International media reaction to Marcus JR’s election is very mixed

[ASEAN NOW News]

Since the announcement of Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s election for President of the Philippines apart from the normal diplomatic pleasantries, some international newspapers have been not so complimentary.

 

Firstly, several newspapers including the Straits Times of Singapore and the British Guardian newspaper have covered in detail the accusation that Marcos is urged to stop pretending he has an Oxford degree.

 

President Elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr Photograph: Neil Jerome Morales/Reuters

 

Apparently, Oxford University has said repeatedly that the Philippines leader was awarded a ‘special diploma in social studies’ in 1978, not a BA.

 

Yet as the Marcos family returns to power in the Philippines after a landslide presidential victory by Marcos Jr, he is facing calls to stop misrepresenting the circumstances of his studies at Oxford.

 

The university has confirmed that he did not complete his BA in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics after enrolling in 1975.

 

“According to our records, he did not complete his degree, but was awarded a special diploma in social studies in 1978,” Oxford said in a response to a freedom of information request lodged by a UK-based Filipina supporter of Marcos Jr’s nearest rival in last week’s election.

 

Marcos Jr, nicknamed “Bongbong”, has claimed in interviews that Oxford issued him with a bachelor’s degree, while his official spokesperson has said that the politician and his team “stand by the degree confirmation which was issued by the University of Oxford”.

 

Even his website states: “He completed his undergraduate studies at Oxford University and graduated with a special diploma in social studies.”

 

But a UK-based Filipina supporter of Marcos Jr’s rival Leni Robredo, who lodged the FoI request, said of Marcos: “He should stop misrepresenting his special diploma, which is clearly not a degree. It’s clear he did not complete undergraduate studies.”

 

She added: “In the grand scheme of things, it may not seem so important, as our constitution states that presidential candidates only have to be literate and be a citizen of a certain age.

But it’s a massive thing in the Philippines if you have studied abroad and people are impressed by that. What he has been saying about that is a reflection on his personality and character. It’s also a reflection of a pattern of disinformation that a lot of researchers have pointed out recently.”

 

After years of rebranding its image, the Marcos family seems to be back in power.

 

Ongoing counts last Friday also showed that his political allies were set to capture most of the 300-seat House of Representatives and half of the 24-seat senate, which was also up for election.

 

Marcos Jr received more than thirty-one million votes in the unofficial count, with projections showing one of the largest majorities in decades.

 

Problems in the camp too

 

Signs of underlying tensions emerged just days after the vote, when Marcos Jr., 64, picked Sara Duterte, 43, as his education secretary even though she had publicly said she wanted to oversee the defence portfolio.

 

The Straits Times reported that in the end, she accepted, saying she wanted the "most harmonious administration possible" and she expected naysayers to "fabricate intrigues about her loyalty".

 

Marcos Jr. was sending the message that "there's a boundary she cannot cross", said Jean Franco, a political science professor at the University of the Philippines who previously worked as a director in the Senate.

 

"They were united for the purpose of winning the elections, so unless you find another purpose, the tendency is to disintegrate."

 

One immediate risk is still hanging over the presumptive president: A petition to disqualify him over failing to file tax returns has reached the Supreme Court and more could come.

 

While all these cases were dismissed by the Commission of Elections, officials have said Sara Duterte is in line to take over from him if the court rules against him.

 

Marcos Jr. has repeatedly denied wrongdoing.

 

Ant Man

 

And finally perhaps the most unusual video doing the rounds was aired on the John Oliver show in America, where he played a video of Marcos Jr’s wife explaining to a reporter when her husband decided to run for President.

 

It was while we were watching the Marvel Movie Ant-Man that he decided to run for President.

 

Oh really!!!

 

Next, we will have President Putin wishing to be the Incredible Hulk. Well, maybe he already thinks he is!!!

What a weird world we live in.