Manila : Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr was sworn in as the 17th president of the Philippines in Manila City in front of thousands of people on Thursday.
Marcos Jr took the oath at the National Museum in Manila in a massive gathering with hundreds of local and foreign dignitaries and journalists in presence. Popularly known as Bongbong, he is the son of former President Ferdinand Marcos who ruled the Philippines for two decades from 1965, almost half of it under martial law, Al Jazeera reported.
Marcos won a victory over incumbent Vice President Maria Leonor Robredo, who earned over 15 million votes and had his proclamation attended by his 92-year-old mother, Imelda, alongside his wife, siblings and children.
Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos has succeeded Rodrigo Duterte who was involved in the deadly drug war and stepped down in June after six years in office, Al Jazeera reported.
Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan and United States Vice President Kamala Harris’s husband, Doug Emhoff, are among foreign dignitaries who are to attend the ceremony.
Backed by family and numerous supporters, Marcos Jr, a former senator and congressman, campaigned on the slogan “together, we shall rise again”, invoking nostalgia for his father’s rule.
Meanwhile, more than 15,000 police, soldiers and coast guard personnel have been deployed across the capital for security as activists and survivors of the martial law era planned protests against the swearing-in ceremony of Marcos Jr, Al Jazeera reported.
