Marcos Jr: Philippine dictator's son leads race to succeed Duterte
Ferdinand Marcos Jr, whose dictator father and namesake presided over massive plunder and human rights abuses in the Philippines, is on the verge of winning the presidency after a decades-long effort to revive the family brand.
Voter surveys show Marcos Jr, known by his nickname "Bongbong", heading towards a landslide victory in the May 9 polls, boosted by a well-funded social media campaign that critics say has tried to rewrite history.
In the 36 years since a popular uprising toppled the patriarch and chased the family into US exile, the Marcoses have staged a stunning political comeback.
Marcos Jr, 64, has made it the furthest yet, narrowly losing the vice presidential race to Leni Robredo in the 2016 election that vaulted Rodrigo Duterte to the nation's top office.
Now, Marcos Jr is the favourite to succeed Duterte, with Robredo once again his main rival.
Vowing to unify the country, Marcos Jr has made sweeping promises to boost jobs and tackle rising prices as part of a pathway out of the pandemic.
"Unity is my cause because of my firm belief that unity is the first step towards getting out of this crisis we are now in," Marcos Jr said, kicking off his campaign in February.
Growing up in the presidential palace in Manila, Marcos Jr wanted to be an astronaut before inevitably following his father's footsteps into politics.
