Marcos family
The Marcos family (UK: /ˈmɑːrkɒs/ MAR-koss, US: /-koʊs, -kɔːs/ -kohss, -kawss,[1][2] Tagalog: [ˈmaɾkɔs]) is a political family in the Philippines. They have established themselves in the country's politics, having established a political dynasty[3][4] that traces its beginnings to the 1925 election of Mariano Marcos to the Philippine House of Representatives as congressman for the second district of Ilocos Norte;[5] reached its peak during the 21-year rule of Ferdinand Marcos as president of the Philippines that included his 14-year dictatorship beginning with the declaration of Martial Law throughout the country;[5][6] and continues today with the political careers of Imelda Marcos, Imee Marcos, Sandro Marcos and reached a fresh political apex with the presidency of Bongbong Marcos.[7]
Marcos family
Imee Marcos has attributed the continued reign of the Marcos family to the inherent feudalism of Philippine culture. Although nominally democratic, Philippine society effectively blocks individual Philippine citizens from having much political power, forcing them to be dependent on powerful figures that social scientists have called "bosses" or "caciques".[8][9][10] Sandro Marcos, the most politically prominent of the fourth generation of Marcoses, has argued that political dynasties are simply a "natural progression" for members of powerful families.[11]
Although Article II Section 26 of the current Philippine constitution, promulgated after the Marcoses were ousted from the Philippines in 1986,[3] explicitly prohibits the perpetuation of political dynasties,[12][13] little legislation has since been put in place to enforce the provision.[13] The prominence of the Marcos family in Philippine politics has been stopped twice. The first came with the victory of Julio Nalundasan over Mariano Marcos and the subsequent arrest of Ferdinand Marcos for his murder, the publicity for which brought Ferdinand Marcos to the national consciousness and eventually led to his rise to power.[5][6] The second was when the Marcos dictatorship was deposed by the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution and the family was exiled to Hawaii. After Ferdinand Marcos's 1989 death, the remaining members of the family were allowed to return to the Philippines to face various corruption charges in 1992. However, they were able to return to political power that same year, to the dismay of many Filipino people, with the election of Bongbong Marcos as congressman for the second district of Ilocos Norte.[14]
At least one other branch of the family, that of Ferdinand Sr.'s sister Elizabeth Marcos-Keon, is also in politics, with her son Michael Marcos Keon having been elected board member in 2004 and governor of Ilocos Norte in 2007.[15]
Bongbong Marcos ran and won in the 2010 Philippine Senate election, placing 7th place. The win was the first time a Marcos won a national position since the family's exile in 1986.
6 years later, Marcos Jr ran for the Vice Presidency of the Philippines, placing second place, losing by a slim margin to Camarines Sur representative Leni Robredo. Marcos filed a protest with the Presidential Electoral Tribunal. The protest and recount took 5 years, until in 2021 the Supreme Court junked the electoral protest for lack of evidence.[16]
During the 2019 Philippine Senate election, Imee Marcos the eldest daughter of Ferdinand Marcos, also the governor of Ilocos Norte, ran for the Senate of the Philippines and won, placing 8th.[17]
After 6 years, Bongbong Marcos announced his candidacy for President of the Philippines, promising unity and recovery, despite intense opposition due to his family's history.[18]
Despite his father's reputation, Bongbong Marcos won the 2022 Philippine presidential election and was sworn in on June 30, 2022, 36 years after his family was exiled by the People Power Revolution.[19]