Rise of Bongbong: could Duterte step aside for Marcos Jr?

[TomSea]

Rise of Bongbong: could Duterte step aside for Marcos Jr?
Sea Globe Editorial

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has named failed vice-presidential candidate Ferdinand Marcos Jr as his potential heir-apparent. But is the nation ready for another Marcos presidency?

Who is he?
The only son and namesake of the late Philippine dictator, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr has lived a charmed life. Apparently too famous to fail, the younger Marcos was more or less educated at Oxford and Wharton, leaving the former university with a “special diploma in social sciences” and the latter with, according to his official site, “units towards a Masters in Business Administration degree”. Following in his father’s footsteps, the scion of a man believed to be responsible for the torture of 34,000 people and the imprisonment of tens of thousands more served as governor of Ilocos Norte in the northern Philippines before rising to the rank of senator in 2010. In 2016, Bongbong came within 200,000 votes of the vice presidency of the Philippines, and has hinted at ambitions for even higher office.


Illustration: Antiochus Omissi

Why is he in the news?
Although President Rodrigo Duterte’s term doesn’t end until 2022, the notoriously mercurial president has repeatedly suggested he may step down earlier amid sagging support for his stalled fight against the nation’s deeply entrenched corruption. In August, the president’s spokesman said Duterte was prepared to resign as long as a fitting replacement could be found – namely Marcos, who narrowly lost the vice presidency to Duterte’s rival Leni Robredo in 2016. Since then, Robredo – who was elected separately from Duterte – has been thoroughly sidelined by the president, resigning her cabinet portfolio apparently on Duterte’s orders. Even worse for the embattled vice president, Marcos has accused his rival of widespread voter fraud, launching an electoral recount that may take years to untangle.

Read more at: http://sea-globe.com/philippines-president-favours-ferdinand-marcos-jr/

The ol' Marcos family. Sort of interesting.