Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, May 11, 1995 TAG: 9505110106
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-17 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: MANILA, PHILIPPINES LENGTH: Medium
President Fidel Ramos' coalition was leading in 10 of 12 Senate races as counting continued from Monday's national elections.
Calling that a ``fresh mandate,'' he promised Wednesday to pass measures to create jobs and revise tax laws, even though election violence that killed 40 people undercut claims that the Philippines was ready for social change.
An explosion late Tuesday demolished a town hall in the southern province of Maguindanao where votes were being counted. Thirteen people were reported injured and nine ballot boxes destroyed.
One of the country's largest newspapers, the Philippine Daily Inquirer, said the violence ``gave lie to claims of government officials declaring the latest polls peaceful and orderly.''
Ramos was elected in 1992 with the smallest mandate in Philippine history. The unofficial National Movement for Free Elections - NAMFREL - reported coalition candidates leading in all but two of the 12 contested Senate races.
Ramos also claimed his allies were leading for 183 of 204 House seats as well as 68 of 76 provincial governorships.
Imelda Marcos has tried to build a political career of her own since returning from Hawaii, where she and her late husband, dictator Ferdinand Marcos, fled after a popular uprising in February 1986.
She got a boost Tuesday when election officials, who had disqualified her on residency grounds, reversed themselves and said any candidate could take office if they won.
Imelda Marcos was on the verge of victory Wednesday from a tiny district on her home island of Leyte with 64 percent of the vote over incumbent Rep. Cerilio Montejo and a third candidate. Seventy percent of the ballots had been counted.
Her son, Ferdinand ``Bongbong'' Marcos Jr., was trailing in the Senate race after opponents of his father, including former President Corazon Aquino and Roman Catholic church leaders, vigorously campaigned against him.
With 27 percent of the precincts reporting, NAMFREL said Marcos Jr. stood 17th in the Senate contest. Senators are elected nationwide.
The 37-year-old Marcos claimed he had been cheated.
``The opposition believes the administration and its allies have prepared the ground for massive fraud,'' he told reporters.
NAMFREL showed only one opposition Senate candidate, Miriam Defensor Santiago, with a comfortable lead. Santiago narrowly lost to Ramos in the 1992 election. The 12th-place candidate was former Lt. Col. Gregorio ``Gringo'' Honasan, who led three coup attempts against Corazon Aquino.
On Thursday, however, the Philippine Daily Inquirer said nationwide exit polls conducted by the respected Social Weather Stations showed four opposition candidates - Marcos, Santiago, Honasan and Nikki Coseteng - could finish among the top 12.
Keywords:
FATALITY
by CNB