Marcos-Sara proclaimed

FERDINAND MARCOS JR. was proclaimed Thursday as the next president of the Philippines by a joint session of Congress following a landslide election triumph 36 years after his dictator father was ousted in a pro-democracy uprising.

 

President Bongbong Marcos and Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio. (PNA)

The Senate and House of Representatives also declared that his separately elected vice presidential running mate, Sara Duterte, had won by a wide margin. She is the daughter of outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte, whose turbulent six-year term ends on June 30. 

They will lead a nation battered by Covid-19 lockdowns, crushing poverty, gaping inequality, Muslim and communist insurgencies, crime and political divisions further inflamed by the May 9 election. 

With his 92-year-old mother, Imelda Marcos, his wife, family and siblings beside him, Marcos Jr.’s hands were raised by the Senate president and House speaker in a plenary hall bedecked with a huge Philippine flag to applause from the audience, which included diplomats. 

“I’m humbled,” he later told reporters. “I thank our people and, beyond that, I promise you that we may not be perfect but we will always strive for perfection. I ask you all to pray for me, wish me well. I want to do well because when the president does well, the country does well,” he said, without taking any questions. 

The Duterte administration also released a statement congratulating the pair. 

“We congratulate Mr. Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos, Jr. and Ms. Inday Sara Duterte-Carpio on their electoral victory and for their proclamation as President-elect of the Philippines and Vice President-elect of the Philippines, respectively…proclamation ceremony by Congress marks another historic milestone in our political life as a nation underscoring that we are, indeed, a showcase and beacon of democracy in this part of the world.” 

“As both leaders are about to embark on the responsibilities and challenges of their respective offices, we reiterate our call for our people to stand behind our newly elected leaders. The Office of the President shall ensure a peaceful, orderly and smooth transfer of powers to the President-elect as we extend all the necessary support and assistance to various transition activities,” it said. (AP, Jim Gomez. With additional reporting from The Mindanao Examiner.)