Explainer | Philippine presidential election: who’s running, who’s favourite and what’s their China policy?
- The deadline to enter has passed, and contenders include Panfilo Lacson, Ferdinand Marcos Jnr, Isko Moreno, Manny Pacquiao, Ronald dela Rosa, and Leni Robredo
- Public favourite Sara Duterte-Carpio hasn’t officially entered, but may use the same loophole her father Rodrigo did last time round
Duterte’s human rights record could be one reason why Filipinos have shown such a keen interest in choosing who succeeds him. They’ve been turning out in record numbers to register as voters – so much so that the election commission has had to extend the deadline for voter registration from September 30 to October 30.
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Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte pulls out of 2020 election and plans to retire from politics
Who is running?
At least 50 candidates have already filed their papers, but some are likely to be eliminated as nuisance candidates by the election commission, which has until November 15 to finalise the list. Once this is done, the main contenders are likely to be, in alphabetical order:
Panfilo Lacson: the senator and former police chief, 73, also ran for president in 2004. He says this time around he is running to fight corruption. Lacson is running under Partido Reporma, headed by a congressman formerly allied with Duterte. Lacson told Rappler he was running on a platform of fighting drugs, crime and corruption, similar to Duterte’s campaign in 2016, but Lacson has vowed to do things “differently”.
Ferdinand Marcos Jnr: the former senator known as “Bongbong” is the son and namesake of the murderous dictator who led the country from 1965 to 1986, including a long spell under martial law. Marcos Snr’s regime tortured and killed thousands of Filipinos and plundered billions of dollars, but Marcos Jnr, 64, says he is running to “unify” the country.
Observers say the Marcos clan sees winning the presidency as a way of vindicating the family and clearing its name. Marcos Jnr’s party is the Partido Federal Ng Pilipinas, a new party formed in 2018 to support Duterte.
