Late Philippine dictator's son to run for vice president

[webfact]

Late Philippine dictator's son to run for vice president

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The son of late Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos has announced that he will run for vice president in next year's elections in a new gauge of his family's political clout nearly three decades after they were ousted in a "people power" revolt.

Sen. Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. asked Filipinos in a statement Monday to judge him based on his 26-year career in government as a provincial official and national lawmaker.

Marcos, 58, did not touch on allegations of massive corruption and widespread rights violations against his father in a country which still marks the anniversary each year of the Marcoses' 1986 ouster as a triumph of democracy.

"I have decided to put my political fortune in the hands of the Filipino people," he said.

Marcos railed against the "politics of personality" that he said has turned the Philippines into "a soft state where the rich become richer, the poor become poorer, graft and corruption is endemic ... injustice is the norm."

Renato Reyes of the left-wing group Bayan said Marcos should acknowledge the abuses that were committed during his father's rule.

The former president died in exile in Hawaii in 1989 without admitting any wrongdoing.

While the late dictator is reviled by many, including by thousands of former political prisoners, he still enjoys a degree of popularity, particularly in his northern home province of Ilocos Norte, where the family holds significant political power.

Sen. Marcos' mother, Imelda Marcos, is a member of the House of Representatives, representing a district in Ilocos Norte, where her eldest child, Imee, is provincial governor. Mrs. Marcos, who is derided for her large shoe collection, can run for a final term in Congress but has yet to announce her political plans.

Boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao, meanwhile, said he will run for the Senate next year. Pacquiao, a member of the House of Representatives, disclosed his plans to followers late Monday, according to ABS-CBN TV network.

[ap]2015-10-06[/ap

[Gunna]

From an interesting article from 2006

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2006/03/25/politics/politics_30000150.php

Marcos and Thaksin: blood brothers in dictatorship

Generations to come will pay the price for allowing dictators like Thaksin Shinawatra to stay in power too long, said Filipino Senator Nereus Acosta.

Associate Professor Sida Sornsri, Thammasat's expert on the Philippines, said Thaksin was worse that former dictator Ferdinand Marcos although both used constitutional means to gain legitimacy

[FangFerang]

See -- it's not just Thai elites that never go away....

[phantomfiddler]

From an interesting article from 2006

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2006/03/25/politics/politics_30000150.php

Marcos and Thaksin: blood brothers in dictatorship

Generations to come will pay the price for allowing dictators like Thaksin Shinawatra to stay in power too long, said Filipino Senator Nereus Acosta.

Associate Professor Sida Sornsri, Thammasat's expert on the Philippines, said Thaksin was worse that former dictator Ferdinand Marcos although both used constitutional means to gain legitimacy

thaksin made Marcos look like a rank amateur as far as corruption was concerned. Marcos just wanted his charming wife to never feel the need for another pair of shoes

[freebyrd]

Pinoys have very short memories - People Power!?! The apple doesn't fall very far from the tree....

[waldroj]

"I have decided to put my political fortune in the hands of the Filipino people," he said.

"Just imagine the fortune HE will get his hands on if the Filipino people decide on him to become VP", I said.

[Nemesis7]

Here we go again...?!?

[Exsexyman]

So here we have a story in the World News Forum about the Philippines and the first three posts are about Thaksin! Hilarious!

[Baerboxer]

So here we have a story in the World News Forum about the Philippines and the first three posts are about Thaksin! Hilarious!

The report is about family dominated corrupt political dynasties and how successive generations may continue to suck at the trough even though one patriarch has been expelled. Wife (or in Marcos case now widow) and offspring still in there looking after family interests.

Interesting parallels don't you think?

[connda]

Marco, Aquino. Aquino, Marco. Marco, Aquino. Aquino, Marco.

Bush, Clinton. Clinton, Bush. Bush, Clinton. Clinton, Bush.

That's sort of the trademark of a Banana Republic political system.

[connda]

Here we go again...?!?

I wonder if his wife will double down and have 4000 pairs of shoes.

"I have pour taosan pairs of choose." Yeah, lived in the PI for awhile. Lol

[elgordo38]

See -- it's not just Thai elites that never go away....

I am sure he knows where all the skeletons are buried and the secret bank accounts that just keep on giving to this very day. If he is elected its a sure sign that people are now sheeple and there is no hope left. They gain rock star status and people just fall for it. Politics is like a merry go round. Every dog has his day and then another day in later years because people are tired of the alternatives which also prove useless. People are a captive audience.

[SheungWan]

From an interesting article from 2006

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2006/03/25/politics/politics_30000150.php

Marcos and Thaksin: blood brothers in dictatorship

Generations to come will pay the price for allowing dictators like Thaksin Shinawatra to stay in power too long, said Filipino Senator Nereus Acosta.

Associate Professor Sida Sornsri, Thammasat's expert on the Philippines, said Thaksin was worse that former dictator Ferdinand Marcos although both used constitutional means to gain legitimacy

thaksin made Marcos look like a rank amateur as far as corruption was concerned. Marcos just wanted his charming wife to never feel the need for another pair of shoes

The Marcos family weren't amateurs, rank or otherwise as far as corruption was concerned. They were the pick of the crop and like the bad stuff on a blanket, you just can't get it off.

[Cats4ever]

Troubling that the spawn of one of the most corrupt (but he was anti communist) politicians this century still hold positions of power. Filipinos seem to elect whoever is the most powerful in the fiefdoms they reside in. Money greases the wheels and if you want some power and money, help out the boss. I feel sorry for the people who have to endure this misgovernment.