Son of ousted Philippine dictator headed for landslide victory in presidential election

Supporters of Ferdinand &#039;Bongbong&#039; Marcos Jr. celebrate in Manila

(Image credit: Veejay Villafranca/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

published 9 May 2022

Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., the son of the dictator who stole billions of dollars in public funds during his two decades as president, is on track to become the next president of the Philippines, The New York Times reported Monday.

By early Tuesday morning, more than 90 percent of the ballots had been counted, and Marcos had reportedly received more than twice as many votes as his closest competitor — incumbent Vice President Leni Robredo.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

The 64-year-old scion poised to succeed President Rodrigo Duterte, who is constitutionally limited to a single term, served as a regional vice governor and governor during his father's dictatorship. The Marcos family was exiled from the Philippines when the elder Marcos was overthrown in 1986 but was allowed to return to the country in 1991. Since then, Bongbong has served as a regional governor, member of the country's House of Representatives, and senator.

Explore More

Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Modern Age, The American Conservative, The Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox