MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines’ former first lady Imelda Marcos, famous for flamboyant ways and huge collection of shoes, has filed her candidacy for a seat in congress, joining dozens of film stars and powerful politicians seeking election.

Boxing icon Manny Pacquiao and President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo are also vying for congressional seats in May’s elections.

“She is very serious with her candidacy, she will not back out,” said Imelda’s lawyer, Danny Rubio, adding he submitted papers for the 80-year-old former first lady in the northern province of Ilocos Norte, stronghold of her late husband, Ferdinand Marcos.

Imelda is running to replace her son, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., in the lower house. Ferdinand Jr. is seeking a senate seat while her eldest daughter, Imee, is contesting the governorship of Ilocos Norte.

Despite the Marcos’s fall from grace in 1986 when Ferdinand Sr. was ousted by a popular revolt after two decades of mostly authoritarian rule, the family remains hugely popular and revered in their hometown.

Some of Imelda’s relatives are also seeking local positions in the central Philippine province of Leyte, where she won as a member of the 268-member House of Representatives in 1995 before launching a failed presidential bid in 1998.

Analysts said Filipinos have become more mature in electing anti-corruption politicians for national positions -- as shown by the results of the 2007 balloting -- but political clans remain entrenched in the provinces.

“We expect to see the same old faces from the same families dominating the local contests,” Earl Parreno of the Institute for Political and Electoral Reforms told Reuters, adding family ties, money, and machinery would sway voters to support them.