Philippines Elections

More than 20 million voters jammed polling places today to elect the members of the first independent congress in the Philippines in more than 15 years. Long lines formed soon after the polls opened at 7 a.m., and election officials forecast delays, both in the time it will take everyone to vote and in the official count. Official results of the races for a new 24-member Senate and a 200-seat House of Representatives may not be known for several days, election officials said.

Filipinos on Monday appeared set to elect as president the son of late democracy icon Corazon Aquino in an attempt to turn a corner on long years of alleged graft and election fraud. Sen. Benigno Aquino III held a commanding lead with votes from just under 80% of precincts tallied nationwide. He led a nine-candidate presidential race with 40% of the vote, followed by his closest rival, former President Joseph Estrada, who had 25%. Officials say it could take several days to proclaim an outright winner.

For 30 of his 42 years, Leopoldo Ruiz has stood over a grimy worktable in a ramshackle hut in a hidden corner of this central Philippine city, drilling, filing, polishing and perfecting his handmade instruments of death. Just as his father did for 20 years before him, Ruiz has spent 14 hours a day, seven days a week, making near-perfect counterfeits of brand-name .22-caliber revolvers, .38-caliber Smith & Wesson Police Specials and Colt .45 revolvers.

Tens of millions of Filipinos flocked to the polls Monday to elect a new president amid widespread violence and flaws with ballot-counting machines that many blamed on the corrupt politics that has plagued the archipelago under outgoing President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Officials confirmed election-related violence at more than 80 polling places nationwide including bombings, shootouts, abductions and the burning of voting machines. At least a half-dozen people were killed and eight were wounded, they said.

Eleven days before voters go to the polls, the Philippine presidential campaign remains remarkably muddied, with four of the seven candidates locked in a tight race marked by bitter name-calling, wild intrigues and strong partisanship by a key Catholic leader. None of the four candidates--businessman Eduardo Cojuangco Jr., House Speaker Ramon V. Mitra, former Defense Secretary Fidel V.

Overshadowed by the brass bands and bunting, banners and balloons on this first rowdy weekend of the Philippines' 90-day national election campaign, a billboard erected at a major Manila intersection is perhaps the best sign of the times in this troubled land. "Thou Shalt Not Kill--Keep the Election Safe," it reads. That is a daunting challenge as the nation that overthrew dictator Ferdinand E.

A political widow who led a popular revolution. A West Point-educated general who became a civilian politician. And now, if early exit polls prove true, a movie actor stands poised to become the third elected Philippine president since the fall of dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos in 1986. Final results in Monday's national elections are not expected for at least 10 days. But exit polls conducted by broadcast media here showed former actor Joseph Estrada, 61, holding a commanding lead.

Twelve days after ballots were cast, administration candidate Fidel V. Ramos appeared to hold a commanding lead today in the still-unresolved Philippine presidential race, but the tedious count is raising concerns over the integrity of the result. With 55% of precincts reporting, the West Point-educated former defense secretary had widened his lead to more than 860,000 votes over business tycoon Eduardo Cojuangco Jr.

THE DREADED "CHARACTER ISSUE" EXPLODED ONTO MANILA'S FRONT PAGES SHORTLY AFter the Philippine presidential race began this spring. Unlike in America, it wasn't a cheesy supermarket tabloid but the outgoing president, Corazon Aquino, who blew the whistle on sex and politics. Without naming names, she implied on a radio show that some of the candidates campaigning to succeed her had been unfaithful to their wives. She urged the next president to focus on affairs of state, not the heart.

Moving to end growing political uncertainty here, former Defense Secretary Fidel V. Ramos, who once helped extinguish Philippine democracy and later helped restore it, finally claimed victory Saturday in the bitterly fought May 11 presidential election and pledged to "bridge the gaps that divide us."

Reporting from Seoul and Zamboanga City, Philippines -- Twenty-four people were found dead in the southern Philippines after scores of gunmen on Monday kidnapped a caravan of supporters accompanying a woman en route to file her husband's nomination papers to run for provincial governor, authorities said. Officials called the attack a politically motivated massacre. Many of the victims were beheaded and buried in shallow graves. The victims -- at least 13 of them women -- reportedly included a dozen local journalists covering the filing that marked the start of the Philippine election season.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, seeking the legitimacy that has eluded her since she took over as president three years ago, was narrowly leading challenger Fernando Poe Jr. in early returns today. The voting was marred by violence, as at least 20 people died in election-related incidents Sunday and Monday, authorities said. Most of the deadly disputes occurred as local candidates campaigned.

Citizens in the southern Philippines went to the polls to vote on whether to expand a Muslim autonomous area that the central government hopes could heal decades of bloody rebellion. Thousands of troops were on alert against possible attacks by Muslim guerrillas, but there were no reports of violence, officials said. Full results are not expected for a week, but early returns suggested the measure's defeat. A watchdog group said turnout was low.

Ousted Philippine President Joseph Estrada voted from detention Monday in elections seen as a referendum on his successor, who was swept to power by street protests four months ago. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was sworn in Jan. 20 as Estrada packed to leave the presidential palace amid a political crisis over corruption allegations. Political analysts say Arroyo's coalition candidates need a strong showing in the race for 13 of the Senate's 24 seats.

An explosion ripped through a crowded campaign rally in jailed former President Joseph Estrada's home district Thursday, injuring 13 people. The rally in the San Juan district of Manila was being held for candidates of the Liberal Party, part of the government's ruling "people power" coalition, ahead of Monday's local and congressional elections. The explosion came from under a vehicle delivering food to the crowd as fireworks were being set off, said Jesus Dancel, a local police officer.

A political widow who led a popular revolution. A West Point-educated general who became a civilian politician. And now, if early exit polls prove true, a movie actor stands poised to become the third elected Philippine president since the fall of dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos in 1986. Final results in Monday's national elections are not expected for at least 10 days. But exit polls conducted by broadcast media here showed former actor Joseph Estrada, 61, holding a commanding lead.

Agonizingly slow counting of more than 25 million ballots led to growing suspense and controversy today as an outspoken former judge and political newcomer held a tenuous lead in early returns against outgoing President Corazon Aquino's personal choice in the bitterly fought Philippine presidential race.

Orlando Dulay was relaxing at his poolside cabana, playing with his pet rabbits, chatting with some small-time political bosses and military friends who had dropped in. He smiled as he discussed the charges of murder, kidnaping and torture pending against him. Two days earlier, last Tuesday, the Supreme Court in Manila had ordered that Dulay be arrested immediately for "heinous" crimes against the people.

The spirited Philippine national election campaign officially ended here the day before. But in Roman Catholic churches across the Philippine archipelago Sunday morning, priests combined Mother's Day sermons with final appeals to the country's 34 million voters to elect "clean and moral" leadership. "Let God's goodness and guts be victorious over guns and goons," one priest announced from the pulpit in a nationally televised morning Mass.

Former First Lady Imelda Marcos formally ended her on-again, off-again campaign for president and threw her support behind front-runner Joseph Estrada. Marcos faces up to 12 years in prison on a graft conviction, and some analysts speculated that she gave her support to Estrada in exchange for a promise of a presidential pardon. She denied that, saying, "I will not accept clemency." Polls had placed Marcos near the bottom of the heap for Monday's balloting.