Next year is an election year. There’s a governor’s race here in Hawaiʻi, plus the legislative elections. Nationally, there are mid-term congressional elections. And in the Philippines, the race for the presidency is drawing a growing number of locally famous names.
Ferdinand Marcos wants to be the next president of the Philippines.
That’s Ferdinand Marcos Jr. —son of the late dictator — better known locally by his nickname, “Bongbong.”
On Tuesday, he became the latest presidential candidate in the Philippines elections to be held next May.
Former pro boxer Manny Pacquiao is also running. He’s been serving as a senator since 2016.
Another senator is also in the race, and so is the mayor of Manila.
There’s still time for other candidates to announce — and to say the least, the politics are complicated. So are some of the rules.
This Friday is the deadline for candidates to file papers to run for president, vice president and more than 70 other national posts.
But political parties can switch their candidates until Nov. 15 and up to that date, declared candidates for vice president can change their mind and run for president.
One person who won’t be running is current President Rodrigo Duterte, who has been in office since 2016.
Term limits bar him from running, but his daughter Sara Duterte-Carpio is a politician.
This week, local media reported she was running. Then she said she wasn’t.
Current vice-president Leni Robredo beat Marcos five years ago, and she’s also said to be considering a run for president. Expect further word on that on Thursday.
