Marcos, 64, better known as “Bambang”, took over from Rodrigo Duterte on June 30 and will serve until 2028, with Sara Duterte-Carpio, daughter of the current president, as his vice president.
“I ask you all, pray for me, wish me well,” Marcos, wearing a traditional white Filipino barangay shirt and trousers, said after the announcement. “I want to do good for this country.”
Marcos won 31.6 million or 58.77% of the vote with 82% of the vote.
He has not won much since his father’s dictatorship, 1965-1986, an era marked by corruption, martial law and the incoherent excesses of the First Family, a narrative that sought to ignore his campaign.
Marcos’ wife and three sons also attended Congress, where their families have won one seat in almost every election since returning from exile in the 1990s. Also present was 92-year-old mother Emelda, an influential power-broker who received loud applause from home as she posed for photos.
She is almost certain to lead a legislature with a majority, with sister Emmy a senator, son Ferdinand a congressman, and cousin Martin Romualdez, the House majority leader expected to be named speaker, demonstrating how much power the family will exert.
He says his focus areas will be energy prices, jobs, infrastructure and education.
Marcos is still assembling his cabinet, which will have to navigate a complex foreign policy balance with high inflation, government debt and allies the United States and a growing influential China.
Despite the margin of victory, Marcos’s rule will be divisive, with widespread resentment among opponents and persecution over what they see as historical revisionism to erase family names.
Emmy Marcos said Wednesday that the family is “very, very grateful” for the second chance at power.
