Evening star., 1941-11-11
Philippines Election
In Progress Today
Contest Between NotionoIists
And Independent Candidates
Has Raised Dictatorship Cry
Bu James G. WingO.

Luis Ouezon for the next two years
and Sergio Osmena for 1914 and l94o.
Although there are seven other can
didates, the election OF Quezon anu
Osmeno is certain. Quezon is the pres
ent President; Osmena, Vice President.
They belong to the Nationalist party,
which has been in power for "a years.
The other candidates belong to the
newly formed parties with small, scat
tered followings.
Last wear President Roosevelt approved
Quezon-inspired amendments to the
Commonwealth constitution providing,
among other things, for the shortening
of the presidential term from six years
to four but permitting an incumbent
to succeed himself for another term.
The amendments specified that no Pres
ident can serve for more than eight
successive years.
Peppery, mercurial, 63year-old Man.
uel Quezon can serve only two years
more. Because he has been President
since November IS. 1885, the rest of the
four-year term to which he will be
elected today will be completed by Vice
President Osmena, who for more than
three decades has been Quezon's most
potent political enemy or closest ally.
Tall, phlegmatic Osmena is just one
month younger than Quezon.
Constitutional amendments approved
last year provided also for the creation
of bicameral Congress to take the
place of Gov. Gen. Frank Murphy's
brainchild, the unicameral National
Assembly. The Philippine voters today
will elect also the members of the first
Philippine Congress- lower house of
90 Representatives from SO districts; an
| upper house Of "a Senators elected at
| large.
The Nationalist party never had any
| doubt that Quezon and Osmena would
win by landslide, but 1t was not so
| sure that its congressional candidates
could be carried into office on Quezon'S
coattails To insure overwhelming vic
tory, the Nationalists enacted new elec-
ton rules favoring their interests.
In complete control Of the Assembly,
the Nationalists adopted the so-called
"block voting" straight ticket system.
| Opponents dubbed it the "blockhead
voting" scheme Under this system
voter simply may indicate the party he
prefers. Thereby he automatically votes
for 81 men president, Vice President,
"a Senators, l Representative, nomi-
mated by the party. If he wants to
deviate from the ticket, he must write
81 full names, or else his ballot will
be discarded. Nationalists figured out
that only few voters would have the
patience to stay long enough in stuffy
booth to write q names. Furthermore,
voters long stay in the voting booth
would be a disclosure to ward leaders
that he had not voted for the right"
ticket.
The law applies to all. to be sure.
but the Nationalist party is much
favored. 1t is the oldest and the only
party nationally known. The minority
parties were formed only in recent years.
Furthermore, only one party besides the
Nationalist-namely, the Popular Front
was permitted to appear on the ballot.
These safeguards, however, did not
seem sufficient to the half-dozen men
who control the Nationalist party. They
wanted their own lieutenants to be on
the ticket. The fact that candidate
the party leaders, so in the Nationalist
convention at Manila last August the
party bosses appointed a Nominating
Committee to prepare list of "a men
for Senators and then asked the 500
delegates from all over the archipelago
to proclaim the list as the party's official
senatorial ticket.
Delegates rebelled at first but when
word was passed around that the list
had Quezon's approval, they meekly
bowed to the superior judgment.
The official list was composed of tried
and true Quezonites. 1t included Que
IONS longtime bodyguard When the
independent press suddenly began print
ing stories about Caligula, who made his
horse a proconsul, the bodyguards S
name was withdrawn.
One reason why Quezonites are
anxious that only Quezon men should
be elected to the new Congress, particu-
larly the Senate, is that they expect
Don Manuel to return to the presidency
in 1916. Quezonites must control the
Legislature during his two years absence
from the presidency. Some Quezonites
who do not want independence hope
to see him run for the presidency in
1945 on an anti-independence platform
against Osmena, currently the most ar
dent Philippine independentist.
In this election campaign about to
end Quezon ran on his impressive six
year record as chief executive. He did
not bother to make speeches for himself,
but his followers pointed to many new
roads, bridges and buildings and to
recently enacted social justice laws. He
also ran on his party platform providing
for adherence to the independence-in-
1916 program, but he told voters that
independence was now in the hands of
no one man or one country but in the
laps OF the gods. pointing to the uncer-
tainty of the international situation.
However. his running mate, Osmena,
promised independence in 1916 at any
cost.
During the last three months of cam
paigning World War II was relegated to
the background.
The Popular Front party has two pres
idential candidates. The partys conser-
vative wing is running old, ailing Juan
Sumulong, longtime brains of the op-
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