By Imran Khalid
With the ascension of Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the namesake son of an ousted dictator, as the Philippines' 17th president, which is perhaps one of the greatest political comebacks in recent history, the fabric of Philippine politics has finally completed the tectonic shift that had been rumbling under the surface for the last decade. Thirty six years ago, when an army-backed "People Power" rebellion forced his father to relinquish power and leave the country, nobody could have imagined that one day the Marcos family would be able to regain power ― and that too with a landslide victory.
Not only has the Philippines gone "back to the future" with the arrival of Marcos Jr. at the helm of affairs, but it has also reinforced the already much-entrenched dynastic politics with the election of Sara Duterte, the daughter of former President Rodrigo Duterte, as the vice president of the country. Now, the children of two former presidents are holding the country's the two most powerful seats. Both Marcos Jr. and Sara Duterte joined hands in the electoral race and both recorded resounding victories.
Marcos Jr. received over 31 million votes and Sara Duterte more than 32 million of the more than 55 million votes cast in the May 9 election. By all standards, massively thumping victories have provided them hefty political capital as they face tremendous challenges as well as doubts arising from their fathers' reputations. It is the first majority presidential victory in the Philippines in decades.
Apparently, three key factors contributed to the electoral success of the Marcos-Duterte duo, despite carrying the historical baggage of their respective families. One, both of them belong to the most powerful political dynasties in the country. Both of them have long political careers and both were nurtured, groomed and trained by their respective families to eventually reach the top. Both had long political careers spanning years of politicking, starting from the very basic level.
Sara Duterte, who is fondly called "Inday Sara," always wanted to become a doctor but later took up law and was attracted to politics starting in 2007, when she was elected as Davao's vice mayor and mayor three years later. Similarly, Ferdinand "Bongbong" Romualdez Marcos Jr. was allowed to return to the country in 1991, along with his siblings and mother, Imelda Marcos, and he also pursued a long political career and held various positions ― governor, congressman and senator ― in his political journey that culminated in the presidency on June 30. The Asian continent, in general, has very fertile ground for dynastic politics to flourish. Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and plenty of other countries in the region have similar traits.
But none can match the power and influence of political dynasties in the Philippines. The political history of the Philippines is inundated with a very long list of politicians belonging to the same bloodlines. Despite strict constitutional restraints against the dynastic politics, more than 250 political families have been dominating power across the country. Congress ― long controlled by members of powerful and influential clans targeted by the constitutional ban ― has not yet validated the law needed to define and enforce the provision.
Former President Duterte, 77, who retired from politics due to his age, is a very shrewd and farsighted politician. He is still very popular in the country despite his brutal anti-drug campaign that left thousands of mostly poor suspects dead in an unprecedented scale of killings that the International Criminal Court was investigating as a possible crime against humanity. But Rodrigo Duterte wanted to ensure a comprehensive victory for his daughter, so he chose to join hands with the Marcos family.
A union of Mr. Marcos, whose family is extremely popular in the north, and Ms. Duterte, who draws her strength from the south, combined the power of the two major political dynasties in the Philippines, posing a steep challenge to the other candidates in a crowded race. Presidents and vice presidents are elected separately in the Philippines, but it is an established tradition for candidates to make an alliance as de facto running mates.
The second factor behind this stunning comeback of the Marcos Jr. is the comprehensive and well-planned social media campaign to refurbish his family image. The Marcos family, which gained global infamy in 1986 amid allegations of massive corruption amounting to $10 billion during the two decades of the rule of the elder Marcos, utilized social media to whitewash the family image. The highly unregulated social media landscape in the Philippines was shrewdly maneuvered by Marcos Jr. to rebrand the martial law period of his father as a "golden age" of the Philippines.
And the third factor was the new slogan of national unity by the Marcos-Duterte duo to woo voters. Although their fathers are partly responsible for creating some of the most volatile political divides in the country during their respective periods, ironically, both of them focused their electoral campaigns on calls for unity and deliberately avoided broaching controversial issues.
It is also a fact that both "Marcos 2.0 and Duterte 2.0" ― as they are being labeled now ― are taking charge of Philippine state affairs at a very crucial time when their country is faced with immense challenges in foreign and domestic policies. While sitting on the doorstep of Taiwan, and being in the front-row seat to the ever-growing Sino-U.S. frictions, Marcos Jr. will face a lot of challenges in steering foreign policy ― particularly against the backdrop of the fact that outgoing President Duterte was considered to have been soft toward China.
On the domestic front, the challenges are even graver. The Philippines is one of the countries worst hit by the coronavirus pandemic, with more than 60,000 deaths and the worst recession since World War II. With an unemployment crisis putting too much of a burden on the feeble economy, President Marcos Jr. will have tough days ahead. Another major challenge will be how to build a working relationship with Vice President Sara Duterte, who has already openly expressed her desire to run for the presidency in the future.
Dr. Imran Khalid (immhza6@gmail.com) is a freelance contributor based in Karachi, Pakistan. The views expressed in the above article are the author's own and do not reflect the editorial direction of The Korea Times.
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Not only has the Philippines gone "back to the future" with the arrival of Marcos Jr. at the helm of affairs, but it has also reinforced the already much-entrenched dynastic politics with the election of Sara Duterte, the daughter of former President Rodrigo Duterte, as the vice president of the country. Now, the children of two former presidents are holding the country's the two most powerful seats. Both Marcos Jr. and Sara Duterte joined hands in the electoral race and both recorded resounding victories.
Marcos Jr. received over 31 million votes and Sara Duterte more than 32 million of the more than 55 million votes cast in the May 9 election. By all standards, massively thumping victories have provided them hefty political capital as they face tremendous challenges as well as doubts arising from their fathers' reputations. It is the first majority presidential victory in the Philippines in decades.
Apparently, three key factors contributed to the electoral success of the Marcos-Duterte duo, despite carrying the historical baggage of their respective families. One, both of them belong to the most powerful political dynasties in the country. Both of them have long political careers and both were nurtured, groomed and trained by their respective families to eventually reach the top. Both had long political careers spanning years of politicking, starting from the very basic level.
Sara Duterte, who is fondly called "Inday Sara," always wanted to become a doctor but later took up law and was attracted to politics starting in 2007, when she was elected as Davao's vice mayor and mayor three years later. Similarly, Ferdinand "Bongbong" Romualdez Marcos Jr. was allowed to return to the country in 1991, along with his siblings and mother, Imelda Marcos, and he also pursued a long political career and held various positions ― governor, congressman and senator ― in his political journey that culminated in the presidency on June 30. The Asian continent, in general, has very fertile ground for dynastic politics to flourish. Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and plenty of other countries in the region have similar traits.
But none can match the power and influence of political dynasties in the Philippines. The political history of the Philippines is inundated with a very long list of politicians belonging to the same bloodlines. Despite strict constitutional restraints against the dynastic politics, more than 250 political families have been dominating power across the country. Congress ― long controlled by members of powerful and influential clans targeted by the constitutional ban ― has not yet validated the law needed to define and enforce the provision.
Former President Duterte, 77, who retired from politics due to his age, is a very shrewd and farsighted politician. He is still very popular in the country despite his brutal anti-drug campaign that left thousands of mostly poor suspects dead in an unprecedented scale of killings that the International Criminal Court was investigating as a possible crime against humanity. But Rodrigo Duterte wanted to ensure a comprehensive victory for his daughter, so he chose to join hands with the Marcos family.
A union of Mr. Marcos, whose family is extremely popular in the north, and Ms. Duterte, who draws her strength from the south, combined the power of the two major political dynasties in the Philippines, posing a steep challenge to the other candidates in a crowded race. Presidents and vice presidents are elected separately in the Philippines, but it is an established tradition for candidates to make an alliance as de facto running mates.
The second factor behind this stunning comeback of the Marcos Jr. is the comprehensive and well-planned social media campaign to refurbish his family image. The Marcos family, which gained global infamy in 1986 amid allegations of massive corruption amounting to $10 billion during the two decades of the rule of the elder Marcos, utilized social media to whitewash the family image. The highly unregulated social media landscape in the Philippines was shrewdly maneuvered by Marcos Jr. to rebrand the martial law period of his father as a "golden age" of the Philippines.
And the third factor was the new slogan of national unity by the Marcos-Duterte duo to woo voters. Although their fathers are partly responsible for creating some of the most volatile political divides in the country during their respective periods, ironically, both of them focused their electoral campaigns on calls for unity and deliberately avoided broaching controversial issues.
It is also a fact that both "Marcos 2.0 and Duterte 2.0" ― as they are being labeled now ― are taking charge of Philippine state affairs at a very crucial time when their country is faced with immense challenges in foreign and domestic policies. While sitting on the doorstep of Taiwan, and being in the front-row seat to the ever-growing Sino-U.S. frictions, Marcos Jr. will face a lot of challenges in steering foreign policy ― particularly against the backdrop of the fact that outgoing President Duterte was considered to have been soft toward China.
On the domestic front, the challenges are even graver. The Philippines is one of the countries worst hit by the coronavirus pandemic, with more than 60,000 deaths and the worst recession since World War II. With an unemployment crisis putting too much of a burden on the feeble economy, President Marcos Jr. will have tough days ahead. Another major challenge will be how to build a working relationship with Vice President Sara Duterte, who has already openly expressed her desire to run for the presidency in the future.
Dr. Imran Khalid (immhza6@gmail.com) is a freelance contributor based in Karachi, Pakistan. The views expressed in the above article are the author's own and do not reflect the editorial direction of The Korea Times.
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