Marcos name still finds favor among many Filipinos in Hawaii

“This is a sad day for us,” said Hawaii resident Gloria Sumibcay, reacting to Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s apparent easy victory in the Philippine presidential election over current Vice President Leni Robredo.

Marcos is the son of Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos, who died in 1989 after fleeing in exile to Hawaii following the “People Power” revolution that toppled his regime.

Sumibcay is a member of Hawaii for Leni-Kiko, which supported Robredo and her running mate, Sen. Kiko Pangilinan.

“I was personally disappointed,” she said Monday.

But Sumibcay may be in a minority among local Filipinos with an interest in the election. At least 80% of Filipinos in Hawaii are Ilocano, like the late dictator, who was born in Ilocos Norte.

Belinda Aquino, professor emeritus of the School of Pacific and Asian Studies and founding director of the Center for Philippine Studies at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, said older generations of Filipinos who immigrated to Hawaii from the Philippines put the elder Marcos on a pedestal for the progress made in the country during his rule, especially infrastructure improvements.

Marcos supporters remain loyal despite years under martial law and human rights violations involving torture and killings, and his influence carried on to his son and namesake.

Name recognition also gave Marcos Jr. the upper hand, Aquino said.

Experts noted an apparent disinformation campaign against Robredo that was carried out via social media.

Though Robredo has quite a number of loyal supporters, her campaign lacked the funding and resources that Marcos enjoys, said Federico Magdalena, deputy director of the Center for Philippine Studies.

It’s not surprising Marcos is set to become the country’s 17th president given his family’s legacy and wealth, he added.

There are other Ilocanos in Hawaii like Sumibcay, 69, who favored Robredo and viewed her as a symbol of hope who would support human rights and improve the Philippine economy. The Salt Lake resident and other Robredo supporters, also called Kakampinks Hawaii, sign-waved in the Ala Moana area in April in support of the candidate.

“I’m Ilocano, but I never was a Marcos fan,” Sumibcay said.

Originally from Pangasinan, Sumibcay was a college student in Manila when martial law was declared. She immigrated to Hawaii in 1986, the same year Marcos was ousted and ended up in Hawaii.

She said she didn’t want another member of the Marcos family in the president’s seat.

Satu Limaye, vice president of the East-West Center, who also serves as director of the East-West Center in Washington, D.C., said, “This is a very rambunctious, robust election process in a democracy such as the Philippines.”

He noted Marcos’ victory was not unexpected given the polling data.

“A certain degree of consolidation of family legacies in the Philippines continues in politics,” Limaye said, adding it’s not surprising to have family members involved at the presidential level as well as in legislative bodies.