Per the last Pulse Asia presidential survey before the May 9 elections, former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. topped the ladder as the presidential candidate with 56 percent voter preference versus second placer Vice President Leni Robredo, the face of the opposition, with only 23 percent. The tremendous gap between Marcos Jr. and VP Robredo has only procured the former with confidence. Many Filipinos question the reliability of the surveys as Robredo lifts her superstar status and even garnered a crowd estimated at nearly 1 million in her final miting de avance (speech). Despite President Rodrigo Duterte’s non-endorsement of any candidate, it is an open secret that Marcos Jr. has his blessing due to the fact that the president’s daughter Sara Duterte is running as vice president under Marcos Jr. ‘s ticket. As President Duterte vacates the country’s seat of power, marred with controversies such as the exit of the Philippines from the International Criminal Court (ICC) after avoiding investigation into the drug war killings, his cozy relationship with China, the increasing prices of goods and services, the dismal militarized pandemic response and the continued dismantling of democratic institutions with attacks against human rights defenders and activists happening left and right, the next president of the country has a lot to do in terms of restoring and protecting democratic institutions.
This article was published in thejakartapost.com with the title “What would a Marcos Jr. presidency mean for democracy?”. Click to read: https://www.thejakartapost.com/opinion/2022/05/10/what-would-a-marcos-jr-presidency-mean-for-democracy.html.
Download The Jakarta Post app for easier and faster news access:
Android: http://bit.ly/tjp-android
iOS: http://bit.ly/tjp-ios
