After his unexpected election triumph, the son of the notorious late Philippines dictator Ferdinand Marcos promised on Tuesday to work for all people, telling the world to judge him by his administration, not his family’s past.
Ferdinand Marcos Jr., commonly known as “Bongbong,” became the first candidate in recent history to win an outright majority in a Philippine presidential election, opening the path for the country’s most notorious political dynasty to return to power.
“Judge me not by my ancestors, but by my deeds,” Marcos said, according to his spokesperson Vic Rodriguez.
Marcos escaped to Hawaii with his family following the 1986 “people power” rebellion that brought an end to his father’s dictatorial 20-year dictatorship, and has served in congress and the senate since his return to the Philippines in 1991.
On Tuesday, 400 people, largely students, demonstrated against Marcos outside the electoral commission, alleged election irregularities.