Philippines’ new president Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos makes secret trip to Australia

Just days after emerging as the new leader of the Philippines, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos jnr has made a secret trip to Australia.

The son and namesake of the country’s late former dictator romped to victory in last week’s presidential election, returning the notorious family to power 36 years after they fled to exile in Hawaii.

Ferdinand Marcos jnr has steadfastly defended his father’s legacy and refused to apologise for the massive human rights violations and plunder under his rule.Credit: AP

The result will not be confirmed until Congress resumes in Manila next week and Marcos is not due to be sworn in and begin his six-year term until June 30.

Meanwhile, the 64-year-old has flown to Melbourne, where his youngest son Vincent is said to be enrolling to study at the University of Melbourne.

The visit was kept under wraps by Marcos’ staff in Manila but was discovered by members of the Filipino community in Melbourne who gathered outside an apartment complex in the city on Tuesday to protest the presence of the presumptive president in Australia.

It came as Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Tuesday rang Marcos to congratulate him on his runaway election triumph in the strategically key south-east Asian nation.

Protest outside the Melbourne apartment block where it is believed the incoming Philippines president Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos is visiting his son.Credit: Simon Schluter

Other world leaders including United States President Joe Biden and China President Xi Jinping have also called to congratulate Marcos but his family’s dark history has made his elevation highly controversial.

Before he was deposed in an uprising in 1986, Ferdinand Marcos snr ruled the Philippines for 21 years, overseeing a brutal regime in which 34,000 people were tortured and more than 3000 were killed or disappeared, according to human rights groups.

The Marcoses were also accused of looting an estimated $US10 billion ($14 billion) from the state, the majority of which has not yet been recovered, and there are ongoing attempts to disqualify Marcos jnr from the presidency over a conviction in 1997 for failing to file tax returns, the latest in the form of a petition to the country’s Supreme Court on Monday.

Marcos’ spokesman Vic Rodriguez said on Tuesday the president-elect was in Melbourne on a private three-day trip with his family.

“President-elect Bongbong is on a private vacation with his family to rest, recharge and prepare for the journey ahead.”

An Australian government spokesperson confirmed that the Philippines government had informed them of the visit.

Marcos and his wife Liza were staying at the Victoria One apartment building in central Melbourne after flying in on Monday.

The Victoria One complex in Melbourne where Marcos was said to be staying.Credit: Simon Schluter

Philippine-born protester Melba Marginson spent the morning protesting outside the building “because we are part of a large movement, worldwide”.

“We’re disappointed because we thought this is the right time to change government and get rid of all the traditional politicians that we call the troubles.”

Marcos’ father and mother Imelda came to Melbourne in 1967 for the funeral of prime minister Harold Holt.

Ferdinand Marcos snr and Imelda Marcos at Government House, after the memorial service for Harold Holt, on December 22, 1967. Credit: Fairfax Photographic

Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade co-ordinated with Philippine authorities on security arrangements for the trip.

There were two security guards stationed at the complex but when asked who they were working for they, they said only: “We’re here with the police”.

Protesters said 25-year-old Vincent Marcos, the youngest of the incoming president’s three sons, was preparing to begin a Juris Doctor degree at the University of Melbourne but a university spokesperson said they could not provide information about enrolling students.

Marcos’ own education credentials have been a subject of much discussion in the Philippines in recent years.

The former provincial governor, congressman and senator has been accused of misrepresenting his qualifications from the University of Oxford, where he studied in the 1970s. The university has said he received a special diploma in social studies in 1978 after originally enrolling in a BA in Philosophy, Philosophy and Economics in 1975.

Political opponents, activists and analysts said Marcos had benefitted from a disinformation network on social media that cast his father’s dictatorship and martial law in the Philippines as a golden period of economic development and stability.

But voters at huge pre-election rallies for Marcos and running mate Sara Duterte, the daughter of outgoing leader Rodrigo Duterte, said they were disillusioned with the direction governments had taken the Philippines in the decades since the “people power revolution” of 1986.

Sara Duterte also enjoyed a landslide win in the separate race for the vice-presidency and will also be installed as education secretary under Marcos.

Contacted on Tuesday, the Philippines’ embassy in Canberra said questions about Marcos’ visit would be “forwarded to the concerned office”.

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