Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr is poised to lead the Philippines for the next six years in a stunning return to power for the country's most famous dynastic family.
Ahead of an official result at the end of the month, the son of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos is confident of a landslide win, with the unofficial tally indicating he secured more than the 27.5 million votes needed for a majority.
The expected victory will see 92-year-old Imelda Marcos watch over the resurrection of her family's name and grip on power, 36 years after her husband's corrupt regime was overthrown.
The younger Marcos teamed up with Sara Duterte, the daughter of outgoing president Rodrigo Duterte, to combine their families' popularities in the Marcos stronghold of the north and the Duterte heartland of the south.
Their campaign for president and vice-president overwhelmed the opposition, with outgoing Vice-President Leni Robredo a distant second and boxing champion Manny Pacquiao way back in third place.
And while personality more than policy dominated the campaign, observers say the Marcos family's traditionally fraught ties with the United States may push Bongbong closer to China.
How Bongbong managed to shake off the stain of corruption
"Bongbong", the second child and only son of Ferdinand Sr and Imelda Marcos, was just eight years old when his father first ran for president.
The family accumulated immense wealth over Marcos Sr's time in office, stripping up to $13.5 billion from the country's coffers to fund their lavish lifestyle.
After studying abroad at an elite British boarding school, the younger Marcos took his first role in political office at age 23, when he became vice-governor of Ilocos Norte a few years into his father's reign.
At the same time, he was attending the Ivy League Wharton Business School in Pennsylvania — bankrolled by funds tied back to the Office of the president and by secret US accounts. He never completed the degree.
Each of the Marcos children was also afforded a mansion in Manila as well as separate summer homes.
When the corruption was uncovered and the family was eventually forced into exile in 1986, they managed to steal away with hundreds of crates stacked with cash, diamonds, gold bullion and priceless art.
Safely in Hawaii, Ferdinand Jr himself had a direct hand in trying to withdraw $US200 million from a secret family bank account in Switzerland during the aftermath.
Upon his return to the Philippines after his father's death in exile, Bongbong went straight back into politics.
And in the intervening years, it appears most voters have forgiven the excesses of the Marcos family.
"A lot of the Bongbong Marcos supporters do know and admit that maybe Bongbong Marcos and the family looted from the Philippines government, but they support him nonetheless," political analyst Robin Garcia said.
Dr Garcia said while Mr Marcos drew huge support from the country's poor, he also did quite well with wealthier and higher-educated demographics.
"So it means in the criteria they use to choose who to support, robbery or corruption is not a big factor," he said.
One younger supporter at a pre-election rally in Manila told the ABC he was not worried about corruption because the Philippines has changed the constitution since the first Marcos era.
"There are safeguards now," he said.
But there are many others who flat out deny the Marcos family's historic misdeeds.
"During the Marcos era, it was so peaceful, it was so nice, it was so unified," said 19-year-old Micko Eldave, a first-time voter and campaign volunteer who says older Filipinos shaped his understanding of the first Marcos presidency.
"There's so much propaganda and mudslinging saying that Marcos stole money from the people, but it doesn't make sense."
Instead, a narrative of stability and infrastructure development helped seal the Marcos win, with his campaign assiduously avoiding tough questions from journalists and almost exclusively campaigning through social media to control the message.
There are those who remain unconvinced, however.
On Tuesday, the morning after preliminary results were announced, several thousand protesters, mainly young people, held a demonstration outside the election commission headquarters.
They demanded answers about reports of close to 2,000 faulty voting machines and expressed their opposition to Mr Marcos's projected win.
"The sentiment of the majority, if they are siding with Marcos Jr, it just represents that the systems have failed us," protester Reana Dolor said.
"We think the next six years will be riled by corruption, inflation and a lot of economic downturns because of how incompetent Marcos is as a leader," added another demonstrator, Haedric Daguman.
Among those left disappointed by the result are some influential religious leaders in the heavily Catholic nation.
Father Ronald Balase, a 31-year-old priest at Baclaran Church in central Manila, said the election campaign had been plagued by disinformation.
"It's very sad that we easily forget our history," he told the ABC.
"It's heartbreaking to hear people my age who dismiss facts.
"They'd rather believe the fabricated lies and historical revisionism they see on YouTube, Facebook or especially on TikTok."
History may play into Marcos's approach to foreign policy
Some experts say the main reason Filipinos elected Marcos was because they were not seeking change.
"We have very little information about Marcos's programs and plans, there's been very little information released to the public," said Cleve Arguelles, a political science lecturer at De La Salle University.
"But he's campaigned on building on the policies and legacies of the outgoing President Duterte, so that includes [the] 'Build, Build, Build' infrastructure program and moving the Philippines even closer to China."
The Philippines has shifted its posture towards Beijing under Mr Duterte, who dismissed previous efforts to confront China's militarisation of disputed islands through international law, seeking closer investment ties instead.
Mr Duterte also routinely blasted the United States with his language and threatened to tear up military cooperation agreements.
His foreign policy though may have had little bearing on his popularity, which was mainly based on his brutal strongman-style war against drug dealers.
Dr Garcia said history may also play into how Mr Marcos approaches the country's already turbulent alliance with the United States.
"We can say for sure Bongbong Marcos will rethink the United States relationship with the Philippines," he said.
"For a time, the US financially and rhetorically supported the dictatorial regime of President Marcos, but towards the end when the US saw there was huge opposition and the regime was unravelling, the US then supported Corazon Aquino — the arch-nemesis of the Marcos family."
"I think Bongbong will remember that when he crafts the next foreign policy of the Philippines."
Local media has also reported there is a US warrant out for Mr Marcos's arrest, stemming from court proceedings over efforts to reclaim stolen wealth.
The claims have never been proven or confirmed by Mr Marcos, but do little to suggest he would seek to patch up ties with Washington over the next six years.
"The US will have to make efforts if they want to protect the already flimsy relationship with the Philippines," Dr Garcia said.
At home, the new leader will be looking to maintain the trust that has thrust him into the top job over the next six years, cementing a new family legacy.
"It's not over yet," he told supporters on Monday night.
"Let us keep watch over our votes. And if I do get lucky, I am hoping for your unending help and trust."
