Ferdinand 'Bongbong' officially proclaimed as the new and 17th president of the Republic of the Philippines

By Edward Era Barbacena

 Manila: Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. was officially proclaimed the next Philippine president, the same position his dictator father and namesake occupied for 20 years before he was overthrown by Filipinos in a peaceful revolt in 1986.

The official canvass of votes by the joint congressional canvassing committee on Wednesday showed Marcos received 31,629,783 votes from nearly 60 percent of the electorate, commanding a landslide victory over his closest rival and defeated presidential hopeful Leni Robredo.

Marcos and his running mate Davao City Mayor and presidential daughter Sara Duterte will occupy the top two positions in the country for the next six years once their terms start on June 30.

'I want to do well'

Following the Congress' proclamation, Marcos vowed that his administration will be one that "strives for perfection."

"[To] have received over 31 million votes from our countrymen is as valuable [an] expression of trust as can be had by anyone in public life," Marcos said, adding he was "humbled" by the victory.

"I promise you, we may not be perfect, but we will always strive [for] perfection," he stated.

Marcos also sought the public's prayers so he could perform well as the next chief executive.

"I ask you all— pray for me. Wish me well. I want to do well. Because when a president does well, the country does well. And I want to do well for this country," he said.

Marcos' win came as no surprise since he had been the frontrunner in pre-election surveys despite having a significantly smaller attendance in his campaign rallies nationwide compared to the mammoth crowds at Robredo's events.

The result of the pre-elections surveys was immediately reflected in the first hours after voting precincts closed on the May 9 election day, which was hounded by complaints of by vote-buying and errors in over 1,000 vote-counting machines.

Despite Marcos' stunning rise to power, garnering nearly double the votes that outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte got in the 2016 election, ghosts from his and his family's past continue to hound him.

The impending return of another Marcos to Malacañang palace 36 years after the family fled the "people power" revolt against abuses committed by Ferdinand E. Marcos' regime has been a deeply divisive issue for Filipinos.

Source: CNN