Yahoo TV

STORY: In a politically divided country, a crowd of supporters surrounded newly elected president of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, as he made his way into his campaign headquarters in Manila on Wednesday.

Marcos, the son of the late dictator who ruled for 20 years before he was toppled in a 1986 uprising and fled Manila, received some 31 million votes in Monday’s election.

"My intention is to hit the ground running”

But many Filipinos are appalled by the election results.

Thousands of opponents of the senior Marcos suffered persecution during a brutal 1972-1981 era of martial law. 70-year-old Felix Dalisay was one of them:

“For us martial law victims who were tortured and imprisoned during the time of martial law of the Marcos dictatorship, we feel absolutely dismayed with what will happen when the Marcoses are put back in Malacañang."

Billions of dollars of state wealth disappeared when Marcos Senior ruled.

But Marcos and his family have often said that their vast fortune was legitimately obtained. On the campaign trail Marcos Jr. dismissed criticism about how the family obtained its wealth as "fake news."

In a video statement, Marcos – known as ‘Bongbong’ - said he was looking very carefully at candidates for his economic team , and that his first nominee for his cabinet was Sara Duterte-Carpio - the daughter of incumbent President Rodrigo Duterte.

Duterte-Carpio helped get Marcos elected by agreeing to be his vice presidential running mate, allowing the son of the late dictator to tap her father's huge support to seal a comeback for the disgraced Marcos dynasty.

Her appointment also complicates efforts to put her father on trial for thousands of killings in his "war on drugs" AS the International Criminal Court looks to investigate Duterte over the alleged execution-style killings.

Marcos Jr. is set to begin a six-year term as president at the end of June.