THE PRESS THURSDAY, APRIL 13, 1978. Philippines elections

Press, 13 April 1978, Page 16

THE PRESS THURSDAY, APRIL 13, 1978. Philippines elections

In allowing elections to be held, President Marcos of the Philippines has done what he said he would do: he has also done what many suspected he would do —retained the real power in his own hands. Although he has ordered the release of 500 of the demonstrators arrested over the week-end. he has kept the leaders in prison. After martial law which has lasted for five years and a half, the holding of elections does not herald a new spring of democracy in the Philippines

Nevertheless it is a beginning. The President, who has also acquired the title of Prime Minister—presumably so that he can keep his options open as to what style of government the Philippines will have now that he no longer sees much future in dictatorship—will have the power to overrule the Interim National Assembly that has been elected. He will need to exercise these powers with discretion lest observers at home and abroad fail to distinguish the present state of affairs from the time just past. The elections were for 165 seats in the Interim National Assembly out of a total of 200. President Marcos will occupy another seat and 20 Cabinet members chosen by him will also occupy seats, as will some indirectly elected “sectoral" representatives. Presidential elections would have been held in 1973. had not martial law been declared in 1972. President Marcos, having already served two four-year terms, would have been ineligible to stand for those elections. The introduction of martial law made it possible for him to change the Constitution. enabling him to stand again. It also enabled him to order the arrest of his main political rival. Mr Benigno Aquino, who is still in jail awaiting the outcome of an appeal against a sentence of death. It was from jail that Mr Aquino ran his election campaign against Presi-

dent Marcos. He was, however, given some extensive time on television to clear himself of charges of being involved with the American Central Intelligence Agency, and to answer questions put to him by a number of Manila newspaper editors. The interviews were reported to have attracted considerable attention. A referendum on December 17 held to allow President Marcos to continue in office and to become Prime Minister resulted in a vote of 89.3 per cent in favour. A similar majority was hoped for in the elections for the Interim National Assembly but some reports have it that the majority may have dropped to as low as 60 per cent —normally a comfortable enough majority but possibly disturbing to a President whose expectations were so high. The President had brought some crude pressures to bear on public employees to vote for his New Society Party. Some allegations of vote-rigging have been made, but none have yet been proved.

The Philippines, a former American colony, is heavily dependent on American investment. The human rights campaign conducted by President Carter of the United States produced some uncomfortable moments in Manila and during the election campaign there were dark hints from President Marcos that some Opposition candidates were being supported by a “foreign power.” The United States is used to being attacked in this way and did not even bother to say that it was not responsible. No real rift is discernible in Filipino-American relations, however. President Marcos is not calling for the closing of the American bases in his country. The main result of the election is likely to be domestic. Filipinos, having tasted voting again, might have expectations which the new Interim National Assembly will not satisfy.