Victims of the 20-year-long Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship in the Philippines that ran from 1965 to 1986 have spoken out after the son of the dictator was elected as the new democratic leader of the Asian nation.
Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. was elected president this week after a bitter election campaign against rivals in which he was accused of voter manipulation and fake news. He defeated rival Leni Robredo, who stood on a platform of human-rights and liberal ideas.
During his father's 20-year-long US-backed regime, tens of thousands were tortured, imprisoned and killed for disagreeing with the dictatorship. The Marcos regime also stole vast quantities of money from public funds, as much as $10 billion, and his wife Imelda became globally famous for her extravagant lifestyle and love of designer footwear.
Marcos Jr is married to the daughter of the outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte, who himself was criticised for violating human-rights and scaling back democracy. Under his regime, death squads were used against drug-addicts and drug-dealers, and allegedly, against political opponents.
Anti-Marcos campaigner Bonifacio Ilagan, who was tortured under the dictatorship, has said that the promises of Marcos Jr are:
"Empty and self-serving for as long as he does not address the basic questions concerning his father's dictatorship, of which he was very much a part".
Adding that he believed that Marcos Jr had come to power through illicit means. He said:
"I for one – and I think I can represent a lot – will never accept a president who continues to be the chief administrator of an estate that embodies plunder. He flooded social media with historical distortions and refused to engage the media to answer the painful questions that we wanted him to address."
While Cristina Palabay, said the pairing of Marcos JR and Duterte:
"Represents the worst brand of traditional politics and governance in our nation's history. Under Duterte, the human rights crisis has spiralled with extrajudicial killings, arrests and detention, forcible evacuation and other human rights violations, including violations on press freedom and freedom of association."
Doris Nuval, a political prisoner under Marcos, added that there was a clear plot to cover up the historical crimes of the dictatorship and brainwash a new generation, saying:
"Although there are efforts now to try to put the correct version in the textbooks of the children, I don't think that's going to be continued. It's just a sad fact that the young Filipinos will never learn of what's happened until after his term. [Marcos Jr] has absolutely no concept of human rights."
[Based on reporting by: The Guardian]
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