Tens of millions of Filipinos go to the polls on 9 May to pick a successor to President Rodrigo Duterte and separately elect a vice president.Voter surveys show the son and namesake of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos is on the verge of victory in the crowded presidential race of 10 contenders.His running-mate and first daughter Sara Duterte leads the pack of nine vice presidential hopefuls.The following are the top contenders:Ferdinand Marcos Jr Ferdinand Marcos Junior, nicknamed &q

Nearly 40 years after the Philippines began hunting for the billions of dollars plundered during former dictator Ferdinand Marcos's regime, much of the loot is still missing and no one in the family has been jailed.There are fears the rest may never be found if his son and namesake wins next week's presidential poll, which would put him in charge of the government agency leading the global search.The elder Marcos, his flamboyant wife Imelda, and their cronies are estimated to have s

There are roughly eight days left before D-Day, when around 67 million Filipino voters will exercise their right to suffrage and choose a successor to President Rodrigo Duterte. Among the presidential and vice-presidential aspirants, former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos (BBM) and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio of the UniTeam are way ahead of their rivals. The support for the UniTeam’s standard-bearers has been consistent even before the official campaign period.

Philippines presidential election frontrunner Ferdinand Marcos Junior rejected on Friday a challenge to debate rival Leni Robredo one-on-one, as the country heads into the final week of campaigning for the 9 May polls.Marcos Jr, son and namesake of the country's former dictator, has snubbed invitations to participate in debates with rivals, rarely gives media interviews and often ignores journalists' questions at rallies.He has sought to avoid a repeat of the 2016 vice-presidential

The frontrunner in the Philippines presidential race, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, has praised his father – the country’s late dictator – as a “political genius”, and his mother as the dynasty’s “supreme politician”, less than two weeks before an election that could return the Marcos family to power.Ferdinand Marcos Jr, known as Bongbong, has a clear lead in the polls ahead of an election on 9 May, despite his father’s notorious history.In an interview with CNN Philippines, Marcos Jr praised the poli

If the son of former Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos wins the 9 May presidential election, he will not be the only Marcos currently in power – and will almost certainly not be the last.Elite families have long ruled the poverty-ravaged nation, holding on to positions of power for generations by dishing out favours, buying votes or resorting to violence.Analysts say the system has become more pervasive in the decades since a popular uprising deposed Marcos and forced the family into exile

Manila has suspended oil and gas exploration in the South China Sea (SCS), Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's spokesman said Wednesday, as it tries to strike a deal with Beijing on a joint energy project.Drilling off the Philippines was allowed to resume in October 2020 when Duterte – who has taken a softer approach than his predecessor to Beijing's claims over most of the waterway – lifted a 2014 moratorium.It was hoped that Duterte's decision would fast-track talks with B

The Philippines' Nobel Peace Prize-winning journalist Maria Ressa filed a complaint on Tuesday against a top member of President Rodrigo Duterte's media team over alleged "malicious and defamatory" posts on Facebook.Ressa has been a vocal critic of Duterte and the deadly drug war he launched in 2016, triggering what media advocates say is a grinding series of criminal charges, probes and online attacks against her and Rappler – the news site she co-founded.In the complaint

Three rivals of Philippine presidential candidate Leni Robredo refused to back her campaign Sunday, dousing speculation they would withdraw from the race to improve her chances of defeating the son of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos.Voter surveys show Robredo is a distant second behind Marcos Jr, but a recent bump in the polls and huge crowds at her rallies have raised hopes among her fervent fans that the campaign is gaining traction.There has been speculation that worse performing candidat

The United States (US) government has once again accused government officials and security forces/services in countries like China, India, Russia, and even the Philippines, of committing human rights violations based on the recently released State Department’s 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. The report has once again accused China of "genocide and crimes against humanity” for its treatment of the predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and members of other ethnic and religi