Sen. Bongbong Marcos surprised many by his surge to the
top of voter preference surveys over the past few weeks.
The surge continues even as President Noynoy Aquino devoted his Edsa anniversary
speech to recalling what he claims were the excesses of the regime of the late
President Ferdinand E> Marcos, Bongbong’s father and namesake. On the
President’s signal, allies of the administration echoed the vilification of the
senador.
LP vice-president candidate Leni
Robledo, for obvious reasons. Now carries the anti-Marcos theme as the
centerpiece of her public statements. So-called “martial law victims” have
launched an organized effort to stop the Marcos surge at the polls.
Still, despite all efforts to dissuade
voters from supporting Bongbong Marcos, support for the senator continues to
snow ball. Although his obvious bailiwick is Northern Luzon, the young Marcos
now exhibits growing voter support in the Visayas and Mindanao.
Analysts are now trying to figure out
what is driving his candidacy forward. The Ilocano-speaking core constituency
is an obvious reason. Beyond that, however Bongbong is clearly drawing support
from young voters nationwide. His support likewise spans all the income
classes.
Former Davao City Mayor Benjamin de
Gusman, thinks the negative campaign against Bongbong fails to impress voters.
He thinks the wrongdoing attributed to the father could not apply to the son.
Besides, Bongbong’s own record as a public servant far outshines those of his
rivals.
In several Mindanao areas, a parallel
campaign effort cleverly called “AlDuB” (for AlyansangDuterte-Marcos), rapidly
gained adherents. The parallel campaign fuses the island-wide popularity of
Rodrigo Duterte with the rising support for Bongbong Marcos.
A couple of years ago, the supreme court
affirmed an earlier Sandigangbayan ruling junking the ill-gotten wealth case
government prosecutors filed against the Marcos siblings Imee, Bongbong and
Irene Marcos inherited the case after their father died as compulsory heirs.”
The case for recovery of ill-gotten wealth
was filed during the Cory years. The Sandigangbayan dismissed it with finality
for sheer lack of evidence. The Supreme Court ruling affirming this decision
was penned by Chief Justice Lourdes Sereno. By: Gemma Roda
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