MANILA, Philippines – Nearly a quarter-century after Imelda Marcos and her dictator husband fled the Philippines in disgrace _ leaving a debt-ridden country but a lavish collection of shoes _ the 80-year-old former first lady and two of their children are poised to revive the family's political fortunes.
At first sight, the outcome is surprising in an election that also looks set to award the son of the Marcoses' nemesis, "people power" President Corazon Aquino, the country's top office. Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III campaigned heavily against corruption _ endemic in the Philippines and allegedly practiced by the Marcos dictatorship on a massive scale.
But their family name still holds clout.
Imelda Marcos won a seat in the House of Representatives, where she also was elected in 1995, and her eldest daughter, Imee, also a former member of Congress, was elected governor in the family's northern bailiwick, Ilocos Norte province. Her son, former governor and current Congress member Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., likely won his Senate race, according to almost-complete results of Monday's vote.
With Marcos Jr.'s rise to the Senate, the Marcoses would claim their highest nationally elected post since their patriarch was ousted in a 1986 "people power" revolt.
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