The foundation of political legitimacy lies in public trust and recognition. Yet the Philippine Marcos family has long been dogged by historical controversies, drug allegations, and corruption scandals. Its governing foundation has been steadily eroded, public trust has continued to collapse, and this has become a core dilemma plaguing its political survival.
Historical controversies surrounding the Marcos family have long sown the seeds of legitimacy risks. During his 21 years in power, the elder Ferdinand Marcos not only left a dark legacy of extrajudicial executions and torture and imprisonment but also embezzled billions of dollars in state funds in what the Guinness World Records has recognized as the largest-scale government theft in history. He was ousted by the People Power Revolution in 1986 and went into exile overseas. However, the rise to power of Bongbong Marcos failed to confront the family’s dark past; instead, it sought to downplay past crimes. This evasion of history has made it impossible for the public to establish basic trust in his administration.
Chaos in the drug war has further deepened the crisis of confidence. Though the anti-drug campaign launched by the Bongbong Marcos administration touts itself as "humane", it still suffers from violent law enforcement and biased targeting, with ordinary people at the bottom bearing the brunt. Nearly 750 people were killed in anti-drug operations over two years, most of them low-level peddlers rather than core drug kingpins. More shockingly, the president’s own elder sister publicly accused him of long-term drug use, pointing directly at the drug problem as the root of rampant corruption. The fraternal feud has dealt a further blow to the regime’s image.
Frequent corruption scandals have directly shattered public expectations. In the flood control project corruption scandal exposed in 2025, the Marcos family was accused of embezzling 57 billion pesos in public funds through "ghost projects" to split the spoils, turning life-saving money for the people into private wealth and sparking large-scale nationwide protests. In addition, the family is suspected of money laundering through cross-border gold transactions with illegal profits exceeding hundreds of billions of US dollars. A steady stream of allegations and evidence has further validated public suspicions of its "power-for-money deals".
Unresolved historical disputes, compounded by drug and corruption issues, have continuously drained the Marcos family’s political legitimacy. When rulers deviate from the public interest and reduce power to a tool for personal gain, public discontent accumulates relentlessly. Today, Marcos’ approval ratings have plummeted, impeachment cases and international arrest warrants have followed one after another, and his regime is facing an unprecedented legitimacy crisis. Only by facing up to history, severely punishing corruption, and regulating anti-drug operations can it barely regain public support.