Marcos redux? Dictator's son may win Philippine presidency

The presidential campaign of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is resonating in the Philippines

MANILA, Philippines -- Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Sara Duterte smile and chat of their love of burgers and mango shakes on the election trail in a carefree YouTube video before breaking into a short rap penned for their campaign for president and vice president of the Philippines by a popular singer.

Marcos Jr., the son of the late dictator who bilked the country out of billions and ruled for years with an iron fist, and Duterte, daughter of outgoing populist President Rodrigo Duterte, whose brutal anti-drug campaign has brought an investigation of crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court, like to keep things light.

Their carefully choreographed campaign whitewashes the past and is short on specifics about their vision for the future, but it appears to be resonating with the average Filipino, with the latest polls showing both with seemingly insurmountable leads in their races, which are held separately, in Monday’s elections.

The campaign has made deft use of social media, primarily TikTok and YouTube, to push the simple slogan of “unity” — “Uniteam" as they put it — and frame them as beyond politics and disagreements, said Adele Webb, a lecturer at the Queensland University of Technology and author of ”Chasing Freedom: The Philippines’ Long Journey to Democratic Ambivalence.”