Allies of Marcos Jr. set to dominate Philippine Congress

Allies of Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the presumptive next president of the Philippines, appear set to dominate both chambers of Congress, alarming activists after the late dictator son's apparent election victory restored his family to the seat of power

MANILA, Philippines -- Allies of Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the presumptive next president of the Philippines, appear set to dominate both chambers of Congress, further alarming activists after the late dictator son's apparent election victory restored his family to the seat of power.

Ongoing counts from Monday's vote show they're set to capture most of the 300-seat House of Representatives and half of the 24-seat Senate that was up for election, and likely their top leaderships. Their family members and siblings have been also proclaimed winners in local posts, reflecting the strong grip of political dynasties on the Southeast Asian democracy despite a constitutional prohibition that was never enforced.

“It’s going to be problematic because an opposition is very much needed in a democracy,” said Jean Franco, a political science professor at the state-run University of the Philippines. “There has to be alternative ideas and there has to be monitoring of what the executive is doing, otherwise, we will be like North Korea.”

The electoral triumph of Marcos Jr. and his allies is an astonishing reversal of the army-backed but largely peaceful “People Power” revolt in 1986 that forced his father out of office following years of massive human rights atrocities and plunder that his son never acknowledged.