Ferdinand Marcos Jr., known as “Bongbong” Marcos, has won the Philippine presidency.
WALDEN BELLO, waldenbello@yahoo.com, @WaldenBello
Bello ran for vice president. He is chairperson of Laban ng Masa (LnM), “a Philippine national mass movement-based political center with a socialist direction.” He gained notoriety for his rallying cry: “FUCK YOU, MARCOS. THE BATTLE HAS JUST BEGUN” — see his statement, which went viral on Twitter. He was featured on John Oliver’s show.
RENATO REYES, nato.reyes@gmail.com, @natoreyes
Reyes is an activist in the Philippines. She blamed the result on a “failed political system, massive disinformation, vote-buying, red-tagging, political repression, and a non-transparent voting system. Marcos and Duterte benefited from a system that was rigged in their favor.”
JAMES BRADLEY, [currently in New Zealand] james@jamesbradley.com, Skype: JamesOnSound
Bradley is author of several bestsellers focused on U.S. policy in the Pacific and Asia, including The Imperial Cruise: A Secret History of Empire and War.
He said today: “My talking to people in the Philippines makes it evident that Marcos poured tons of money into social media to secure this win.”
In 2020, Rappler (founded by Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa) reported “Bongbong Marcos asked Cambridge Analytica to ‘rebrand’ [the] family image.” Rappler just published the piece “Marcos Jr. benefited from Facebook — study.”
Bradley continued: “I traveled through the Philippines while working on my book. One of the things that struck me was how the country was run by dynastic families who owned huge plantations.
“Now, ‘Bongbong’ Marcos has been elected president, the son of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos who stole an estimated $10 billion. Marcos still has most of the money his father stole. So, he poured tons of money into social media. A new image, a complete makeover of the Marcos era. They erased the past.”
In January, Rappler reported “Marcos Jr. continues to evade $353-million contempt judgment of U.S. court.”
Bradley added: “Marcos’ running mate is Sara Duterte, the daughter of current President Rodrigo Duterte. So these rich families work together. It’s all rock ‘n’ roll and celebrities and elites dining together.
“Marcos gave few interviews and refused to participate in debates, creating a virtual personality cult.
“If someone talked about torture during the time his father was president, it was immediately dismissed: ‘that’s propoganda!’
“There was no outline of policies. ‘The Marcos family was good for the country.’
“Marcos now will ‘lift up the people’ and they will have ‘unity.’
“Imelda Marcos can’t be a criminal — you can see the former beauty queen dancing on stage.”
