Philippine dictator’s son Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jnr runs for president, sparking anger from his father’s victims

This is Marcos Jnr’s first tilt at the presidency and may represent his only chance as his mother Imelda – said to be the family’s real centre of political power – is 93

He is yet to announce a running mate after his first pick, President Rodrigo Duterte, dropped out. He denies a tandem deal with Sara Duterte and says ‘we’ll see’ about a triple-Bong ticket with Senator Christopher Go

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Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jnr, son of the former Philippine dictator, is to run for president. Photo: AFP

Published: 9:34pm, 6 Oct 2021Updated: 3:30pm, 7 Oct 2021

Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jnr, the only son and namesake of the late Philippine dictator, is running for president in next year’s election.

Marcos Jnr filed his certificate of candidacy on Wednesday, saying he intended to provide a “unifying leadership” so the country could “face the Covid-19 crisis and reopen our economy”.

This will be his first tilt at the top job; in the last election he lost the vice-presidential race to Leni Robredo, who is expected to file her own certificate of candidacy for president on Thursday. Forty others have already entered the race, including two others with the surname “Marcos” but who are not related to the dictator. Candidates can file until October 8 but substitutions are allowed until November 15.

The reign of Marcos Snr, who came to power in 1965 and ruled as a dictator under martial law from 1972 to 1981, was marked by the torture of suspected communists and extrajudicial killings. American historian Alfred McCoy has estimated that the regime murdered at least 3,257 Filipinos and tortured more than 35,000 before Marcos Snr was overthrown by an army-backed “People Power” uprising in 1986. The Presidential Commission on Good Government estimated that the Marcos family plundered around US$13 billion and saddled the country with US$26 billion in debt.

Ferdinand Marcos Snr and his son Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Jnr are fanned by a bodyguard in 1986. Photo: Reuters

As yet, Marcos Jnr does not have a vice-presidential running mate. He said that the “original plan” was to adopt President Rodrigo Duterte as his running mate, but this fell through when Duterte announced on Saturday that he would abandon his bid and quit politics. The constitution allows presidents to serve only a single, six-year term. Duterte was replaced in the VP race by his former aide-turned-Senator Christopher “Bong” Go, but Marcos Jnr demurred when asked if he would adopt Go as his running mate.