"For more than 20 years, I have worked diligently as a public servant of this country. Now, I would like to sincerely ask the Filipino people, is my performance enough to gain your trust? ”
In the last Philippine election year, Marcos Jr. threw such questions at the Filipino people while accusing the Aquino III government of being poor in leadership and ineffective in disaster relief. Now, six years later, filipinos answered the question with their votes on "Polling Day" on May 9.
According to preliminary statistics, as of May 10, the opening rate of the Philippine general election has reached 98.03%, and Marcos Jr. won an overwhelming victory with 31.02 million votes. This means that Marcos Jr. conquered the Filipino electorate with "diligence" and also showed That Marcos' pragmatic approach to government.
The vision of the "second generation of politics"
The diligent and pragmatic approach of Marcos Jr. has both historical influences and manifestations of practical practice and its effectiveness.
When it comes to Marcos Jr., the identity of the "son of the former president" has always been inseparable. However, it is also impossible to ignore the deep historical memory and political imprint left by his father Marcos for 20 years of rule and government.
In The Mind of Little Marcos, his father was the "greatest father" and a genius politician. Under Marcos' long reign, many industries in the Philippines achieved a golden age of development, marcos vigorously promoted major infrastructure projects such as hospitals, roads and bridges in the country, and in the eyes of the Supporters of the Marcos family, this golden age represented the progress and prosperity of the Philippines.
Not only that, but Marcos Jr.'s political career also demonstrated his diligent and pragmatic approach to government.
Taking 1986 as the dividing line, Marcos Jr. was twice in politics. In 1980, at the age of 23, Marcos Jr. became vice governor of Ilocos Dora Dora, three years later, and went into exile in the United States in 1986 with the fall of the Marcos regime.
In 1991, Marcos Jr. returned to the Philippines and was elected to the House of Representatives the following year. Since 1998, he has been elected governor of Ilocos Doro do Norte for three consecutive terms, vigorously developing tourism, wind power and other industries; from 2010 to 2016, he focused on economic development, people's livelihood and other topics as a Philippine senator, and served as chairman of the Senate Local Government Committee and the chairman of the Public Work Committee for a long time.
In this election, it was Also Marcos's pragmatic approach to government that attracted voters. Especially among "millennial" (post-80s and post-90s) and "Generation Z" (post-95s) voters, it has gained attention and overwhelming support.
This is not only because of Marcos's use of social media, but also because of its pragmatic and development-focused campaign promises – which will promote infrastructure development such as the Internet, roads, agriculture and shipping, as well as provide more jobs, invest in agriculture, reduce the cost of electricity, attract foreign investment, improve agricultural facilities and digital infrastructure, and so on.
At the same time, in the face of the economic and social development difficulties hit by the epidemic, Marcos Jr. also used "We will rise again" as a campaign slogan, calling his running mate with Sarah Duterte a "solidarity alliance" to emphasize to voters that he can bring unity, stability, hope and development to the Philippines.
The test of the "Zhihua School"
As an old friend of the Chinese people, Marcos Is one of the pioneers in promoting the all-round development of Sino-Philippine friendly and cooperative relations, and a witness to the deepening of the traditional friendship between the two peoples. After his smooth inauguration, Marcos Jr.'s pragmatism is bound to bring more pragmatic connotations to China-Philippines relations.
First, economic recovery and social development will continue to constitute the focus of China-Philippines cooperation. The Philippines is currently at its "most vulnerable moment" due to the COVID-19 pandemic, severe poverty and unemployment, and hyperinflation due to soaring oil and gas prices.
In Marcos Jr.'s view, China is the most important trading partner of the Philippines, and the relationship with China is very important to the Philippine economy. To this end, he supported the docking of the "Large-scale Construction and Special Construction" plan with the "Belt and Road" initiative, and "made agriculture the key to economic growth." ”
Secondly, for Marcos Jr., in addition to economic and trade exchanges, there can be more cooperation between China and the Philippines in many traditional fields such as tourism, education, and health, as well as emerging fields such as digital economy and new energy construction.
In addition, Marcos Jr. advocates the relaxation and resolution of differences through broader cooperation on some differences and frictions between China and the Philippines, such as the South China Sea issue, and the oil and gas exploration and exploitation agreement signed between China and the Philippines in 2018 has attracted much attention.
Of course, China-Philippines relations may usher in a richer connotation during the Marcos Administration, which does not mean that Marcos will completely continue the Duterte administration's China policy, and the fields, methods and models of Sino-Philippine cooperation may still be adjusted. In this regard, we should not only be mentally prepared, but also maintain a full dialogue with this pragmatic old friend to jointly promote the deepening, solidification and stability of the china-Philippines comprehensive strategic cooperative relationship.
(Author: Ge Hongliang, Senior Researcher of Dongbo Think Tank, Vice Dean of ASEAN College of Guangxi University for Nationalities)