‘Raging optimism’ from Imee Marcos, as Duterte’s win in Philippine midterm elections boosts death penalty plan

President now has the support of 20 of the country’s 24 senators, official results confirm
Among those he can count on as he pushes forward with plans to reintroduce death penalty and rewrite the constitution will be the daughter of late president Ferdinand Marcos

Asia elections

Jeoffrey Maitem

Published: 3:09pm, 22 May 2019

Why you can trust SCMP

A landslide victory for Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte in midterm polls – confirmed by official results on Wednesday – has cleared the way for the controversial leader to push on with plans to reintroduce the death penalty and introduce a federal system of government.

Allies of Duterte won nine of the 12 seats on offer in the senate, the election commission confirmed, meaning he now has support of 20 out of the country’s 24 senators. Previously he controlled just half of the senate members. Duterte also strengthened his control of the lower House of Representatives, where he now commands 245 of the total 297 seats. Previously Duterte had 223 seats.

Duterte’s stronger hand in the senate in particular is likely to prove useful in helping him to push through the reforms. During his first three years in power, Duterte had faced opposition from the senate on policies including the introduction of martial law in the south of the country and on human rights issues. In contrast, the lower house has already given the nod to legislation to revive the death penalty and amend the constitution.

Among the senators Duterte will now be able to rely on are his long-time personal aide Christopher “Bong” Go and his trusted retired national police chief, Ronald dela Rosa, who led the early stages of the president’s controversial war on drugs that since 2016 has left more than 5,000 people dead on official estimates – and almost four times that number according to rights groups.

Imee Marcos (left), daughter of former Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos and first lady Imelda (right), holds her election certificate at a ceremony on Wednesday. Photo: AP

Another notable senator-elect is Imee Marcos, the daughter of the late president Ferdinand Marcos and first lady Imelda. Imelda Marcos was last year sentenced to decades in jail on corruption charges.

“Strangely in 1959, exactly 60 years ago, my dad became senator for the first time as well and that was the eve of the great boom in the 1960s. I feel the same kind of raging optimism now with President Duterte in the lead,” she told reporters after her senate seat was confirmed.

Political analyst Edmund Tayao, a political-science professor at the University of Santo Tomas, said the midterms had left the opposition devastated.

“Traditionally, during midterm polls, you [lose two or three opposition members] but this is a wipeout. The transferability of [Duterte’s] popularity is unprecedented to say the least, despite all the controversies,” said Tayao.

The winners of senate seats who are not allied to Duterte are Cynthia Villar, Grace Poe and Nancy Binay.

Post