President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday praised anew the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, whom he said was the only Philippine leader that left “a tangible legacy.”
In his speech during a campaign rally in Davao City, Duterte asked his audience who was the Philippine president that build “magnificent infrastructures” like the Cultural Center of the Philippines, Philippine International Convention Center, and Manila’s light rail transit system.
Duterte said the former strongman was always being faulted for corruption, “but it was his deeds that was corrupted.”
The President also hit at other politicians he did not name, saying: “Was there anyone who did what Marcos had accomplished? All talks.”
Duterte is a political ally of the Marcoses and a vocal admirer of the late strongman, who ruled the country from 1965 to 1986, and under martial law from 1972 to 1983.
Duterte had also allowed the late president to be buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, despite the objections of the families of victims of martial law atrocities and general criticism from his political opponents and the public.
The President is supporting the senatorial bid of Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos, one of the three children of the late dictator, who is running under the administration’s banner.
