-2022) President Duterte had moved closer to China, to the detriment of the United States. He had thus avoided confronting Beijing over territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
The victory of “BBM”, as it is also nicknamed, marks the return to power of the Marcos clan, 36 years after the popular revolt which had driven it out. Defenders of human rights and democracy are concerned about this. The repression put in place by his father, with the martial law of 1972, is responsible for the torture of 35,000 people and the extrajudicial death of 3,200 people.