Marcos' Millions

"The people trooped by the millions to cast their votes," marveled Manila's Daily Express. "They had an enthusiasm that had not been seen in previous elections." Indeed, the 91% support for a referendum that gives President Ferdinand Marcos nearly unlimited power was almost miraculous in the fractious Philippines. Or it would have been, except for the fact that 1) the penalty for not voting was up to six months in prison; 2) most people were afraid that if they voted no they would go to jail; and 3) a high government official, with rare if somewhat cynical candor, admitted that even a nationwide no vote would be reported as a yes vote.

Still, like all new strongmen--and a few old ones--Marcos, 55, apparently felt that he needed popular approval. For months the press, once the most outspoken in Asia but now censored, extolled the government. Realizing that such unctuous flattery was making a mockery of the whole election, Secretary of Information Francisco Tatad finally warned against "incompetent praise" and "24-hour encomiums." To ensure a maximum turnout, illiterates were added to the voting rolls and the franchise was extended to 15-year-olds.

The accent on youth was not surprising. In an interview with TIME Correspondent David Aikman, Marcos last week drew some parallels between his own revolution in the Philippines and China's youth-dominated Cultural Revolution. "I can understand the Cultural Revolution of Mao Tse-tung," Marcos explained. "After so many years it was necessary to rededicate the ideals of his revolution."

He added: "The problem of rededication is always ticklish. I have noticed a backsliding [since his own imposition of martial law last September] on the part of not only civilian government employees, but also the military. We have to stop this backsliding before we can do anything, because we are returning to the old society. There must be self-criticism and candor among officials. The same old politicians are coming back and asking for favors and you hear the same old inclinations toward corruption. You note the weaknesses of officialdom, the discourtesies, the disregard and lack of respect for the people. The moment officials start showing their weaknesses the people are going to follow. Undoubtedly then the whole thing will disintegrate and end up with violence. Then the fear of the military taking over will be valid."

Clear Orders. With his referendum victory, Marcos promised, political opponents would quickly be released from jail--his regime now has 6,000 of them behind bars--and he blamed the military for dragging its feet in letting them go. "I have given the military a deadline of the middle of [this] month," he asserted. "The military should tell me pointblank what evidence they have against these men. If they have none, then release them. If they have evidence, then go to trial. I talked to the Secretary of Defense yesterday and asked him to tell me exactly what they are doing about the detainees because my orders are very clear: clear all the stockades as fast as you can."

With the referendum over, the press will now be "encouraged" to drop its embarrassing sycophancy. "Why is there no criticism from the media? We will have to encourage a little more assertiveness on the part of those who should help. During this period of adjustment the question in the back of the minds of those engaged in writing is: Am I going to get into trouble because of my writings? The problem is to convince them they won't get into trouble. I guarantee that they won't be prosecuted, but the thing is, will they believe it? Freedom is not just declared; it is exercised."

New Society. Making correspondents believe in their freedom is only one of the problems Marcos will have to face in the coming months. The Philippines is confronted with a serious rice shortage, and it must deal with an equally serious insurrection of Moslems on the islands of Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago. "We are not going to set any deadlines for an end to the insurgency, but we expect before the year is over we should be able to settle whatever little dissidence is left."

Finally there is the problem of creating the "new society"--an authentically Philippine society--to which Marcos says he is committed. "Filipinos are not worse than any other colonized people except that our colonization was a little longer and the independence movement was always dictated in political terms, never in social ones. We borrowed terms but we didn't understand them. But now we've had to declare our independence all over again." After Marcos' stage-managed referendum, however, true freedom may be the most impossible goal of all.

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