Protesters burned an effigy of the controversial Philippine president during his first national address on July 25.

Activists and labour groups trooped in front of the Philippine Coconut Authority in Quezon City and set alight images of President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr., urging the public to 'never forget' the atrocities reportedly committed by his family against the Filipino people.

The demonstration was staged on the same day as Marcos's first State of the Nation Address - an annual report in which the chief executive unveils the government's plans for the country for the year.

Marcos Jr., the namesake and son of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, won the presidency by a landslide 36 years after a people's uprising that toppled his father's brutal reign under martial law.

Human rights monitor Amnesty International said at least 3,240 were killed, 34,000 were tortured, and 70,000 were jailed during the elder Marcos's strongman rule. His family is believed to have amassed a staggering 5 to 10 billion USD as they plundered the national coffers and plunged the Philippines into debt. The Philippine Commission on Good Governance was established to recover the Marcoses' ill-gotten wealth after they fled the country in 1986.

Marcos's victory, which comes after a divisive election period, is believed to have been aided by coordinated social media campaigns aimed at rebranding and whitewashing his family's sordid history.