Ferdinand Marcos Jr, the namesake son of an ousted dictator, was yesterday sworn in as Philippine president in one of the greatest political comebacks in recent history that opponents say was pulled off by whitewashing his family’s image.
His rise to power, 36 years after an army-backed “People Power” revolt booted his father from office, upends politics in the Asian democracy, where a public holiday, monuments and the Philippine constitution stand as reminders of the end of his father’s tyrannical rule.
However, in his inaugural speech, Marcos Jr defended the legacy of his late father, who he said accomplished many things that were not done since the nation’s independence, adding that he would emulate him.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“He got it done, sometimes with the needed support, sometimes without. So will it be with his son,” he said to applause from his supporters in the crowd. “You will get no excuses from me.”
“My father built more and better roads, produced more rice than all administrations before his,” Marcos Jr said, while also praising the infrastructure projects by his equally controversial predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte.
Calling for unity, he said: “We will go further together than against each other, pushing forward not pulling each other.”
He did not touch on the human rights atrocities and plunder his father was accused of, saying he would not talk about the past, but the future.
Rights advocates and survivors of the martial law era under his father protested Marcos Jr’s inauguration, which took place at a noontime ceremony at the steps of the National Museum in Manila. Thousands of police officers, including anti-riot contingents, SWAT commandos and snipers, were deployed in the bayside tourist district for security.
Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan (王岐山) and US Vice President Kamala Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, were among foreign dignitaries attending.
In Taipei, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) expressed regret that Taiwan was not invited to the inauguration ceremony.
Despite the lack of an invite, ministry deputy spokesperson Tsuei Ching-lin (崔靜麟) said that Taiwan’s representative office in Manila had passed on President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) congratulations to Marcos Jr.
The representative office has learned through various channels from Manila — which does not formally recognize Taipei and instead maintains diplomatic relations with Beijing — that it decided not to invite Taiwanese government representatives to the ceremony “after taking consideration of all factors involved.”
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers criticized the ministry over the affair.
DPP Legislator Chao Tien-lin (趙天麟) said it was the second time in recent months that Taiwan was locked out by a neighboring country, referring to Taiwan not being invited to the inauguration of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol in May.
“We ask MOFA to assess what happened,” he said.
During the 2010 inauguration of then-Philippine president Benigno Aquino III, then-minister of health Yeh Ching-chuan (葉金川) attended the ceremony in a personal capacity and passed on a congratulatory message from then-president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).
It was the last time that a former or serving Taiwanese government official had attended the inauguration of a Philippine president.
Additional reporting by Jason Pan and CNA
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