Philippine election: Ferdinand Marcos Jnr win prediction compels some business executives to make ‘emigration plans’

With prominent election surveys indicating Marcos Jnr will likely clinch an easy victory over Leni Robredo, some businessmen say they are ‘surfing the web’ for emigration ideas

Economists, meanwhile, say if the front runner does succeed Rodrigo Duterte, he must let go of a ‘proclivity’ for big spending or risk national bankruptcy

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Ferdinand Marcos Jnr waves to the crowd during a campaign rally in Quezon City, Philippines. File photo: AP

Published: 9:00am, 8 May 2022Updated: 2:02pm, 8 May 2022

From Manila’s corporate boardrooms to the once-war torn provinces of the Philippines’ Muslim-majority south, business owners and investors acknowledge that Vice-President Leni Robredo has the attributes of a competent steward of the economy.

Her rival in Monday’s presidential election and the clear favourite to succeed Rodrigo Duterte, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jnr, does not quite have those credentials.

“Based on Bloomberg surveys, the investors and analysts appear to favour the candidacy of Robredo, a trained economist,” said Nicholas Mapa, senior economist covering the Philippine market for global bank ING.

“Robredo is an economist by training, holding a degree from the University of the Philippines [with a] track record of honesty, as evidenced by outstanding COA (Commission on Audit) ratings for the past two years.”

“Training and the image of spotless service may be what inspires confidence in would-be investors,” Mapa said.

Robredo’s economic expertise also got the thumbs-up from Ahod Murad Ebrahim, transition Chief Minister of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao in southern Philippines, who said “we need a leader who will continue the peace process” and thus unlock the investment potential of the poverty-stricken region.