Son of Philippine dictator Marcos to run for vice-president

The son and namesake of late Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos announced Monday he would run for vice-president in next year's elections, the biggest step in a remarkable political comeback for his once-exiled family. Ferdinand Marcos Jnr, popularly known as "Bongbong", said he would run for vice-president and hinted at an alliance with a potential presidential nominee accused of widespread human rights abuses. "I have decided to run for Vice President in the May 2016 elections," Marcos Jnr, 58, said in a statement. "I have decided to put my political fortune in the hands of the Filipino people. I humbly ask them to judge whether or not I am worthy of their trust to be Vice President on the strength of my performance as a public servant in the last 26 years," he said. He did not mention his late father, who ruled the Philippines for two decades until 1986 when millions of people took to the streets in a famous "people power" revolution that forced him into US exile. The Marcos family has long been dogged by accusations the dictator oversaw massive human rights abuses and plundered billions of dollars from state coffers. After the downfall of the dictator, the family fled to Hawaii where the patriarch died in 1989. The rest of the family, headed by controversial matriarch Imelda, returned in 1991 and began a successful political comeback, beating all judicial charges and capitalising on anger over the nation not progressing under the patriarch's successors. "Bongbong" Marcos won a Senate position in 2010, the first time since his father's demise that a family member had won a nationally elected post. Other members of the family have also won elected office with the Marcos matriarch, famous for her luxurious lifestyle, being voted in as member of parliament in 2010, representing her husband's northern stronghold of Ilocos Norte province. - 'Mere speculation' - In the Philippines, the president and vice-president are elected separately, often resulting in the two elected officials coming from rival parties. Marcos Jnr. said any talk of teaming up with a presidential candidate would be "mere speculation". However he also said he would support controversial mayor of the southern city of Davao, Rodrigo Duterte if he decided to run for president. Duterte, who is known for a hardline position against crime and has also been accused of rights abuses, has given conflicting signals that he will run. The current president, Benigno Aquino, is the only son and namesake of the late strongman's political nemesis, whose assassination in 1983 led to the popular uprising three years later. The assassinated hero's wife, Corazon Aquino, led the revolution and was the nation's first president after Marcos's fall. In July, President Aquino anointed his interior minister, Manuel Roxas, as his preferred successor. In a survey by a respected research agency in September, only 13 percent said they would vote for the son of the late dictator for vice-president. Marcos Jnr had earlier flagged he may run for president. He did not say on Monday why he did not go for the top job, but his poor survey ratings were considered one reason.