Posted on Jun 30, 2022
Dictator's son Ferdinand Marcos Jr. takes oath as Philippine president
524
24
2
12
12
0
https://www.npr.org/2022/06/30/ [login to see] /ferdinand-marcos-jr-takes-oath-philippine-president
Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the namesake son of an ousted dictator, was sworn in as Philippine president Thursday in one of the greatest political comebacks in recent history but which opponents say was pulled off by whitewashing his family's image.
His rise to power, 36 years after an army-backed "People Power" revolt booted his father to global infamy, upends politics in the Asian democracy, where a public holiday, monuments and the Philippine Constitution stand as reminders of his father's tyrannical rule.
Activists and survivors of the martial law-era under his father protested Marcos Jr.'s inauguration, which took place at a noontime ceremony at the steps of the National Museum in Manila. Thousands of police officers, including anti-riot contingents, SWAT commandos and snipers, were deployed in the bayside tourist district for security.
Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the namesake son of an ousted dictator, was sworn in as Philippine president Thursday in one of the greatest political comebacks in recent history but which opponents say was pulled off by whitewashing his family's image.
His rise to power, 36 years after an army-backed "People Power" revolt booted his father to global infamy, upends politics in the Asian democracy, where a public holiday, monuments and the Philippine Constitution stand as reminders of his father's tyrannical rule.
Activists and survivors of the martial law-era under his father protested Marcos Jr.'s inauguration, which took place at a noontime ceremony at the steps of the National Museum in Manila. Thousands of police officers, including anti-riot contingents, SWAT commandos and snipers, were deployed in the bayside tourist district for security.
Dictator's son Ferdinand Marcos Jr. takes oath as Philippine president
Posted from npr.org
Philippines
Voting
Elections
World History
Martial Law
Posted 2 y ago
Responses: 2
7
7
0
PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Imelda Marcos and her children were allowed to return to the Philippines in 1991 and worked on a stunning political comeback, helped by a well-funded social media campaign to refurbish the family name.
Marcos Jr's alliance with Sara Duterte, whose father remains popular despite his human rights record, and powerful name recall as a member of one of the country's most well-known political dynasties, helped him capture the presidency. Many Filipinos too remained poor and grew disenchanted with post-Marcos administrations, Manila-based analyst Richard Heydarian said.
"These allowed the Marcoses to present themselves as the alternative," Heydarian said and added "an unregulated social media landscape allowed their disinformation network to re-brand the dark days of martial law as supposedly the golden age of the Philippines."
Along metropolitan Manila's main avenue, democracy shrines and monuments erected after Marcos' 1986 downfall stand prominently. The anniversary of his ouster is celebrated each year as a special national holiday, and a presidential commission that has worked for decades to recover ill-gotten wealth of the Marcoses still exists.
Marcos Jr. has not explained how he will deal with such stark reminders of the past."
..."Imelda Marcos and her children were allowed to return to the Philippines in 1991 and worked on a stunning political comeback, helped by a well-funded social media campaign to refurbish the family name.
Marcos Jr's alliance with Sara Duterte, whose father remains popular despite his human rights record, and powerful name recall as a member of one of the country's most well-known political dynasties, helped him capture the presidency. Many Filipinos too remained poor and grew disenchanted with post-Marcos administrations, Manila-based analyst Richard Heydarian said.
"These allowed the Marcoses to present themselves as the alternative," Heydarian said and added "an unregulated social media landscape allowed their disinformation network to re-brand the dark days of martial law as supposedly the golden age of the Philippines."
Along metropolitan Manila's main avenue, democracy shrines and monuments erected after Marcos' 1986 downfall stand prominently. The anniversary of his ouster is celebrated each year as a special national holiday, and a presidential commission that has worked for decades to recover ill-gotten wealth of the Marcoses still exists.
Marcos Jr. has not explained how he will deal with such stark reminders of the past."
(7)
(0)
5
5
0
Read This Next
Continue with Facebook 
Continue with Google