Philippines rights groups denounce presidential bid by Marcos

Philippines human rights groups have staged protests to denounce an attempt by the son and namesake of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos to return his family to power by contesing for the presidency.

Marcos, accompanied by wife and two sons, filed his candidacy for presidential elections in 2022.

Cristina Palabay of rights group Karapatan said, “The Marcoses remain scot-free from jail, they haven’t returned all the money that they got from the nation’s coffers, and now they are making a comeback for the highest position in the land, that is just plain, shameless gall.”

The Marcos family has long sought to rebuild its image and has repeatedly denied allegations that it plundered state wealth while in power, estimated in 1987 at $US10 billion.

Marcos’s chief of staff Victor Rodriguez said in a statement that, “Despite being at the centre of decades-long hate campaigns and protests, the family has always respected their right to voice their sentiments and will continue to do so.”

Marcos senior was chased from office in a people’s power revolt in 1986 and died in exile in Hawaii three years later.

The Marcos family returned to the Philippines in the 1990s and became powerful politicians representing their home province of Ilocos Norte.

Protesters rallied outside the Commission on Human Rights building in Manila, some burning pictures of the late ruler, as they vowed to block his efforts to return the family to power.

“We know that the Marcoses have long wanted to return to Malacanang (presidential palace) to rearrange history,” human rights lawyer Neri Colmenares said.

The Marcoses and Dutertes have been closely allied, most notably when the president agreed to a request to bury the body of Marcos senior in a Heroes’ Cemetery, defying strong opposition from anti-dictatorship groups.

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Kamila/Reuters