• Home
  • Metro Asian News
  • Misc Asia
  • Lifestyle
  • Business
  • Art
  • Health
  • Eat Out
  • Events
  • Podcasts
ABOUT
Advertise in GAT
Contact us
Monday, May 29, 2023
Georgia Asian Times
International Insurance of Georgia
  • Home
  • Metro Asian News
  • Misc Asia
  • Lifestyle
  • Business
  • Art
  • Health
  • Eat Out
  • Events
  • Podcasts
  • Login
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Metro Asian News
  • Misc Asia
  • Lifestyle
  • Business
  • Art
  • Health
  • Eat Out
  • Events
  • Podcasts
No Result
View All Result
Georgia Asian Times
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Metro Asian News
  • Misc Asia
  • Lifestyle
  • Business
  • Art
  • Health
  • Eat Out
  • Events
  • Podcasts
Home Misc Asia

Philippine leader says calling his father dictator `wrong’

The namesake son of the former president who was ousted in a 1986 pro-democracy uprising also denied in a TV interview aired late Tuesday that he and his family were whitewashing history.

Georgia Asian Times by Georgia Asian Times
September 14, 2022
in Misc Asia
Marcos takes helm in Philippines, silent on father’s abuses
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Manila, Sept 14, 2022 — Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said it’s wrong to describe his late father as a dictator and that his brutal martial law rule in the 1970s was not meant to prolong his grip on power — comments that were immediately rejected by human rights activists.

The namesake son of the former president who was ousted in a 1986 pro-democracy uprising also denied in a TV interview aired late Tuesday that he and his family were whitewashing history.

It was the first time since he took office in June that Marcos Jr. has addressed some of the controversial issues that have hounded him and his family. A transcript of the interview on new broadcasting company ALLTV by TV host and actress Toni Gonzaga, who backed Marcos Jr.’s candidacy, was released by his press secretary.

Asked if he has been affected by media references to him as a dictator’s son, Marcos Jr. replied: “No. It would hurt me if they were right, but they’re wrong.”

AD: High Museum of Atlanta AD: High Museum of Atlanta

“How many times have I been here in this room where he was in consultation with different groups?” he said in the interview at the Malacanang presidential palace in Manila, where his father held office after rising to the presidency in 1965. “A dictator does not consult. A dictator just says `this is what you will do, whether you like it or not.’”

The elder Marcos placed the Philippines under martial law in 1972, a year before his term was to expire. He padlocked Congress and newspaper offices, ordered the arrest of many political opponents and activists and ruled by decree.

Marcos Jr. defended that decision by repeating his father’s justification that martial law was crucial to fight growing Muslim and communist insurgencies. “It was necessary to — in my father’s view at the time — to declare martial law because a war was really raging already at the time,” he said.

Renato Reyes of Bayan, an alliance of left-wing groups, said the newly elected president’s defense of the martial law declaration nearly 50 years ago was a “big lie,” which has been discredited by facts.

“Marcos Sr. used martial law to scrap the elections, extend his term, dissolve Congress and centralize power unto himself, making him dictator from 1972 to 1986,” Reyes said. That was not defending government but making government “your personal fiefdom.”Asked why his father’s basis for declaring martial rule was not widely disseminated, Marcos Jr. said, “The government fell. So, the victors wrote this history.”

Opponents of the Marcos dictatorship had also said that violent incidents in the early 1970s, including the ambush of a convoy supposedly carrying then defense chief Juan Ponce Enrile, were staged to provide the justification for martial law.

Enrile later broke off from Marcos and together with other rebellious military and police officials backed a massive 1986 “People Power” uprising that toppled Marcos and drove him and his family to U.S. exile. The massive protests awed the world and became a harbinger of change in authoritarian regimes worldwide.

Marcos Jr. denied he and his family were trying to revise history but acknowledged without elaborating “the problems that happened, the abuses that occurred, like in any war.” He said he can prove what actually happened, saying “we have video, we have photographs, we have records,” but did not go into detail.

The ousted president died in exile in Hawaii three years later without admitting any wrongdoing, including accusations that he and his family amassed an estimated $5 billion to $10 billion while he was in power.

A Hawaii court later found him liable for human rights violations and awarded $2 billion from his estate to compensate more than 9,000 Filipinos who filed a lawsuit against him for torture, incarceration, extrajudicial killings and disappearances.

His widow, Imelda Marcos, and her children were allowed to return to the Philippines in 1991. They have since made one of the most dramatic political comebacks in history that was capped by Marcos Jr.’s landslide election victory in May.

He attributed the win to his steadfast campaign call for national unity but critics said it was the outcome of a well-funded social media propaganda aimed at burnishing the Marcos name. – AP

 

Tags: Marcosphilippines
Previous Post

Chopstix For Charity to mark 25th anniversary with fundraiser gala

Next Post

Businesses, White House plan for possible rail strike Friday

Georgia Asian Times

Georgia Asian Times

Related Posts

New Chinese ambassador to US taking office amid disputes over trade, access to technology, Taiwan
Misc Asia

New Chinese ambassador to US taking office amid disputes over trade, access to technology, Taiwan

May 24, 2023
Thailand’s victorious progressive Move Forward Party, 7 allies agree on coalition platform
Misc Asia

Thailand’s victorious progressive Move Forward Party, 7 allies agree on coalition platform

May 23, 2023
South Korea to send 21-member team to Japan to review discharge plans at Fukushima nuclear plant
Misc Asia

South Korea to send 21-member team to Japan to review discharge plans at Fukushima nuclear plant

May 19, 2023
Thailand’s opposition parties, after stunning election win, set plans to enlist allies to take power
Misc Asia

Thailand’s opposition parties, after stunning election win, set plans to enlist allies to take power

May 15, 2023
ASEAN leaders condemn attack on aid convoy in Myanmar
Misc Asia

ASEAN leaders condemn attack on aid convoy in Myanmar

May 10, 2023
Biden to host Indian leader Modi June 22 during state visit
Misc Asia

Biden to host Indian leader Modi June 22 during state visit

May 10, 2023
Next Post
Businesses, White House plan for possible rail strike Friday

Businesses, White House plan for possible rail strike Friday

Signup Free E-Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Jul 14
6:00 pm - 10:30 pm

GAT 25 Most Influential Asian Americans in Georgia 2023

View Calendar
Logo

 

CONTACT US

Follow Us

MOST INFLUENTIAL

2023 GAT 25 Most Influential Asian American Pacific Islanders in Georgia

2023 GAT 25 Most Influential Asian American Pacific Islanders in Georgia

April 30, 2023
GAT 25 Most Influential Asian Americans Gala celebrates Asian voice

GAT 25 Most Influential Asian Americans Gala celebrates Asian voice

July 18, 2022

Video highlights of GAT 25 Most Influential Asian Americans in Georgia

July 17, 2022

LINKS OF INTEREST

ATL Asian Film Festival

     

GAT AAPI SUMMIT 2023

  • Contact Us
  • Advertise in GAT
  • About
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

© 2023 Georgia Asian Times - Empowered by 8SOL. Managed by Arckopolis.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Metro Asian News
  • Misc Asia
  • Lifestyle
  • Business
  • Art
  • Health
  • Eat Out
  • Events
  • Podcasts

© 2023 Georgia Asian Times - Empowered by 8SOL. Managed by Arckopolis.

Welcome Back!

Sign In with Google
OR

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

Early Bird (May 19-31, 2023)

  • Honoree

    $225.00
    Select
  • Single Seat

    $225.00
    Select
  • Table of 8

    $1,800.00
    Select

Subscribe

Stay ahead of the curve with Georgia Asian Times’ exclusive newsletter. Get the hottest news stories and cultural insights delivered straight to your inbox. No subscription fees, just pure Asian excellence

 

    Loading
    Loading
    Loading
    Loading
    Loading
    Register for FREE to read the rest of this article, or log in to your account.

      Or Login Here :

      [loginfrm]

      Are you sure want to unlock this post?
      Unlock left : 0
      Are you sure want to cancel subscription?