Marcos seeks unity as Philippine ‘people power’ anniversary

MANILA (Reuters) – Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. called for reconciliation and unity on Saturday as the Southeast Asian country marked the 37th anniversary of the “people power” revolution that toppled his dictator father.

Marcos, who was 28 when a helicopter whisked his family from the presidential palace in 1986, said he wanted to “remember those times of adversity and how we became united and strong as a nation.”

Marcos, 65, won a landslide victory in last year’s presidential election on a simple message of unity. Despite its fall from grace, his family returned from exile in the 1990s and remains a powerful force in local politics.

“I once again offer my hand of reconciliation to those of various political persuasions to come together to build a better society – one that will pursue progress and peace and a better life for all Filipinos,” he said in a social media post.

Marcos laid a wreath at the People Power Monument along a major highway in the capital, Manila, where millions of protesters gathered to demand the ouster of his father amid allegations of looting and human rights abuses. The elder Marcos died in 1989.

The family has denied seizing billions of dollars in state assets during the dictatorship and has campaigned for decades to revive its reputation.

The younger Marcos’ “presidency is an insult to the sacrifices of those who fought for freedom and democracy,” human rights advocacy group Karapatan said in a statement.

The family of the late former President Corazon Aquino, who took power after the elder Marcos was ousted, issued a statement saying the spirit of the 1986 uprising “defends and defends our democracy against those who try to deceive us and undermine our rights and freedoms. By confronting them”.

(Reporting by Enrico dela Cruz; Editing by William Mallard)