Ferdinand Marcos Junior was sworn in as President of the Philippines, replacing Rodrigo Duterte, who left office, at a ceremony in the capital, Manila.
The inauguration of Marcos Junior, who overwhelmingly won the election last month, was a stunning turnaround for the Marcos political dynasty, which was overthrown after the popular uprising in 1986.
Rodrigo Duerte’s daughter Sara will serve as vice president.
The new president, smiling and waving with his wife and three sons at the swearing-in ceremony, thanked his people for “the biggest election victory in the history of democracy in the Philippines” in his first speech after taking office.
The 64-year-old leader, also known by the nickname “Bongbong”, inherits the country, which is on the way to lick the wounds of the pandemic after this great “election victory”, with an economy marred by skyrocketing inflation and rising debt.
His predecessor, Duterte, was criticized for embarking on a “bloody war on drugs” while encouraging police to carry out thousands of extrajudicial killings.
The inauguration took place days after the Supreme Court in Manila ruled that “convictions for tax evasion do not prevent the new president from taking office.” There are tax evasion and corruption investigations and convictions against Ferdinan Marcos Junior.
In addition, the decision to close Rappler, the news site that criticizes Duerte, was announced yesterday, and Marcos Junior also expressed his support for this decision.
During his speech, the new President paid tribute to his deceased father, Ferdinand Marcos, who ruled the country with an iron fist for twenty years.
Father Marcos ruled the country under martial law; controlled courts, businesses, and the media. Thousands of dissidents were arrested, tortured and political figures killed.
Then in 1986, in a mass riot, millions of people took to the streets, the Marcos family, including 28-year-old Bongbong, fled to Hawaii. Returning to the Philippines in 1991, Marcos Junior has since painted his father’s presidency as a “golden era” of growth and prosperity.
Virma Simonettcontributed to the e-news.