MANILA, Philippines - Imelda Marcos, the flamboyant widow of deposed Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos, looked set to make her political comeback Tuesday, more than two decades after fleeing a popular uprising.

The former first lady, 80, had comfortably won a seat in the 269-member House of Representatives, according to her aides.

Her only son, Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., 52, was headed for the 24-seat Senate while eldest child Imee, 56, appeared set to be made governor of the family's home province of Ilocos Norte, according to aides and partial results.

The clan has won various positions since the 1990s after returning from exile but they have never before managed a position as high as the nationally-elected senate.

It was the former first lady's first political outing since losing a presidential bid in 1992.

The family fled to Hawaii in 1986 after a popular revolt toppled them from power and installed opposition leader Corazon Aquino, whose son Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino looks set to be proclaimed president after Monday's vote.

Imelda Marcos became an object of scorn for her extravagant lifestyle when a gigantic collection of shoes was found in the presidential palace after the family fled the country. Her husband died in Hawaii in 1989.

Lito Gorospe, a family spokesman, told AFP that Imelda and Imee Marcos had both won their respective seats, and were expected to be formally proclaimed later Tuesday.

Results in the senate race were not expected to be announced until later in the week but Ferdinand "Bongbong" Jnr was running seventh in the race for 12 vacant seats, according to partial official returns.

The family used its old political strongholds in the far north and central islands to make its comeback.

Imelda Marcos has made it clear she wants to achieve redemption for her late husband, who is accused of stealing billions of dollars from state coffers during his 20-year rule.

"I did this to ensure and uphold political integrity and the truth," she told AFP in an interview in March when asked why she had decided to run for parliament.

She pointed to her experience as a key member of her husband's government, both as housing minister and governor of the Manila capital region, as proof she was worthy of public office.

And age was no issue, she insisted.

"It is true that I am 80 years old, but I can also be a grandmother for our country."

Emmanuel Amistad, executive director of human rights group Task Force Detainees, said the victory showed how quickly Filipinos forget their past.

"Filipinos have a short memory and they have forgotten the abuses of the father. There is an entirely new generation now and a lot of the youth do not know the experiences of martial law," he said.

Marcos declared martial law in 1972, imposing one-man rule and jailing political opponents led by the father of the incoming president, Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, who was freed in 1980 for a US heart operation.

When the opposition leader returned to Manila in 1983 to mount a fresh challenge against Marcos, he was shot dead my military escorts at what is now known as the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

Amistad said the Marcos children might not be to blame for the father's misdeeds but their refusal to admit that he committed serious abuses showed they were in a state of denial.

Rommel Banlaoi, director of the Philippine Institute for Peace, Violence and Terrorism Research, said the political revival of the Marcos family was just another symptom of the country's personality-oriented politics.

"In the Philippines, we vote in terms of personality, not in terms of track records. The Marcoses ring a very loud bell in politics," he told AFP.

Despite the troubled history between the two families, Banlaoi said incoming president Aquino would likely find a way to work with the Marcoses.

"In the Philippines, politicians are willing to set aside their differences to pursue their common objectives."