Wined, Dined & Womaned

Into Manila last week swarmed 1,344 delegates to the Nacionalista Party convention, intent on nominating President Carlos Garcia for a second term and picking his running mate. As with everything that Garcia touches, the convention reeked of money. "No delegates in history were ever as pampered, catered to, wined, dined and 'womaned' as these delegates," said Manila's sharp-tongued Mayor Arsenio Lucson.

The smell of money clung especially to the person of handsome Senator Gil Puyat, 53, whose family fortune is estimated at $17 million, and who deals in mines, lumber, furniture and oil. Puyat's campaign manager assured the popeyed delegates--many of whom were provincials on their first visit to the capital--that the Senator will devote three years' income, or $4,500,000, to election expenses if he is nominated for Vice President. In the hotel lobbies, smiling Puyat leaders reportedly passed out 100-peso bills ($50). Happy delegates carousing at the lavish Bayside nightclub had their checks picked up by Puyat's genial brother. At 3 in the morning, a Puyat lieutenant silenced the band and ordered the delegates back to their hotels to "wait for further instructions" for next day's convention at Manila's Coliseum. As rural delegates weaved out into the sultry night, an exhausted nightclub hostess said, "Will I be glad when the convention's over and these hill billies go home!"

Passion for Second. Puyat's passion for second place on the Nacionalista ticket is predicated on the Philippine Constitution, under which presidential tenure is limited to eight years. President Garcia, who took office in 1957 on the death of popular President Ramon Magsaysay in a plane accident, must step down in March 1965 and give the remaining nine months of his presidency to his Vice President--provided, of course, that the Nacionalistas win the November election.

Yet all his wheeling and dealing last week could not give Senator Puyat the 60% of the convention vote needed for nomination. On the first ballot, Puyat got 487 votes to 375 for Finance Minister Dominador Aytona, 43, the energetic reformer whom Garcia brought into his administration to crack down on the more flagrant examples of corruption. Two hundred twenty-five votes went to Senator Quintin Paredes, a wealthy tobacco grower from northern Luzon.

President Garcia, glumly watching the proceedings on television, summoned Aytona to Malacanan Palace. Aytona thought that he had Garcia's backing. He learned that he was wrong. Garcia asked him to withdraw in favor of Puyat. To soften the blow, Garcia offered repayment of Aytona's campaign expenses and, somewhat ambiguously, promised "protection" for Aytona's followers. Stunned but defiant, Aytona refused. Garcia's aides were more successful in dealing with Candidate Paredes, who, gratefully accepting $150,000 as reimbursement for his campaign expenses, stepped out of the race.

Untarred Candidate. Even so, after four days, Senator Puyat still could not obtain the vital 60% of the vote. Convention costs, which included hotel expenses for the 1,344 delegates, were soaring and tempers grew short. President Garcia phoned the convention chairman, snapped, "We can't go on forever." Under heavy pressure, Aytona finally agreed to let the Nacionalista Executive Committee pick the Vice President. The committee promptly passed the buck to President Garcia. Handing the nomination to Puyat as the choice "of the majority of the delegates," Garcia delicately thanked the convention for a "new affirmation of your faith in my leadership."

A seasoned campaigner, Puyat has a solid reputation as an economist and business executive, is not tarred with the widespread charges of corruption leveled against Garcia's administration. In November, Garcia and Puyat will be matched against the Liberal Party nominees: earnest Diosdado Macapagal, who claims the mantle of the late great President Magsaysay, and his running mate Emmanuel Pelaez. Both are reform-minded enthusiasts who will campaign on a ready-made platform: "Throw the Rascals Out."

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