Rights groups in Philippines condemned the late dictator’s son’s presidential bid

Marcos filed his presidential bid in 2022, joined by his wife and two sons, further polarising an already contentious political scene.

“The Marcoses are still out of jail, they haven’t returned all of the money they took from the country’s coffers, and now they’re running for the highest office in the land, that is just simple, blatant gall,” Cristina Palabay of the rights group Karapatan said.

The Marcos family has long worked to repair its image and has refuted charges of it plundering national riches, estimated at $10 billion in 1987, while in power.

Marcos, often known as “Bongbong” and more recently as “BBM,” said he would be a “unifying” leader to help the Philippines deal with the pandemic and economic challenges as the third candidate to register for the presidential election in May 2022.

In a statement, Marcos’ chief of staff Victor Rodriguez stated, “Despite being at the heart of decades-long hate campaigns and rallies, the family has always respected and will continue to respect their freedom to express their emotions.”

Marcos’ father was driven from power in 1986 by a popular uprising and died in exile in Hawaii three years later. In the 1990s, the Marcos family returned to the Philippines and rose to prominence as influential politicians in Ilocos Norte, their native region.

Protesters gathered outside the Commission on Human Rights headquarters in Manila ahead of the younger Marcos’ candidacy filing, some burning photos of the late dictator and vowing to derail his efforts to restore the Marcos family to power.

Human rights lawyer Neri Colmenares told CNN affiliate CNN Philippines, “We know that the Marcoses have long desired to return to Malacaang (presidential palace) to change history.”

In 2016, Bongbong Marcos ran for Vice President but was defeated by lawyer Leni Robredo, who is also slated to run for President next year.

In the Philippines, presidents and vice presidents are elected separately.
Marcos did not choose a running mate, but claimed that if President Rodrigo Duterte had not decided to leave from politics when his single six-year term ends next year, his Partido Federal ng Pilipinas would have sought to adopt him as its vice presidential candidate.

Despite stating that she would not run for president, Duterte’s daughter, Sara Duterte-Carpio, has repeatedly led opinion polls of potential presidential contenders.

Marcos and Duterte-Carpio may run on the same ticket, according to some.
The Marcoses and Dutertes have a close relationship, as seen by the president’s agreement to bury Marcos senior’s body in a Heroes’ Cemetery, despite intense resistance from anti-dictatorship parties.

(With inputs from CNN.com – RSS Channel – HP Hero.)

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