Philippines activists push new petition seeking Marcos election ban

Members of Akbayan Partylist gather outside the Commission on Elections during the filing of a petition for disqualification against late dictator's son Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., who is running for the presidency in the 2022 national elections, in Manila, Philippines, December 2, 2021. REUTERS/Lisa Marie David

MANILA (Reuters) - Ferdinand Marcos Jr, the early frontrunner for the Philippines presidency, was hit by another formal complaint on Thursday, as longtime opponents of his powerful family pile pressure on authorities to disqualify him from elections next year.

The activists' petition is part of a flurry of complaints designed to sideline Marcos, a career politician and son and namesake of the notorious dictator who was driven from power by a 1986 people's uprising.