A year ago, the son of dictator Ferdinand Marcos was brought to power. In this series of three texts, The duty takes the pulse of the capital of the Philippines and the north of the country. Today: an incursion into the stronghold of the Marcos to shed light on the continuation of the presidency of the son of the ex-dictator.
Proud in front of his sidecar, Ronald Magno also displayed, last week, his pride in the new president of the country, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., known as “BongBong”, whose family has always reigned over the region of Ilocos Norte, in the north of the country, and who, for a year, has put the clan back at the head of the country. “It’s been a perfect first year,” said Ronald Magno. Everything is working very well and life is now better for us. »
He added: “BongBong Marcos (BBM), we love him because his family is from here for sure, but also because everything that is said about him is wrong. His father was never a dictator. Neither does BBM. These are just lies to try to destroy it using the past. »
In the region of Ilocos Norte, the population has been won over to the Marcos for moons and it demonstrated it by voting 95% in favor of the dictator’s son in the presidential election of May 2022, an almost Stalinist score. The new president was elected with more than 57% of the votes nationwide.
Better: all elective positions are now held there by a member of his family: Sandro Marcos, young son of BBM and politician without experience, became, at the age of 29, the deputy of the region, while Matthew Marcos Manotoc, son of Imee Marcos, the president’s sister, won the governorship. The vice-governor is Cecilia Araneta Marcos, cousin by marriage of the new president. The town hall of Laoag, the largest city in the area, is held by Michael Marcos Keon, cousin of BBM and nephew of the former dictator. In the Philippines, politics is a family affair.
“The election of BongBong Marcos is a bit like revenge for the past for the people of the region, drops sociologist Herdy Yumul, who teaches at Mariano Marcos State University, a regional establishment named in honor of the grandfather of the new president. For years they have been called fanatics, incapable of thinking for themselves, idiots, even blinded by the Marcos. But now, they are not the only ones to believe in them. »
“The world loves them”
It is difficult to find voices critical of the new president in this region divided between small towns with modest development and rurality made up of small traditional family farms cultivating rice, garlic and corn.
“It’s normal”, laughs Edwin Cariño, political organizer for the Marcos, met in the offices of the son of the new president, Sandro, of whom he became the adviser. “The Marcos have accomplished so much here in terms of development, and that’s why everyone loves them. »
The affirmation inevitably contrasts with the direct environment, where the infrastructures struggle to display the modernity that prevails in other Asian countries around. Poverty, though still at one of the lowest levels in the Philippines, is also hard to miss, especially when entering agricultural areas, even after more than 70 years of Marcos rule in the region.
The disparities are also glaring, maintained for years by the “Balikbayans”, Filipinos living abroad and who have become major contributors to the local economy with the construction, among other things, of sumptuous houses for their holidays or for their return home.
“The living conditions are not improving very quickly. Food or gasoline prices are also rising, but no one is complaining here, says Karl Lenin Benigno, professor of political science at North Western University in Laoag. Not for fear of reprisals, but simply because the Marcos recipe works very well here. »
He explains: “The family knows very well how to handle the policy of distribution, through envelopes of money given to families and the poor, donations of materials, food, subsidies… Everything is done piecemeal. There is nothing structured or structuring, but it helped to make the castle of Ilocos Norte even stronger. A mechanics of the political influence of the Marcos on a region which could set the tone of that which the son of the dictator could now seek to impose on the rest of the country during the next five years of his mandate.
“It is still too early to judge, his presidency is still too young, summarizes Manuel Flores Aurello, retired law professor and ex-prosecutor of the Ilocos Norte region. But when you give people money to vote for you, they end up forgetting, but also excusing the faults of a leader. And the condition is thus beneficial to the interests of the Marcos, and this, in a context of political dynasty specific to the Philippines, where family stories often go hand in hand with those of embezzlement.
“Dynasty and corruption are like brothers and sisters,” says Karl Lenin Benigno, while raising an issue that few in the region dare to name or manage to see.
“Corruption is also the fault of the people who are around the president, assures Linda Simone, director of the Museo Ilocos Norte de Laoag, who believes that the new president will overcome it. He will do it, as he will fight poverty. He promised it. And the future of our country rests on him now. »
A future that worries sociologist Jayeel Cornelio, of the Ateneo de Manila University, placed for more than a year by the politics of his country in a society where corrupt leaders “are far from being held responsible for their actions”, says -he.
“As a teacher, as a Filipino, that’s what I would like to see, though. But BBM is now making sure that liability doesn’t happen. He comes from a family that stole billions and, despite that, he was able to become president. This opens the door to other thefts, but also to other families who may try to do the same thing later. In the end, the whole country and the citizens will pay the price.
This report was financed thanks to the support of the Transat International Journalism Fund. The duty .
Tomorrow: meeting with an elected official and cousin of Ferdinand “BongBong” Marcos Jr.