Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

The estate tax debt of Ferdinand Marcos Sr. became a major political issue. In 2022, the PCGG recalled that the BIR assessment and judgment had been final since the 1990s; the BIR had renewed a demand to the heirs in December 2021. In August 2026, Marcos Jr. publicly acknowledged having neglected some of his duties as co-executor of the estate, while saying he could not give a precise answer about payment.

State of the evidence

Documented

Marcos Jr. promised an anti-drug approach more focused on prevention and rehabilitation, but deaths linked to anti-drug operations continued. In June 2026, Human Rights Watch reported that 1,273 people had been killed in the anti-drug campaign since he took office, according to independent monitoring by Dahas, and criticised him for not formally repudiating policies inherited from Duterte.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Political responsibility

Under the administration's budget policy, 60 billion pesos in PhilHealth balances were transferred to the Treasury. In December 2025, the Supreme Court declared the budget provision, Department of Finance circular and transfer void for grave abuse of discretion, prohibited transfer of the remaining balance and ordered the 60 billion pesos restored in the 2026 budget.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Political responsibility

In March 2025, Philippine authorities arrested former President Rodrigo Duterte on the basis of a request transmitted through Interpol and transferred him to The Hague for proceedings before the International Criminal Court. The Marcos government defended the operation's legality, while Duterte and his allies denounced the arrest as unlawful and petitioned the Supreme Court.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Political responsibility

Following unsubstantiated public allegations of drug use and rumours about his health, former officials petitioned the Supreme Court in April 2026 to compel Marcos Jr. to undergo physical and mental examinations, including a hair-follicle drug test, and publish the results. The Court requested a response without thereby declaring the petition admissible on its merits.

Marcos Jr. disclosed widespread irregularities in flood control programmes accounting for hundreds of billions of pesos in expenditure since 2022: nonexistent, substandard or poorly documented projects and concentration of contracts. The scandal triggered resignations and investigations. In September 2026, his cousin and former Speaker Martin Romualdez became the subject of an arrest warrant for plunder involving approximately 7.4 billion pesos in alleged bribes connected to these projects.

State of the evidence

Documented

In April 2026, the group Kontra Daya and other complainants approached the Commission on Elections, alleging that Marcos Jr. had received a declared contribution during the 2022 campaign from an executive of a government contracting company, although electoral law prohibits certain contributions from public contractors. The COMELEC Law Department subsequently closed the case against the president, citing his immunity while in office.

Attribution

Directly implicated

Under Marcos Jr., the Office of the President had several billion pesos annually in confidential and intelligence funds. COA reported that the Office was the largest user of these funds in 2023, spending approximately 4.56 billion pesos; its budget sponsor subsequently stated that the 4.5 billion peso allocation for 2024 had been fully disbursed.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Political responsibility

Marcos Jr. signed the Maharlika Investment Fund Act in July 2023 and presented it as a major development instrument. Opponents petitioned the Supreme Court to challenge the legislation's constitutionality; the Court requested comments and scheduled oral arguments in 2025.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Political responsibility

Marcos Jr. issued Executive Order No. 62, reducing the tariff on imported rice from 35% to 15%, among other measures, to lower prices. Farmers' organisations petitioned the Supreme Court to annul the order as unconstitutional and requested a suspension.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Political responsibility

Marcos Jr. repeatedly refused to apologise on behalf of his family for abuses committed under Ferdinand Marcos Sr.'s martial law regime. In April 2024, questioned by the Foreign Correspondents Association, he said he did not consider it his duty as President to issue such an apology and described the matter as personal to the family.

State of the evidence

Documented

Human rights organisations and a UN expert observed that red-tagging — portraying activists, journalists or trade unionists as connected to the communist insurgency — continued under Marcos Jr., notably through bodies reporting to the executive. Human Rights Watch called on the President to end the practice and dismantle the relevant task force.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Direct responsibility

Several fact-checking studies and analyses of the 2022 election concluded that Marcos Jr. was the principal beneficiary of false or misleading content, notably narratives portraying his father's era as a golden age. In 2023, he launched his own campaign against fake news, creating further controversy in light of these findings.

State of the evidence

Documented

While Marcos Jr. was also Secretary of Agriculture, red onion prices reached approximately 600 pesos per kilogram. The government eventually imported onions and introduced indicative prices, while the Ombudsman examined certain DA/FTI purchases and farmers subsequently protested about the effect of imports on farm-gate prices.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Political responsibility

The Reuters Institute observed in 2023 that attacks on journalists had not ended after the change in presidency: murders of radio commentators, threats, alarming police visits, lawfare and red-tagging continued. These developments contrasted with the improved tone claimed by the new government.

State of the evidence

Reported by the press

Ferdinand Marcos Jr. studied PPE at Oxford without completing the Bachelor of Arts course. The university confirmed that he received a Special Diploma in Social Studies in 1978, which is not equivalent to a bachelor's degree. Official or public biographies and CVs used while he was a senator nevertheless claimed that he had 'earned' an Oxford bachelor's degree, fuelling lasting controversy over his qualifications.

State of the evidence

Allegations

Attribution

Personally implicated

During the 2022 presidential campaign, Marcos Jr. limited professional journalists' access to certain events, declined several media-organised debates and favoured friendly influencers and partisan media, according to the Reuters Institute. The strategy was criticised for reducing scrutiny of a leading candidate.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

Opponents sought cancellation of Marcos Jr.'s certificate of candidacy or his disqualification from the 2022 presidential election, citing his tax conviction. Following COMELEC decisions, the Supreme Court dismissed the petitions, finding in particular that the failure-to-file offence, in the circumstances of the case, did not constitute the crime involving moral turpitude or the permanent disqualification alleged.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

Role of the person profiled

Protagonist not prosecuted

A few months after taking office, Marcos Jr. travelled to the Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix without prior announcement, accompanied by family members and associates. The opposition questioned who had paid for the trip and considered it insensitive amid inflation and following a typhoon. The Executive Secretary subsequently described the trip as 'partly official, partly personal'.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

While simultaneously serving as President, Secretary of Agriculture and chairman of the Sugar Regulatory Board, an undersecretary signed Sugar Order No. 4 in his name, authorising the importation of 300,000 tonnes of sugar. The Palace declared the order unauthorised and 'illegal', several officials resigned and Congress investigated delegations of authority and the decision-making chain.

State of the evidence

Documented

After losing to Leni Robredo in 2016, Marcos Jr. filed an election protest alleging widespread irregularities. Following a ballot review in the pilot provinces he had selected, Robredo's lead increased. In February 2021, the Presidential Electoral Tribunal dismissed the protest for lack of merit, finding that Marcos had not substantiated his allegations and had presented incomplete or inaccurate data.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

Commission on Audit reports, testimony and a 2016 complaint linked allocations of Marcos Jr.'s discretionary funds to NGOs associated with Janet Lim Napoles. Marcos admitted requesting that an NGO controlled by Napoles implement a 10 million peso project in General Nakar, but denied having ordered or authorised disbursement; he also claimed that other letters or signatures had been forged.

State of the evidence

Allegations

Marcos Jr. publicly thanked President Rodrigo Duterte for supporting his father's burial at Libingan ng mga Bayani and attended the ceremony on 18 November 2016. The burial, requested as private and confidential by the family, triggered strong protests over the dictatorship's record and disputes about Marcos Sr.'s military honours.

State of the evidence

Documented

Marcos Jr. petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn the Sandiganbayan's decision confiscating Arelma S.A. assets, held through a structure established by his father, in favour of the state. In 2012, the Supreme Court dismissed his appeal and upheld confiscation; in 2014, it denied reconsideration.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

Following a tax investigation, Marcos Jr. was prosecuted for failure to file income tax returns and non-payment of taxes for 1982–1985. The Court of Appeals acquitted him of the non-payment counts but found him guilty beyond reasonable doubt of four violations for failure to file returns, imposing fines and payment of deficient taxes. The decision became final.

State of the evidence

Established by a court

Attribution

Personally implicated