You know the Philippine elections are wild when the fact that Manny Pacquiao being a presidential candidate wasn't even mentioned in the story.

I enjoyed myself laughing at how absurd it all is. But then the video ended and I remember I'm living in this nightmare...

Talking with Filipino acquaintances, the general message when it came to politics was "it's not wether or not the politician is corrupt or not. But wether their corruption benefits you"

Never ask: A woman her age A man his salary BongBong Marcos what his family was doing from 1972-1981

For American context, imagine one of the Sacklers running for President of the United States and telling the people the opioid epidemic was actually the best thing that ever happens to the country

This is probably supposed to be hilarious but, as someone who lives here and is a Filipino, it also tore my heart to shreds.

he's inaugurated. i remember all the stories my mom told me about her childhood during the marcos dictatorship and i don't know what to do. it's over. it's dystopian.

That story about Marcos giving a young Michael Jordan bread is just wild.

The sad part is no matter how well this segment was researched. People who are ignorant of the truth will try their hardest not to believe what's presented in front of them

One of the things that should be mentioned here is how we should hold social media platforms accountable for fake news especially those associated with politics such as the ones circulating in the Philippines.

I really love coming back to watch this video because it makes me laugh and it's one of the ways I cope with the fact that my country is very f*cked up

One of the wildest things I've seen was my high school teacher was, and probably still, a Marcos supporter. She's my Araling Panlipunan (Social Studies) teacher. You know, the very subject dealing with Philippine history.

Thank you John Oliver and team!!!! This was done so beautifully...!!! How I wish this was released a week or two earlier!!!!

30 years ago when the Marcoses first returned from their exile, a Filipino journalist observed: "The Filipino people have offered the Marcoses, forgiveness without repentance, mercy without justice, reconciliation without restitution. In so doing, we have ensured the perpetuation of their tragic legacy." In 2022, those prophetic words are tragically being played out. Truly, a people deserves the leaders they get.

I have to admit that I love that John has embraced his new citizenship so fully that he names the American people as "us" even if he doesn't agree with and constantly question the mindset of American history. He is definitely a man to admire, and that is coming from another person who chose to change home country

I feel super privileged to have laughed so hard at this and found it so funny while my Filipino kababayans have to deal with the consequences of these politicians

I'm here, laughing with every joke in this monologue, while anxiously hoping against all hope that my countrymen will see the light. Please pray for us.

it’s hillarious, but as a filipino it killed me a bit inside. so sad my lola had to go through martial law😢😢😭😭😭

My gramps said "Atah, may mga amnesia na an mga tawo?" "Oh no, do people have amnesia now?"

When he said the US acted borderline British, i laughed at first. Then did a double take and reevaluated our nation's heroes and villains.

Oliver is very brave for mentioning America's role in the Philippines' dark history. Well done, sir.

I have a friend who lived through the Marshall law in the Philippines and it wasn't great it was scary and sad and she said she never wanted anyone else to feel the way she did living though that.

I had family who were there during martial law and I had to study the marcos government EVERY YEAR since grade school. A lot of people think Marcos' government was "the golden era" but no, it more "guilded" (maybe even worse). Many people suffered and died all in the name of "wealth" and "greed". If you want to know how bad it was, read about Aquino and how he was prosecuted a lot during that time. My family told me that it was not a safe time to be in Manila during his administration, not to mention, there was a shit ton of censorship (inc a ban of an anime). So while im told that marcos is now in power because "they long for the better times" and "rebranding the family name", i still call bullshit. They're gonna go whatever it takes to rewrite history.

There are many children misinformed about martial law but from my experience it's the older generation that really latches on to this rewritten history. So many of the younger generation are trying to convince their parents that martial law was horrible, it's insane because said parents were actually there for it but they refuse to listen. You can't even have a conversation with them because they won't acknowledge any of the evidence you give them. It doesn't even feel like it's about the country and the candidate, it just feels like old people wanting to win an argument.

We, Filipinos, are laughing at this on the outside but inside, our anxiety is working double-time. When we came to the precinct at 11am, I nervously asked the poll-worker if the voting machines are ever broken. She thankfully said no and assured me that they are all fine. I was borderline panicky when I shaded the fucking ballot. “What if I over-shaded the circles?” “What if I accidentally shaded too much candidates?” Thankfully, it was relatively peaceful. None of the poll-watchers touched my ballot and the receipt matched my list. Can’t say that about the other precincts, but hopefully it goes smoother for everyone else

actually initially the people of France were largely in favour of a constitutional monarchy, it was only when Louis tried to flee and literally defect to Austria, the country who he was at war with, that the revolution turned radical and he was executed.

I'm from the Philippines and I'm impressed with John Oliver's writers and researchers for this. Everything on point.

As a George Carlin Filipino fan, let me paraphrase one of George's iconic line: “When you're born into this world, you're given a ticket to the freak show. If you're born in the Philippines, you get a front row seat.”

His wife telling the story about him being inspired to run in the middle of watching Antman is the funniest shit I have heard in a while.

Watching this is just kind of depressing now, knowing that both the children of two of the worst bligts on that nation are now in control of it. Fuck.

My mum supports them fervently, she doesn’t see reason and my dad’s just there giving me the stare and letting her do her thing

Before this is stormed by trolls, I want to say THANK YOU John Oliver!!! Love love love from the Philippines

There's no expression truer than "Those who forget history are condemned to repeat it."

I jived with this story immensely. thank you for pulling no punches.

Have a great friend from the Philippines. This episode does a solid job, but from a lived perspective I've listened to, it's tough to really understand how wild the whole thing is for an outsider looking in

It's kind of amazing how popular Bongbong is, given that the Philippines celebrates a public holiday every year commemorating the revolution that ousted Marcos.

I lived in the Philippines, in 2019. There was a debate that was given to us as our final project of the semester. One side was debating on why the oppression and the people reaction to it was bad and the other was the opposite. Each are groups consist of 5 people. All of the participants research and ask people about their experience. We all worked hard. It was a hot debate that last for 2 hours. When it ended our professor ask "So what did all of you learned?". We were then task to put our answer in a one sheet of yellow pad paper. Our professor told us that the reason why he made a debate as our final project is that he wanted us to learn not only through books and the internet but learning the truth from the people that experienced it and going to a heated debate on whether it was right or wrong, to make us not see the world as black and white but as the color gray it truly was. All of us wrote that our past is horrible, full of betrayals, ignorance, pride, and greed. Our professor wanted a honest answer. He got it. He smiled and told us "We learn through history that it takes a catastrophe to start a revolution. Without a catastrophe we won't change. We won't see what we experience today if people don't want to change. So a catastrophe happen whether it be big or small it made us, change us, on who we are today. Oh and nobody won. all of you will have a perfect score."

Welp, our worst fears came true. Now I can only hope we were wrong.

Given the propensity for children to randomly shout out the truth, BongBong's parents may very well have told him that all the time. Ah, the honesty of children... who have been lied to by their parents. By now, I'm sure he knows it is wildly untrue, but he's old enough to play on the sentiment it generates deliberately.

Another detail left out: BongBong LOST the Vice-Presidential election in 2016 to Leni Robredo (the lady in the video who's running for President now), and he spent the last six years filing one futile electoral protest after another, like what Trump did after he lost the 2020 elections.

Another fun fact: Nutribun was a nutrient-dense kind of bread that was part of USAID's food aid program to fight malnutrition in the Philippines. Imelda stamped her name on the packages to make it seem like they came from her. Decades later, it is still part of Marcos historical rewriting that Nuribun was developed and distributed by their family.

After bongbong won the election I really hoped he could be different from his father, but after hearing about all the lies used in the campaign, I'm not so sure anymore

Very , very proud to be a Filipino , in a much better way of upbringing to be one..

This could not have come at a better time. Praying for my country.

As a filipino i actually laughed very hard and i remember "Oh right i live in that country"

Also, in the 1990s the internal revenue office won a Supreme Court case about them not paying estate taxes, which now amounts to Php 208 billion.

You are the British version of Lourd de Veyra. Both of you are funny and witty reporters.

The phrase "out of the frying pan and into the fire" immediately comes to mind when I saw what was happening in the Phillipines' election. My GOD what a nightmare!

Thank you for acknowledging that Jollibee is indeed the best fastfood mascot.

God damn, it's been almost a year under the BBM administration and God damn we are getting best at getting worst! Hooray Philippines.

Bad example with the Michael's comparison, John. You don't know how badly I need that employee discount for my raging arts and crafts addiction. Honestly, a surprise end while I hunch over felt, burning my fingerprints off with hot glue, might be a welcome reprieve. It would be a mercy to me and to Aunt Peg who is about to receive the ugliest, most pointless mouse I'm creating from a Pinterest image instead of the gift card to Pottery Barn that she rightly deserves. Genuinely though, this is wild. My heart goes out to the people of the Philippines who are dealing with absolute insanity!

One of the things I like about John Oliver is that he looks his country of origin's brutal history and instead of doing what many in the US do (excuse or downplay) he jokes about it in a way that shows that he acknowledges its dark history without excusing it.

Filipino here and just to paint a picture, vote buying is so normalized here in the Philippines that local candidates will set up group leaders for each barangay (group of families) to give them money 3 days before the election until the day. Some even give money on the day. In our city, individuals received up to 8,000 pesos (roughly 151 USD) to vote for specific candidates. Today at the election sites, people are given "sample ballots" with the names of officials listed to vote for. People are handed a small piece of paper with Bongbong Marcos and his group to vote for. In the mornings, there's been reports of polling machines "breaking down" so the people at the stations "have to" manually put in your ballots. Edit: the claims of broken machinery are true and people have been queuing up for 10+ hours to put in their votes. The stations closed 20 minutes ago but some still have not put in their vote because of the faulty machinery. Edit: for more context, I and multiple young people I know have had trouble sleeping for the past few days because of this election. I bolt up awake in the middle of the night in worry from it. The youth have been working so hard these past few months to propel Leni Robredo into power but it’s so hard.

there's a famous powerfull fire cracker called GOODBYE PHILLIPPINES. i think the name is just fitting.

So... Is John going to do an updated episode on this?

just got home from casting my vote. thank you for covering our elections- for some reason I was expecting this, after your pieces on Canadian and French elections.

During a lecture at Harvard University, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, former president and current vice president of Argentina was directly asked about how her wealth had disproportionally grown during the years of her presidency, and her husband's as well. Knowing full well that an investigation had proven exactly how and how much they had stolen from the people, she merely said that those figures were wrong, that she had always had that kind of money and that she owed everything to her "very successful career as a lawyer". So apparently calling themselves a "sucessful lawyer" is sort of a trend among corrupt country leaders.

I lost it at the "Borderline British" remark X3

President Duterte is what I imagine the character Tuco from the film 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly' would be like if he ran a country.

As a Filipino, I think we have to address the issue of gaslighting amongst our community. From experiencing it personally to seeing it en masse in the Philippines, it just becomes the norm within us without even realizing it. Shutting down our feelings and not listening to those calling out injustices just to "keep the peace." There's no "keeping the peace" if people are suffering. The revisionist history of the Marcos' and using that to gaslight those who actually suffered in the Ferdinand era is so appalling.

I'm not sure if I should be grateful that our elections is getting international recognition OR embarrassed that our country is featured on 'What's Wrong with the World" this week :( Regardless, I proudly casted my vote a couple of hours ago and I'm anxiously waiting for the results.

I do appreciate LWT's coverage of other country's elections. The rest of the world DOES exist, and their politics matter

That last single laugh you hear just echoed in my head for a few minutes after the video ended.

on my father's death anniversarry our whole family gathered by his grave and nonchalantly talked about how horrible Martial Law was for our town during their time, to the point where people caught outside after curfew hours were shot or arrested on sight and treated as communist terrorists, including women and children. they talked about how our aunts grands and parents, come near the start of curfew find the nearest house (even if it was a stranger's), to seek shelter for the night. it became a sort of custom where you'd never turn down a stranger for seeking shelter in your home. just to escape the actual death squads... one of my great aunts even had the bullet wounds and scars to prove it and another elder was shot to death in her own home on the accusation of harboring communist straglers,... so we the children asked, why was everyone was out and about when death was practically waiting outside . . . our elders said, everyone was struggling, they needed to find work or sell goods.. they needed to get food. makes me think what if my dad was caught in one of those times... i wouldn't have been born... also for those who got caught and innocently killed. they were robbed of their future.

I'm from the Philippines and I swear fighting the history revisionism that was happening on our country right now is very hard, specially when the people who supports bong bong no longer wants to listen to reason, it's saddening and truly frustrating to see so many of our countrymen fall for such ridiculous stories.

This story painfully reminds me of my country. I almost cried.

It has been a year and I still come back to watch this. I need to put a lil translation note for a very small line hat most likely no one cars about. In the clips of children in school being asked about martial law, one child said of the PH at the time “maayos at tahimik” which more or less means it was orderly (maayos can also mean it was fixed) and quiet. But I not only heard studied the surface-level horrors of martial law, but also heard stories from victims. There are documentaries, academic papers, books, and often survivors themselves carrying forward their experiences to describe the literal torture they went through. Was it “maayos at tahimik”? Maybe it was, but in the sense that anyone who wanted to step out of line or speak up were taken away.

I usually laugh my ass off whenever I watch John Oliver and his commentaries. But in this episode, as a Filipino, I can't help but be sad for my country.

Please pray for the Philippines. There have already been several people who died, were wounded and threatened trying to preserve electoral integrity. The Commission on Elections have also been turning a blind eye to vote buying, electoral fraud and voting suppression.

It's also ironic that the U.S. was the one to help Marcos Sr. fled to Hawaii.

Reading the newest comments, and the replies on the older ones, makes me happy, sad, dissapointed, angry, and confused at the same time.

A grimming history tidbit about Imelda Marcos: one of her projects, the National Film Center, is late in construction schedule. So, she forced contractors to speed up the work which caused a massive accident with workers buried in the basement. Instead of digging up the bodies, she ordered to just cover it with cement with the dead bodies still in there. Now, the building is infamous for being haunted.

As my friend Angelo told me about the Philippines, "Many of us believe everything we see on the internet. We need to learn how to see through lies."

here's hoping that the adage that history repeats itself, the first time as tragedy (which Marcos 1 definitely was), and second as farce, holds true....

16:29 "We're gonna do this" If you've watched the part you know that you got some weird thought in your mind after hearing that line.

Love this coz someone who is not Filipino is more frustrated than some Filipinos should be right now and he actually calls it out as it is…

As a first Filipino time voter, I greatly appreciate LastWeekTonight's effort for presenting this piece in such a highly crucial moment in Philippine history. The audacity of a former dictator's son to run for public office and to continue to deny the wealth that was plundered and atrocities committed under his father's regime is truly a terrifying experience. My grandparents and several of my teachers unable to cope with the disappearances of their relatives during that period. It is an utter tragedy that many of my countrymen are doomed to repeat that same mistake due to misinformation circulating around social media. I can only hope that as a nation, we can recover from the divisions caused by this election and be able to elect the right leader of this country. Once again, thank you, John!!!

that "maraming salamat po" was really funny lmao

Fun fact: Michael Jordan became the best basketball player to have ever lived to get into the character for Space Jam

It honestly breaks my heart to see how the Philippines is suffering. My dad spent a good part of his childhood there, and he speaks so lovingly about his time there. He doesn't really smile much when he talks about his childhood, but he smiles about the Philippines. I really hope that someday soon the suffering will be eased.

These days, people who experienced Martial Law are divided about what really happened. It can be likened to a typhoon - some people were greatly affected (people who voiced out vs the government), while some stayed dry. The dry people think it was the best time for the country - "The storm wasn't that bad."

How to win a seat at the Philippine Government: 1. Nepotism 2. Fame 3. Memes 4. Blunt honesty. If you don't know how to deal with a political matter, just say it. No one criticizes the Philippines more, than Filipinos themselves.

I was laughing along with the jokes that John Oliver said but I do remember and felt I myself is a Filipino and living right here in the Philippines. Oh well LOL XD YOLO I GUESS LMAO!!!!!!! (P.S. At least we have internet #1 BABYYY!!!!!)

It's either my country will make the right choice or we'll be featured regularly in "Last Week Tonight."

Watching this as a Peruvian, I can't help but find so many similiarities to the Fujimori family and their story with our country.

Bit off-topic, but there's a fun fact re: your Bin Laden joke. Allegedly, one of Bin Laden's many half-sisters who at the time ran a perfume company in Switzerland was about to launch a fragrance called "Bin Laden" shortly after the 9/11 attacks. So after 9/11, some poor person in Switzerland had the job to destroy hundreds or even thousands of perfume bottles with "Bin Laden" written on them. I don't know if this is true, but it was reported in a quality newspaper at the time.

Filipino here. It's been more than a year since his installation as president, and boy *none of his promises were met. Of course, it's just me being pessimistic, but how can we expect the country to be better when absolutely everything else is going down to the shitdrain? There's still the rising prices, like oil, sugar, and onion of all things. There's the issue with rice that he promised to make a cheaper alternative to with the farmers being essentially put on life support as they make no profit. Drug abuse is still rampant where the authorities themselves, politicians and authorities alike, redistributing them to create their own tribal syndicates; there has been no effort to dispel these criminals, unless they've been caught red handed (such as the recent case with Usec. Bantag and Sen. Teves). He's been promising employment through travel diplomacy to let people have jobs _elsewhere_ instead of focusing on *our own* economy, since there's virtually *no support* for local business. I was always a critic of the Marcos Family and their malicious deeds, before and after EDSA, and my hope for this nation is waning by the day. There's the argument of "NoOOOOooO tHe FaThEr iS dIfFeReNt fRoM tHe SoN!!!111!" when the "good boy son" himself wanted a portion of the family wealth returned to them back in 1995 but was rejected by the Supreme Court. elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocs/1/54791 Goddamn honestly the problem is the lack of education about these things. Marcos' campaign, whether successful or not, showed that there are people who were persuaded by his lies and deception, rewriting history for his own benefit instead of the people's benefit. He's never been a good candidate for a president (not that the rest were any good anyway, even Leni). This country is hanging on the ledge for dear life and I think we're not gonna last long if corruption persists.

5:44 I love the fact that a late night show host talked about US and Philippine history so bluntly and no fear while other journalist dont dare to bring up that subject cause its sensitive to american viewers because the fact the america always shows in there media they dont do such acts and one of the greatest because of there kind nature , but this late night show host didnt mind atleast people knows

I was not expecting you to cover this, but thank you. I'm sitting anxiously waiting for the results. 🌹

you are amazing john

5:18 is not technically incorrect. In fact that's how farmers mindset is. The people (cattle) gave them food and wealth, so feed them up so you can exploit them much longer.

When I was in High School, our teachers brought in a speaker about Martial Law. They didn't talk about statistics or monetary growth, or the standing of the Philippines at the time. They talked about family they had lost, about loved ones that disappeared or died. They talked about what they experienced. And I remember at the end of the talk, I had asked them about how they felt when they found out that the Marcos' were allowed to return. And they said "It was a slap in the face." One wonders what those that suffered through a Marcos dictatorship must think now that the family that condoned the rape, plunder and killing of their family members, of their friends, and of their loved ones, were not only allowed to run again, but have just won the presidency. One wonders what they must think now that so many were eager to have them back. One wonders why, in a country dominated by Christian morality, by so many that call themselves god fearing were willing to look at a regime built on theft, murder and corruption, and say "Those were the good old days." Their victims must be turning in their graves. It doesn't even matter if their supporters are right and the Philippines was stronger at the time. It doesn't matter if they're still right and we'll be greater, though I doubt it. But you have too look at the price that was paid, and at the price we're still paying and at the price we'll pay. And I hope that everyone that did and does support them take a good long look in the mirror and ask themselves this, "Was the mountain corpses that they stood on, and the shit heap of lies that make up their foundations, worth it?" Whatever happens next, I hope they'll at least own up to it.

Just voted when this episode dropped. I wish it came earlier so that people know what we're up to over here in the PH. Hoping and praying for the good of our country.

John comparing the fervor of Dolly stans to Roman Catholicism will forever be engrained in my brain

I used to know one of his PR managers (she's now head of his Presidential communications team), she grew up in Thailand and not in the Philippines and just gave off a very social climbery vibe. She also used to work for Playboy Philippines. I'm not surprised his PR lady would forsake this country, she never had any attachments to this country and its history. He's surrounded by powerhungry ambitious people.

Watching this 3 days after the airing, Bong Bong was elected and won with almost double the votes of his closest rival. It's regrettable to see social media rewriting history everywhere in the world.

For me as a Greek person with little prior knowledge of the Marcos family regime, it's very alarming to say that I noticed many similarities with Mitsotakis regime here, both for himself who's currently doing a Thatcher by privatizing everything leading to a massive rise in energy and fuel prices while he's controlling the media almost in its entirety (lowest position in EU at RSF's World Press Freedom Index) with the rest being prosecuted and even murdered, and his father, former PM whose apostasy led to the 7-year military Junta, infamous for making a fortune with antiquity actions, so I'd love to see a piece in LWT about our sad little country...

I feel sad for my country even though I no longer live there. Majority of Filipinos cannot discern political fact from fiction. And Facebook is their source of truth. Just sad and ignorant.

14:34 I know it's meant as a joke but as a Filipino we love our homemade bread goods so flying overseas with some, yeah that tracks.

As a filipino, this video has been the single best thing to happen this week for our country. Thank you for helping us go against disinformation in a fun comedic way