- The Philippines’ presidential election is about for Might, and all candidates have filed for the race.
- The candidates embody boxer Manny Pacquiao, the son of a reviled dictator, and a former teen actor.
- President Rodrigo Duterte has already stirred the pot, saying one of many front-runners makes use of cocaine.
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With the deadline for candidacy elapsing on November 15, we compiled an inventory of the front-runners who’ve emerged within the lead-up to the Philippines’ Might presidential election.
Maybe probably the most notable amongst them are the son of a former dictator, a teen actor turned senator, the senator and champion boxer Manny Pacquiao, and an ex-police basic as soon as on Interpol’s most-wanted checklist.
Campaigning is not set to begin till February, however the theatrics have already begun. President Rodrigo Duterte has joined in, saying in a current speech {that a} candidate “who would possibly win arms down” used cocaine. When reporters requested him whom he was referring to, he demurred.
The nation’s structure blocks Duterte from operating for president once more. As his six-year time period — characterised by his hardhanded type and controversial struggle on medication — involves an finish subsequent yr, the nation is watching keenly for who will exchange him.
The Philippines has lengthy struggled with political corruption and instability within the wake of a 1986 revolution that deposed the dictator Ferdinand Marcos. It ranked 115th out of 180 countries in the 2020 Corruption Perception Index run by Transparency International and has for many years persistently charted effectively under the World Bank’s median for political stability.
And in contrast to within the US, Philippine political events are typically weak, and politicians can change sides with little consequence, specialists informed Insider.
Listed here are 5 notable and main candidates for the Might election within the Philippines.
The dictator’s son: Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr.
Noel Celis/AFP through Getty Photos
Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is the son of the dictator Marcos Sr., who dominated the Philippines for 25 years till he was ousted by an rebellion in 1986. After years of torturing, killing, and displacing thousands of Filipinos under martial law, Marcos Sr. went into exile in Hawaii together with his household, the place he died three years later.
After his father died, Marcos was permitted to return to the Philippines, the place he later served as a governor and a senator. He ran for vice chairman in 2016 — endorsed by his mom, Imelda — however was overwhelmed by the lawyer Leni Robredo, who’s additionally operating for president within the upcoming election.
“His household has spent rather a lot in rehabilitating their picture and selling revisionist variations of Philippine historical past and the legacy of the late dictator,” professor Maria Ela Atienza, the chair of the division of political science on the College of the Philippines, informed Insider.
He instructions a cultlike following within the Philippines, particularly amongst youthful voters who could not have had as a lot direct contact together with his father’s authorities, professor Jorge Tigno, who additionally teaches political science on the College of the Philippines, mentioned.
Tigno considers him one of many race’s strongest candidates.
“He could not get a majority, however he can, at the very least, at this level, get a plurality to win,” the professor mentioned.
Manman Dejeto / AFP through Getty Photos
Marcos has benefited from one of many largest twists up to now within the race: Sara Duterte-Carpio, the present president’s daughter, who was regarded as a powerhouse candidate for the presidency, announced on November 16 that she could be Marcos’ operating mate as vice chairman.
The vice chairman and president are elected individually within the Philippines, however the alliance permits either side to faucet one another’s voter bases — Marcos is fashionable within the northern a part of the nation, whereas the Dutertes are favored within the south.
Human-rights teams decried Marcos’ candidacy and filed a petition to cease him from operating, however there was no outcome.
As to how he received his nickname, Atienza mentioned: “Bongbong” is a standard title given to individuals named after their fathers.
The boxing champion: Manny ‘PacMan’ Pacquiao
Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images
In September, the world-champion boxer Pacquiao put down his gloves for good, saying his retirement in a YouTube video that transitions into a hip-hop music video.
Pacquiao lived on the streets and labored building as a younger teenager however is now value $26 million, according to Forbes. His rag-to-riches story has earned him folk-hero standing amongst Filipinos, however Tigno mentioned he lacked a critical political community and largely relied on giving out money to sway voters.
“I do not even assume his personal supporters are that critical in ensuring he wins,” he mentioned. “They only need a slice of his boxing winnings.”
And Pacquiao has a poor political monitor file. He was the most absent member of the Senate.
“Past populist guarantees like jailing corrupt officers, he lacks concrete applications and insurance policies,” Atienza mentioned.
Duterte as soon as noticed Pacquiao as a potential successor and shut buddy, however the pair had a falling out after the latter criticized Duterte’s pandemic response and relationship with China. That led the president to publicly scold the boxing champ.
Total, Tigno and Atienza mentioned the boxing icon did not stand a lot of an opportunity at successful the election.
The teenager actor: Francisco Domagoso, aka Isko Moreno
Ezra Acayan/Getty Photos
Francisco Domagoso is serving his first time period because the mayor of Manila, the Philippines’ capital. However Domagoso, who goes by the stage title Isko Moreno, was additionally a teen actor who got here from humble beginnings, rising up within the slums like Pacquiao did.
As a teen, Domagoso hosted the favored Filipino selection present “That is Leisure” and appeared in a number of movies. In the course of the Nineties, Domagoso starred in what Filipinos referred to as “titillating films,” a “mature” style fashionable on the time. He moved into politics in ’98 and received his begin as a metropolis councilor. He was elected as Manila’s mayor in 2019.
As mayor, he has targeted on reviving Manila’s tourism industry and picture, which has earned him the favor of the capital’s residents, Atienza mentioned.
He is been branded as a “Duterte-lite” determine as a result of he employed the identical marketing campaign crew as Duterte and is campaigning off his file as a mayor, whereas aligning with populist ideologies, she added.
However Tigno mentioned he believed operating could also be a mistake. With just one mayoral time period beneath his belt, Domagoso’s status is not as well-established because it could possibly be.
“He might have run for an additional two phrases and solidify his maintain on town, in addition to on the nationwide psyche, however he as a substitute selected to run for a nationwide place,” Tigno mentioned.
He added: “His recognition presently is solely no match to the cult standing loved by Marcos Jr. And whereas he might be able to command a good portion of his Manila constituents, I do not assume it will be sufficient.”
The police basic: Panfilo ‘Ping’ Lacson
NOEL CELIS/AFP through Getty Photos
Panfilo “Ping” Lacson has been serving on and off within the Philippines Senate since 2001. Earlier than that, he served because the director basic of the police from 1998 to 2001.
Hailed as an enforcer who spurned bribes and cracked down on corruption, Lacson gained a celebritylike standing for his reforms, corresponding to requiring cops to trim their waistlines to 86 centimeters and posting corrupt officers to harmful areas with excessive ranges of insurgent presence.
A film was even made about him in 2000, titled “Ping Lacson: Super Cop.” After he retired from police work and was elected to the Senate in 2001, Lacson was accused by the military-intelligence chief Victor Corpus of laundering $700 million for then-President Joseph Estrada. He has denied the allegations and since been outspoken for stricter legal guidelines towards cash laundering.
Lacson was additionally accused of involvement within the killings of 11 gang members in 1995, in addition to the slaying of a widely known publicist and his driver, with the latter allegation placing him on Interpol’s “red-notice” wanted list in 2010.
However in 2013, the Supreme Court of the Philippines dismissed the gang-killing case against Lacson with finality. He was additionally taken off the red-notice checklist in 2011 after the Philippines dropped charges for the publicist’s killing as a result of it discovered that the principle witness towards Lacson was “unreliable.”
Lacson, having one failed a presidential bid from 2004, now hopes to win the race with guarantees of curbing illegal drugs, criminality, and corruption, which mirrors Duterte’s 2016 marketing campaign.
As soon as an outspoken proponent of bringing the loss of life penalty again to the Philippines, he is now modified his thoughts and needs to construct a prison for criminals like the one on Alcatraz Island. He mentioned that “prevention, rehabilitation, and correction” had been a greater route for combating felony conduct, according to the local outlet Inquirer.net
Current polls point out Lacson hasn’t generated the recognition he must contest Marcos or different front-runners, mentioned Tigno.
The vice chairman and Duterte’s nemesis: Leni Robredo
Ezra Acayan/Getty Photos
Leni Robredo is the vice chairman of the Philippines, serving alongside Duterte. However she’s additionally been a fierce critic of his, usually slamming his struggle on medication and his pandemic response. In return, Duterte tried to exclude her from Cabinet meetings and pressured her to resign.
The daughter of a regional-court decide, Robredo handed the bar in 1997 and labored within the public lawyer’s workplace earlier than being elected to Congress in 2013. She supported antidiscrimination and anti-poverty movements and a Freedom of Information Act that elevated public transparency of presidency funding and transactions.
The presidential hopeful has been the goal of a number of fake-news campaigns by different politicians and social-media influencers.
One such incident was a doctored picture of politicians having dinner whereas showing to chortle at her as she was on TV. Agence France-Presse has since debunked the picture. And a fake viral video claimed she had been disqualified from the presidential race after she broke election guidelines.
“Robredo’s numbers in the mean time aren’t that prime, however they’re rising,” Tigno mentioned. “With a continuing marketing campaign motion behind her, she could find yourself matching, if not outrunning, Marcos Jr.”
Robredo has expertise as a politician and vice chairman, however whether or not voters will respect these achievements is one other factor altogether, he added.
“Individuals need fast optimistic outcomes, and I do not assume Robredo is ready to make that form of promise to individuals,” he added. “She is simply too honest with herself to permit herself to lie and twist the reality to individuals. That may be an issue for her in the long run if she loses.
“But when she wins, it will probably imply a brand new lease on life for Philippine democracy.”
