Victory for Marcos

In their 23 years of independence, the Philippines have had six Presidents --one for each four-year term. The country's politics are intertwined with corruption and crime. Chief executives have been unable to keep their extravagant campaign promises, and public resentment has made second terms out of the question. Last week, in an abrupt departure from Philippine practice, Ferdinand Marcos was elected to his second term as President.

The victory was as much a product of Marcos' own political talents as of a fundamental change in the country's political temperament. In an effort to discourage the violence that customarily erupts at election time, mothers and priests stood guard at many of the polling places, and liquor sales were forbidden for a week beforehand. Even so, rival private armies, which Filipinos call "goonstabularies" in a play on the word constabulary, prowled the country. A number of intimidated election officials resigned or disappeared, and about 50 people died in shootouts.

Almost Too Good. The final results may not be tabulated for weeks. But incomplete returns show Marcos and his Nacionalista Party beating Liberal Party Candidate Sergio Osmena Jr. by perhaps 1,700,000 out of 7,000,000 votes counted so far. The scope of Marcos' victory was almost embarrassing. As he met with his supporters in Malacanang Palace to claim victory late in the evening of election day, he was leading in every single precinct then reporting. "How can that be?" complained Osmena. "This is the dirtiest election we have ever had."

No doubt some of Marcos' supporters were indeed overly enthusiastic in help ing their candidate. A number of ballot boxes were still missing days after the election, and a few election officials were still in hiding. But Marcos would have won anyway. As a campaigner, he had the war record (27 medals in World War II), the necessary transportation (he used a squadron of Philippine air force planes) and the crowd-pleasing, youthful good looks (which he preserves with a largely vegetarian diet and frequent yoga exercises).

Ungallant Behavior. By contrast, Osmena, a second-term Senator, is a frail, shy man, who was once accused (though later exonerated) of wartime collaboration with the Japanese. While Osmena stressed the need for strong ties with the U.S., Marcos, who senses his people's resentment at being regarded by other Asians as the U.S.'s "little brown brothers," emphasized the need for the Philippines to become more assertive and active in Asian affairs. Marcos also managed easily to shrug off Osmena's charges of corruption in his government. "I would not lie to you and say there is no corruption, but it is being reduced to a minimum," he said in his campaign speeches. When Osmena indiscreetly charged that Marcos' beautiful wife Imelda owns "the largest gem collection in Asia," Filipinos felt he was being ungallant.

Marcos has been running for re-election ever since he took office in 1966. Concentrating on urgently needed domestic programs, he built 8,000 miles of roads, which was more than the total road construction in the country's history. He also put up 43,000 school buildings and irrigated 300,000 hectares of land. He showed his keen appreciation of the impact of a peso well spent. In his first year in office, he pushed for the passage of a local improvement fund of more than 200 million pesos (about $50 million). He got the measure passed by Congress in his second year, but did not hand out the money until this year. Then he parceled it out to barrio or ward captains in 2,000-peso lumps just before the election.

Cultural Contact. Barred by law from seeking a third consecutive term, Marcos has the next four years in which to fulfill another ambition: securing a place in Philippine history. Though a friend of the U.S., he feels that Filipinos must find their own place in Asia. Marcos will soon begin to renegotiate U.S.-Philippine trade and military agreements; perhaps anticipating his action, the U.S. last week announced that it would close Mactan air base in the central Philippines. He also hopes to expand his country's economic and cultural contacts with Communist nations. Most of all, he wants to encourage a sense of regional interdependence in Asia. Says Marcos: "I'm looking forward to an Asian forum to get Asians together to try to find Asian solutions to our problems."

At home, Marcos hopes to continue his public works program, rein in the island's growing lawlessness, curb its widespread corruption and lower the high birth rate, which is adding 1,300,000 people each year to the 38 million population. He must also shore up a shaky economy, possibly by devaluing the peso. Because funds are running out, Marcos will become the first allied president to pull forces out of Viet Nam. In December, he intends to bring home the 1,500-man Philippine civic-action group. He will put the men to work in the impoverished central Luzon, where the Huk guerrillas still remain troublesome. No longer the fiery Communists that they were in the insurrection of the 1950s, the Huks have turned to Mafia-style extortion, which Marcos hopes he can counter with a program of better law enforcement and increased hopes for a better life.

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