By AFP
MANILA (Philippines): Ferdinand Marcos Jr on Wednesday claimed victory in the Philippines presidential election, vowing to be a leader “for all Filipinos”, his spokesman said.
“To the world, he says: Judge me not by my ancestors, but by my actions,” Vic Rodriguez said in a statement.
With an initial count almost complete, Marcos Jr has secured over 56 per cent of the vote and more than double the tally of his nearest rival, liberal Leni Robredo.
The win is an astonishing reversal in the fortunes of the Marcos family, who have gone from the presidential palace to pariahs and back again in the space of a few decades.
Voters had been predicted to back Marcos by a landslide in Monday’s election, after a misinformation-filled campaign.
For years pro-Marcos accounts have flooded social media, leaving many young Facebook-educated Filipinos believing his father’s rule was a golden period of peace and prosperity.
In reality, Marcos senior left the Philippines bankrupt, and killed, tortured and jailed tens of thousands of opponents during his corrupt dictatorship.
Marcos Jr is the first presidential candidate to win an outright majority of votes since his dictator father was toppled from power and the family chased into exile in 1986.
