How Will the Philippines' Next President Lead?
2022-05-12
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1Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has declared victory in presidential elections held Monday in the Philippines.
2The apparent win is raising concerns about further erosion of democracy in Asia.
3Critics say it could harm American efforts to reduce Chinese influence and power in the Pacific Ocean area.
4An unofficial count of ballots shows Marcos Jr. received at least 31 million votes.
5His vice-presidential running mate, Sara Duterte, also won in what appears to be a big victory.
6If the results are confirmed, the two will take office at the end of June for a single, six-year term.
7Marcos will replace Sara Duterte's father, Rodrigo.
8President Duterte has sought closer ties with China and Russia during his rule.
9He has also expressed sharp criticism of the United States.
10He is very popular in the Philippines with a 67 percent public approval rating.
11Andrea Chloe Wong is a Manila-based former researcher in the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs.
12She said future relations between the U.S. and the Philippines will have a lot to do with how President Joe Biden's administration responds to the return to power of a Marcos family member.
13Biden has to consider geostrategic interests in the Philippines, she said.
14But he also "has to balance promoting American democratic ideals and human rights."
15Marcos Jr. is the son of former President Ferdinand Marcos.
16He ruled the Philippines from 1965 until a military overthrow in 1986.
17For most of his presidency, he was supported by the military and widely considered a dictator.
18Marcos Jr. has not spoken a lot about his exact foreign policy plans.
19He has said he wants to seek closer ties with China, including setting aside a 2016 international court decision.
20The ruling decided almost all of China's historical claims to the South China Sea to be false.
21China does not recognize the ruling and Marcos has argued that the court's decision does not help settle the dispute.
22In January, Marcos suggested he would not support U.S. interference in territorial disputes between the Philippines and China. He called the idea a "recipe for disaster."
23The United States has a long history with the Philippines.
24It was an American colony for most of the early 20th century before gaining independence in 1946.
25The U.S. history with the Marcos family could also add to the complexity of its relations with the Philippines.
26The U.S. supported administrations that took power after former president Marcos was ousted.
27And in 2011, a U.S. District Court ruling in Hawaii found Marcos Jr. and his mother violated a legal order.
28They had refused to provide the court with information on their wealth.
29The order was connected to a large 1995 human rights case against Marcos Sr. He died in Hawaii in 1989.
30The court fined Marcos Jr. and his mother $353.6 million, which has never been paid.
31U.S. relations with President Rodrigo Duterte are complex as well.
32He is under international investigation in connection to his government's severe campaign against illegal drugs.
33He is accused of ordering or permitting thousands of killings during his rule.
34The U.S. noted the shared history of the two countries in its comments on the election.
35State Department official Ned Price told reporters, "We look forward to renewing our special partnership and to working with the next administration on key human rights and regional priorities."
36I'm Caty Weaver.