In the final mass events before the presidential election in the Philippines, it was all about putting the candidates in the spotlight again.

According to the organizers, around a million people gathered in front of a luxurious hotel and casino complex in the capital Manila on Saturday to cheer the dictator's son Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who was the leader in the polls.

Acting Vice President and former human rights lawyer Leni Robredo drew similar crowds to Ayala Avenue in the Makati business district, where a famous 1983 protest against the then Marcos regime took place.

There was a relaxed atmosphere at both events with live music, chants and flag waving.

Till Fähnders

Political correspondent for Southeast Asia.

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However, the election on Monday, in which more than 67 million people are entitled to vote, is likely to be one of the most momentous in recent history, not only domestically, as experts say, due to the return of the Marcos clan to power.

It will also have an impact on foreign policy and thus on the entire region.

Because the person who wins the race in the end will decide in which direction the state from 7,000 islands will orientate itself in terms of foreign policy.

The former Southeast Asian colony plays an important role in the struggle for spheres of influence between the United States and the People's Republic of China.

It forms an eastern border of the South China Sea, where territorial claims overlap and where China has established military bases.

The two leading candidates, Marcos and Robredo, differ markedly in their attitude towards the two competing powers.

The Marcos clan has had good connections to China for many years.

Diplomatic relations between the two countries began with a visit by Imelda Marcos to Mao Tse-tung in 1974. Today, the northern Philippine province of Ilocos Norte, where the family has its power base, benefits from the attention of Chinese businessmen.

In 2007, China opened the only local consulate in the regional capital of Laoag.

Imelda, now 92, still receives Chinese officials when they travel to the Philippines.

China promised Duterte money

Her son and presidential candidate had said during the election campaign that he relied on "engagement" in exchanges with China.

This includes, among other things, that he will not pull out an arbitration ruling from 2016, in which China's territorial claims in the South China Sea were rejected.

The verdict was a foreign policy victory for the Philippines under the administration of President Benigno Aquino III.

The current President Rodrigo Duterte filed the verdict a few weeks later in the hope of lucrative deals with China.

Duterte also downgraded relations with the United States because Washington had criticized its bloody anti-drug war.

Leni Robredo, who came second in the survey, clearly spoke out in favor of insisting on compliance with the verdict.

Her husband was Minister of the Interior in Aquinos' cabinet until his death in a plane crash.

After his death, Robredo, like her husband before him, became involved in the liberal, pro-business, Western-oriented Liberal Party.

With the backing of the party, she defeated Marcos Jr. in the 2016 election for vice president.

But for Monday's election, she left the party because she expects more success as an independent candidate.

Under a President Robredo, the Philippines are likely to return to close ties with the United States.

Even Marcos Jr. will ultimately not be able to avoid coming to terms with the traditional ally after an election victory, even despite ongoing proceedings in the USA that are currently making it impossible for him to travel to the USA.

Because in the end, turning to China didn't pay off for Duterte either.

Only a fraction of the billions of dollars in loans and investments that China had promised it has actually flowed.

Above all, the pro-US Philippine military and security apparatus also increasingly pushed Duterte towards as close an alliance as possible with America.