Victory for the Non-Candidate

THE PHILIPPINES

Though it was not a presidential election, the President's political life was at stake. Last week's national polling in the Philippines was held to fill eight of the 24 seats in the Senate, the governorships of 65 provinces and 1,427 town and city halls. The man who campaigned hardest--and had the most to win or lose--was a noncandidate, President Ferdinand Marcos, 50. Marcos chose to make the election a referendum on his two-year record of land reform, public works and school construction, also saw it as an opportunity to win control of his often rebellious Senate. Dressed in sport shirt and slacks, he showed up at as many as four campaign rallies a night and traveled 10,000 miles around the country, asking the electorate to keep the Philippines "on the move" by voting for his Nacionalista Party candidates.

Many in the Philippines felt that Marcos needlessly imperiled his programs by tying them to the outcome of local elections, but the gamble paid off. When the votes were counted, Marcos had won an overwhelming victory. Filipino voters elected 50 Nacionalista governors, 1,050 Nacionalista mayors--including those of every important city except Manila--and six Nacionalista senators, enough to give Marcos the majority he needed. So lopsided was the vote, in fact, that it seemed to make the youthful President an almost certain winner if, as expected, he decides to run for re-election in 1969.

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