Karen Lema and Neil Jerome Morales

MANILA, (Reuters) – Human rights activists from the Philippines staged protests in condemnation of Ferdinand Marcos’s attempt to bring his family back to power. He was attempting to run for the presidency.

Marcos was accompanied by his wife and sons. He filed for presidency in 2022. It further shakes up an already divided political landscape.

“The Marcoses are still free from prison, they haven’t returned all of the money they received from the nation’s coffers and now, they are making an attempt to reclaim the top position in the country, that is just plain shameless gall,” stated Cristina Palabay, rights group Karapatan.

Marcos’ family is determined to rebuild its image. It has denied repeatedly allegations it stole state wealth during its time in power. The figure was $10 billion in 1987.

Marcos is the third participant to the May 2022 presidential election. He was previously known as Boongbong and BBM, and he reiterated that he would be a leader “unifying” the Philippines in order to tackle both the pandemics and the economic crisis.

Victor Rodriguez, Marcos’ chief of staff said that despite being in the middle of hate campaigns for decades and demonstrations over the past decade, his family had always respected the right of the members to express their feelings and would continue doing so,” he added.

Marcos Senior was expelled from power in an uprising of the people in 1986. He died three years later in exile in Hawaii. In the 1990s, the Marcos family returned home to the Philippines and was elected as powerful legislators in their native province of Ilocos Norte.

As the youngest Marcos filed his candidacy, demonstrators gathered in front of the Commission on Human Rights Building in Manila. Some of their burning photos were of the dictator, and they pledged to stop Marcos’s efforts to restore the family’s power.

“We know that the Marcoses have long wanted to return to Malacañang (presidential palace) to rearrange history,” human rights lawyer Neri Colmenares told CNN Philippines.

Bongbong Marcos was elected vice-president in 2016, but was defeated by Leni Robredo (a lawyer who is expected to run for the presidency next year).

The vice president of the Philippines is the only person who can elect the President.

Marcos didn’t name a running mate but stated that his Partido Federal ng Pilipinas would have wanted to adopt President Rodrigo Duterte if he hadn’t decided to retire after his six-year term.

Opinion polls https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/support-dutertes-declines-philippines-election-survey-2021-09-29 of possible presidential candidates have consistently shown Duterte’s daughter, Sara Duterte-Carpio, in the lead despite her saying she would not join the race.

There are rumors that Marcos could be running with Duterte Carpio on the same ticket.

Dutertes, Marcoses, and their close ties have made it clear that they are closely related. The president granted a request to bury Marcos’ senior body in a Heroes Cemetery despite opposition from antidictatorship groups.