Evening star., 1953-11-08
Philippine Election:

MANILA.-It's hard to find any
one in Manila who will predict fatty
that Ramon Magsaysay will be
beaten in the Philippines presiden-
tial elections next Tuesday.
Magsaysay's Nacionalista Party
supporters claim their candidate is
a shoo-in if the election is free. OBJ
servers who are supposed to be i'm
partial agree. Backers of President
Elpidio Quirino, on the other hand,
remain grimly silent. juggling i'm
portant election officials the while.
Correspondents do their best to get
balanced picture, looking for hid
den Quirino advantages, but it is a
hard struggle.
The experience of this correspond
ent is typical. I had three days to
spend in Manila. First tried to see
President Quirino. His press secre-
tary was cool. The President was
very busy with the campaign, he
said. He would try to arrange an in
terview. but he was pessimistic about
the chances. I offered to go to the
President any time, ride with him in
his car from one engagement to the
neXt-anything to see him. He said
he would call me back.
Next I called Mr.. Magsaysays
headquarters. Candidate Magsaysay
was campaigning in Pangasinan
Province, about 125 miles from
Manila. MagsaySay's press office
apologized because there was no
plane to fly me to the scene. But
we can send you to the campaign
party by taxi as soon as you can get
ready" they said. I accepted
The next full day was consumed
with travel and observation of the
rigorous and triumphal Magsaysay
barrio-to-barrio (village) campaign.
BY the time got back to Manila
through baby typhoon and flood,
I had one day left in the Philip
pines. I called Malacanan, the
presidential residence, three times,
enlisted the support of the American
Embassy and the Foreign Opera
tionS Administration, which has
government-level dealings with Mr..
Quirino. American officials are in
Quirino's "doghouse" for alleged
partiality to Mr.. Magsaysay, so they
are leaning over backwards to give
Malacanan it's due. Officially they
are passionately neutral, and prob
ably will resent mention of this help
for Quirino.
The Malacanan press office polite
ly declined all the overtures. The
President was campaigning, they
said. He wasn't interested in ex-
panding his encourage to include
newspapermen.
Other correspondents have had
similar experience with Quirino. He
is hard to reach. And on the streets,
among the Filipino newSpapermen
and in the barrioS, it is hard to find
a non-government man who will say
he intends to vote for Quirino. This
largely explains the favorable Mag
saysay press.
Top Issue
The biggest issue in this torrid,
impressively western, democratic
campaign is the magnetic person.
ality of Ramon Magsaysay, known
affectionately up and down the
Philippines as "Mon-ching. The
Mon" is from his first name.
"Ching" is a Filipino sufdx of en-
dearment.
He captures the hearts of the peo-
pie who see him. I saw scores of
people, moved by his oratory, first
laugh, then cry, then laugh again
within the space of Is minutes. AS
he passes from village to village in
his small motorcade of two or three
sedans and four or five jeep loads of
ex-guerrilla bodyguardS, clusters of
people along the roadside, oblivious
of the choking dust, sing out Ma
buhay Magsaysay!" 0ong live Mag
saysayD Occasionally the people
link arms across the road and block
his way. When that happens, Mag
saysay stops, gets out of his not-too-
late-model Buick, and greets these
people. His warmth is obviously
genuine. He shakes h1nds with
most of them. If people are so eager