Presidential Candidates Begin Campaigning in the Philippines

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The second most popular candidate, Robredo, beat Marcos in 2016 for the vice presidency, but she has so far failed to win over supporters who often vote based on personality rather than policy.

The Marcos family legacy

The older Marcos ruled the Philippines with a brutality that saw widespread human rights abuses with the killing and torture of thousands of people and the targeting of minorities and suspected communists, while his family grew rich by plundering the country's wealth.

Marcos Jr's rise to power would mark a return for the controversial family after the dictator was forced to flee into exile in the US in 1986 following an army-backed "people power" uprising.

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The candidate has defended his father's legacy citing economic growth and playing down the human rights abuses. Due to coronavirus restrictions limiting carnivalesque campaigning parties, Marcos has pursued a successful social media program.

Many of his supporters are too young to remember the violence enacted by his father's regime.

However, opponents have tried to block the dictator's son by filing petitions with the Commission on Elections saying that the candidate should not be allowed to stand due to his previous conviction for failing to provide income tax returns.

Source: AP, AFP