Ruling party leads RP polls

Ruling party leads RP polls

MANILA (Agencies): Candidates loyal to President Fidel Ramos cemented their commanding lead in Philippine polls, but violence continued to rumble in the aftermath of national elections, officials said yesterday.

An officially sanctioned quick count by the private National Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL) had government candidates for the Philippine Senate holding a 10-two advantage in the 12 seats at stake in Monday's polls.

With 35 percent of the more than 170,000 precincts reporting, NAMFREL said candidates backed by Ramos held the top five spots.

Miriam Defensor-Santiago, a bitter critic of the president, appeared to be the only sure opposition winner.

The final official tally of Senate votes by the Commission on Elections, due to begin yesterday, was reset for today after no election results from the country's 72 provinces reached Manila to be counted.

Commission chief Bernardo Pardo said he expected the count to be completed within two weeks.

Troops on southern Jolo island 950 kilometers south of Manila launched a manhunt for armed followers of a local political leader who opened fire on election officials and marines bringing ballot boxes to the island.

Six marines were killed on Monday before soldiers launched an assault that killed 11 of the gunmen belonging to the Tulawie clan.

More than 70 people have been killed nationwide since the election campaign began in February, mostly because of intense rivalries among local political factions who consider public office the main means to wealth and power.

In Angeles city north of Manila, several people were injured on Wednesday by stone-throwing supporters of a losing candidate they alleged had been cheated of victory.

Meanwhile, the state election watchdog said yesterday it would now not formally certify an election victory by former first lady Imelda Marcos, who is set to win a congress seat in her eastern district.

A division of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) had earlier ruled that there were insufficient grounds to block Marcos' proclamation as winner in Leyte island, where unofficial results showed her winning by a margin of two to one.

The Comelec voted 5-2 yesterday to reverse that decision on Marcos' candidacy for the 204-member House of Representatives.

Election winners have to be formally certified by the Comelec before they can assume office.

Marcos' opponent, an ally of President Fidel Ramos, had asked the Comelec to disqualify her because she lacked the one-year residency requirement in Leyte, having spent most of the last twelve months in Manila.

But while the widow of ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos was headed for victory, her son, also named Ferdinand Marcos, looked set to fail in his bid for the senate.

Some 35 percent of precincts results have been tallied so far.

Many analysts view the Marcoses' candidacies as an attempt to vindicate their name following the late dictator's ouster in a popularly backed army uprising in 1986.

The family has been accused of plundering up to US$5 billion from their cash-strapped nation and a U.S. court last year found the late president guilty of massive human rights violations during his 20-year rule.