ABS-CBN provides timeline of Marcoses’ strategy

CHEERS TO ABS-CBN’s NXT video report that detailed how the Marcoses assured their return to Malacañang, 36 years after the ouster of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

The video provided a timeline tracking their hold on the electoral wins which gave them seats in both the House of Representatives (HOR) and the Senate. Until 2010, the Marcos family members had taken turns holding provincial office, relying on their hold on their traditional bailiwicks. The election of Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. as Senator in 2010, followed by his sister, Imee in 2019, clearly indicated the wide acceptance of the Marcoses in national politics, holding posts that served as steps away from the highest position of the land. 

Using research by ABS-CBN’s Investigative and Research Group, the report provided the following events:

• 1991- Imelda Marcos and her children returned to the Philippines
• 1992- Imelda ran for the presidency and while she lost, Marcos Jr. won a seat in the House of Representatives (HOR.) Since then, their family and extended family has held power over the second district of Ilocos Norte.
• 1993- Marcos Sr.’s body was flown to the Philippines 
• 1995- Imelda won a seat in the HOR
• 1998- Imee Marcos won a seat in the HOR while her brother Marcos Jr. won as governor. Then their family and extended family members were elected to the office of governor of Ilocos Norte.
• 2010- Marcos Jr. won a seat in the senate. While Imelda won a seat in HOR and Imee as governor in their home province. 
• 2016- Marcos Jr. ran for the vice presidency and lost to Leni Robredo. He filed an electoral protest which the Supreme Court dismissed.
• 2016- Marcos Sr.’s body was buried in the Libingan ng mga Bayani
• 2018- Imelda was found guilty of seven counts of graft
• 2019- Imee won a seat in the senate
• 2021- Marcos ran for the presidency and won in 2022 with 31 million votes.

The timeline indicated how their restoration was secured through electoral cycles. And yet the media seemed oblivious to its implications. 

The report also featured Vicente Rafael, a professor of Southeast Asian History in the University of Washington, who explained that the goal of the family was “to return to the palace, to reclaim the name, and to get back into power.” 

“The plan has always been to have a Marcos in the public eye, always, right?” he added, pointing out that the family chose to run on national and local positions not necessarily to win, but to keep “reminding” the people they were back. He added that Marcos Jr.’s loss in the 2016 vice presidential race pushed them to use social media more extensively “to rebrand the Marcos name.” The inauguration of Marcos Jr. on June 30 was proof of their success. 

Journalists should  review how they failed to keep track of a massive political movement right under their noses. To help avoid these slips, the media should sustain a historical perspective in reporting current events.