Philippine presidential candidate Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., son of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, delivers a speech during a campaign rally in Lipa, Batangas province, Philippines, on April 20, 2022MANILA - The Philippines votes on Monday in its most divisive presidential election in decades, with the prospect of a once unthinkable return to rule of the Marcos family, 36 years after they were toppled in a "people power" uprising.
Marcos, 64, has presented no real policy platform but his presidency is expected to provide continuity from outgoing leader Rodrigo Duterte, whose ruthless, strongman approach proved popular and helped him to consolidate power rapidly. Marcos is buoyed by a cult-like following of younger Filipinos born after the 1986 revolution, having launched a massive social media offensive in an upbeat campaign that has carried undertones of historical revisionism.
The vote also presents an opportunity for Marcos to avenge his acrimonious loss to Robredo in the 2016 vice presidential election, a narrow defeat by just 200,000 votes that he sought unsuccessfully to overturn. "It's our right to have a future with dignity and it's our job to fight for it," she said, to chants of "Leni, Leni".