According to provisional results, which will not be finalised for several weeks, Marcos won more than 31 million votes

Dictator Marcos' son declares himself the winner of the Philippine election

photo_camera PHOTO/ELOISA LÓPEZ - Philippine presidential candidate Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr, son of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, delivers a speech during a campaign rally in Lipa, Batangas province, Philippines, 20 April 2022

Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, son of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, declared himself the winner of the presidential elections held on Monday in the Philippines, pending official results.

In a press appearance, Marcos spokesman Vic Rodriguez said the candidate has declared himself "president-elect", while Sara Duterte-Carpio, daughter of outgoing president Rodrigo Duterte, will be vice president.

According to provisional results, which will not be finalised for several weeks, Marcos won more than 31 million votes - more than 56% of the support - twice as many as his closest rival, Leni Robredo, while Duterte-Carpio won 31 million votes.

atalayar-filipinas-cronologia-familia-marcos-afp

"The Filipinos have spoken decisively, Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Junior will be the 16th president of the Philippines. With historic numbers, the people have used their vote to unite the nation, this is a victory for all Filipinos and for democracy," Rodriguez said.

"It is his commitment to be the president of all Filipinos. To seek consensus across the (current) political divide and work together to unite the nation," the spokesman added.

"Bongbong is interested in working across the Philippines with international partners and organisations to address critical problems facing the nation and begin to provide solutions," Rodriguez said.

One of Marcos' first acts after the vote was to visit his father's grave at the Heroes Cemetery in Manila, where he laid a bouquet of flowers on Wednesday, according to photos posted on his official Twitter account.

atalayar-hijo-dictador-marcos-filipinas-visita-tumba-padre-elecciones-ferdinand-marcos

The visit came after Marcos said the day before that he will work for all Filipinos and asked not to be judged by his past.

"Judge me not by my ancestors, but by my actions," he said through his spokesman, Vic Rodriguez, in a statement on Tuesday night.

Marcos Sr. caused more than 3,000 extrajudicially executed deaths, more than 35,000 tortured and the embezzlement of $10 billion from the public treasury during his authoritarian regime (1965-1986).

However, a disinformation campaign in recent years, intensified on social media since 2014, has whitewashed this legacy and many Filipinos believe that the Marcoses favoured the country's development and describe their regime as the country's 'golden era'.

More in Politics