Evening star., 1946-04-24
0smena Claims Lead
In Count Of Vote for
President
BY the Associotsd Press

~HAAA - SSA@SAAO
Sergio Osmena claimed today to
have forged into the lead for
President of the Philippines on
unofiicial returns from Pam
panga Province, where two of
his stanchest supporters were
killed and a third wounded by
three masked men.
Senate President Manuel RoXas
rolled up $4,000 lead in Manila on
the basis Of unofficlal returns from
54l of the city's 57l precincts. but
Osmena headquarters claimed the
President led in Pampanga Province
alone by $1,000
No figures were available for the
perennial candidate, Hilario Mon
cado
Osmenas managers claimed VIC
tory was certain and that he would
show decisive majorities in Pam
panga, Cebu and Nueva Ecija
Provinces.
Reports of Count Delayed.
More than l4,O0O precincts voted
yesterday throughout the islands,
but disrupted communications
slowed reports except in Manila.
One Osmena spokesman said the
election might be so close that the
outcome could depend on returns
from an isolated province like Ba-
tanes, between Luzon and Formosa
1t is SO remote that it received it's
registration forms month after the
remainder OF the territory had reg
istered.
Returns from two heavily popu-i
lated Luzon provinces, Pangasinan
and Batangas, bolstered this opin-
ion. Rival factions there each
elected one representative Pang-
asinan has the highest registration
total in the Philippines, exceeding
even metropolitan Manila.
1t was at Bacolor in Panpanga
that the three masked men shot and
killed Edilberto Joven, 81, president
OF the Pampanga Democratic Al
lance. and Ricardo Joven, 20, his
son. Edilberto's brother, Francisco
Joven 55, was wounded The Al
lance strongly supported Osmena.
1t. Antonio Reyes, Bacolor MP COM
mandant, is investigating.
Cebu Claimed for Osmena.
President Osmena's home island
OF Cebu, his headquarters said, gave
him better than a two-to-one ma
jority in early returns from II of
So districts, rolling up 1887 for
Osmega to 6,635 for Roxas.
Gov. Mariana Romano of Nueva
Ecija meanwhile registered an off,
cial protest with the Secretary of
the Interior, charging that "a guer-
rilla organization supporting Roxas"
raided polling places in Gapan, Sta
rosa and Guimba districts and car
ried off eight ballot boxes which
would have Tailed heavily for Os-
mena." He asked reinforced mill
tary police detail to prevent Vo-
lence.
One Manila newspaper report also
said 300 armed men had seized one
precinct in Nueva Ecija Province
ISOAdS. o1, lOllS -tllllc pOllIlCdI llR-
ure in the commonwealth govern
ment, remained in hiding. His sec
retary said reports had spread that
an attempt would be made to kid
nap him. Grounds of his residence
were guarded by Philippine troops
last night.
President Osmena, 68, and a life
long political leader in the islands,
succeeded the late Manuel L. Que
zon as President. Previously topping
Quezon on the Philippines political
scene, President Osmena stepped
down a notch in the mid-1930s
when voters favored Quezon's inde-
pendence ideas over OsmenaS.
Quiet, unassuming, rather color
less in public life. President Osmenai
has afforded voters a sharp contrast
with the more vivid and eloquent
RoXas.
The winner in their race will be
President of the republic of the
Philippines, scheduled to be estab-
lished on July when independence
from the limited States iS aphieved