As Ferdinand Marcos Jnr touches down in Washington this weekend, his mind may well be half a world away, fixed not on the security and trade talks that await him but on the family feud back home: one born of betrayal, blind ambition and the wounds of history.
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The 67-year-old Philippine president – known to many as “Bongbong” – and his sister Senator Imee Marcos, 69, were once the very picture of sibling solidarity, but have now become estranged, their rift laid bare for all to see.
Imee has thrown her lot in with her brother’s former ally turned fiercest political enemy: Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio, who has previously menaced not just Bongbong’s life but those of his wife and their cousin, and even threatened to desecrate his late father’s remains.
Three years have passed since Bongbong’s electoral victory restored the Marcos family to the Philippines’ top office, nearly four decades after a bloodless “People Power” revolution sent them into exile. With the president’s three sons all too young to claim the mantle in 2028, only Imee and her own son are positioned to maintain the dynasty’s influence at the next election. But their animosity makes such a prospect far from certain.
Quiet signs, loud break-up
For months, the feud between Imee and her brother simmered behind closed doors, visible only in fleeting, awkward moments. At a church wedding earlier this year, guests watched in disbelief as the two siblings studiously avoided each other. “They don’t get along too well,” the surprised groom was overheard telling a guest.
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