MANILA, Philippines ( Associated Press) — The son of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos and the daughter of outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte are the new chief executives of the Philippines, an alliance that worries human rights advocates.
A look at the new president and vice president of the Philippines, who campaigned separately.
FERDINAND MARCOS JR.
A former provincial governor, deputy and senator, the 64-year-old son still known by his childhood nickname “Bongbong” has led his family to power 36 years after the “People Power” insurrection ousted his father into exile for stealing billions of dollars and committing massive human rights abuses.
His mother, Imelda Marcos, returned with her children to the Philippines from the United States after her husband’s death in 1989, and twice unsuccessfully tried to return to power.
Marcos has defended his father’s legacy and refuses to acknowledge the atrocities and looting during the dictatorship or apologize for it. Married to a lawyer and father of three, he has avoided controversy, despite a past tax conviction and the Marcos family’s refusal to pay a huge inheritance tax. During his campaign, he tenaciously clung to the battle cry of national unity. He rejects accusations that he financed a years-long social media campaign in which he used trolls to slander his opponents and whitewash the Marcos family’s history.
Sarah Duterte
Sara Duterte, 43, is the outgoing mayor of Davao, which was her father’s constituency before he was elected president in 2016.
A lawyer and Army Reserve officer, she has a political career of her own, and while she sometimes supports her father, she is seen as more level-headed and pragmatic than him.
Duterte’s party wanted her to be the successor, but she opted for the vice presidency.
A mother of three, she has been for many years the mayor of Davao, an economically booming city where her father became notorious for his populist rhetoric and his sometimes bloody campaign against crime, particularly drug trafficking and use.
