MANILA, Philippines – Newly retired boxing star Manny Pacquiao filed his certificate of candidacy for the Philippine presidency on Friday, as registration was open for candidates wishing to lead the Southeast Asian nation, which is reeling from the pandemic and deep political conflicts. were seriously affected.
Election officials have placed heavy restrictions on the October 1-8 registration period to prevent large crowds of political supporters from becoming a hotbed of coronavirus infections. In addition to the president and vice president, more than 18,000 national, local and congressional positions will be contested in the elections on May 9, 2022.
The Philippines, considered the Asian bastion of democracy, has also experienced electoral havoc and violence. In 2009, armed men deployed by the family of the then governor of Maguindanao province killed 58 people, including journalists, in an attack on an electoral convoy that shocked the world.
About 3,000 police officers, some of them patrolling in armored police vans, were deployed around the seaside convention complex in Manila, where presidential candidates were required to register. The area has been declared a no-fly and no-fishing zone.
To avoid chaotic scenes after chaotic scenes of candidates with movie stars, bands and rowdy crowds of followers when registering their applications, candidates can only bring three comrades who had to undergo COVID-19 swab testing.
“In fact, we went to great lengths to make sure the file was cool,” Election Commission spokesman James Jimenez said.
Yet hundreds of fans and supporters wearing face masks and holding portraits of Pacquiao and small Filipino flags stood in the streets as Manila Bay cheered their convoy to the heavily guarded election registration center.
Many expect the race to succeed controversial President Rodrigo Duterte to be overcrowded and politically hostile. Pacquiao, former National Police Chief Panfilo Laxon and Manila Mayor Isco Moreno have announced they will run for president and more are expected.
Pacquiao and Duterte were staunch allies until a high-profile fallout between them this year as election season approaches. The two and his side fought for control of the ruling party, and Duterte threatened to launch a campaign against Pacquiao if the boxing legend couldn’t justify his remarks that corruption had worsened under the administration. current.
“Those who take advantage of the nation, steal, plunder the nation of the Philippines, your happy days of taking advantage of the government are already numbered because if God keeps me there, I not only promise the Filipino people that I do, but I do too. my promise . God everyone will be put in jail, ”Pacquiao told reporters after registering his candidacy.
The 42-year-old senator announced his retirement from boxing on Wednesday.
Duterte, 76, accepted the ruling party’s nomination for vice-president, which sparked a constitutional debate and shocked opponents who have long condemned him as a human rights disaster. .
The Philippine president is constitutionally limited to a single six-year term, and a constitutional expert has said he will challenge Duterte’s candidacy in the Supreme Court because a successful vice-presidency would allow him to reopen a term of office. will put it inside.
Western governments led by the United States and human rights activists have long sounded the alarm over Duterte’s police crackdown on illegal drugs, which has killed more than 6,000 drug suspects, most of them minors. , since taking office in mid-2016 Huh. The International Criminal Court is investigating the murders.
Although Duterte remains popular based on opinion polls, the drug-related killings as well as his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, which has led to the worst economic downturn and widespread unemployment and hunger, are expected to be problems. keys in the polls.
Activists have long compared Duterte to the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, who was ousted in 1986 in a military-backed ‘people’s power’ rebellion that became the harbinger of a shift to authoritarian regimes in the world. Former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., a son of Marcos and namesake, is expected to run for president and has found good support in independent opinion polls.
“The stakes are high for Philippine democracy,” Manila-based analyst Julio Tehanki said, adding that the candidate who could provide a clear and achievable roadmap to pull the country out of the pandemic and economic shock would be an advantage. important.
The Philippines has reported more than 2.5 million cases of COVID-19, with 38,164 deaths marking the pandemic, the second-worst pandemic in Southeast Asia after Indonesia.
.
