Abstract
THE PHILIPPINES has just survived the fourth presidential election since independence. It was a wild spending spree, in long-standing Filipino tradition. Pre-election violence (mostly personal quarrels with a seasonal flavor--in only a few towns was violence organized with political intent) was given wide publicity and votebuying was rampant, but the freedom and honesty of the balloting itself and the tallying process were well-protected in almost all precincts. Therefore, despite some peculiarly Philippine pyrotechnics which we shall shortly chronicle, the election of Diosdado (God given) Macapagal as the fifth president of the Republic marked a substantial step in the direction of perfecting Philippine democracy, a democracy already nearer the Western model than any other political system in Southeast Asia. The Philippines is now the only country in Asia which has twice witnessed the transfer of power to the opposition party through constitutional processes.
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