Challenge to the "New Era" in Philippine Politics

T HE RESULTS OF THE PHILIPPINE off-year election of November i963 hardly had been tabulated when the maneuvering for the i965 presidential election moved into high gear in a manner unprecedented even in the volatile climate of Philippine politics. In part this was because the i963 election, as will be seen, was to a considerable extent a direct test of the political strength of President Diosdado Macapagal, and provided an unusually clear indication of the issues that will dominate the i965 campaign. This might seem strange in that the only national positions filled in i963 were eight seats in the Senate, the rest of the voting being for candidates for municipal and provincial offices.' Nevertheless, the principal political developments since the i963 election can be explained only in terms of, and in large measure are directly attributable to, the outcome of that election. To understand the current political scene in the Philippines requires, therefore, an examination of the i963 campaign and also a brief survey of political developments during the New Era, as the Macapagal administration is known. When Filipinos went to the polls in November i96i, they put an end to eight years of Nacionalista rule that began in I953 with the election to the presidency of the now legendary Ramon Magsaysay. After Magsaysay's death, his successor, Carlos P. Garcia, won the presidential election of I957 but lost the i96i race to the Liberal Party nominee, Macapagal. The electorate engaged in extensive ticket-splitting in i96i, however, and the Nacionalistas managed to retain control of both houses of Congress despite Garcia's defeat. It was the first time in Philippine politics that one party had failed to capture the executive and the legislative branches in a presidential election year.2 Macapagal had to weather a number of problems prior to his inauguration on December 30, i96i. For one thing, President Garcia refused to concede defeat, and it was rumored that the Nacionalista-controlled Con

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