Bad News for Garcia

In the two years since free-spending Carlos Garcia stepped into the man-sized shoes of Philippine National Hero Ramon Magsaysay, he has used the office of the presidency to entrench himself and his Nacionalista Party. But despite enormous expenditures, Garcia failed to poll as many votes in 1957 in retaining the presidency as did Liberal Party Leader Diosdado Macapagal, 48, an old friend of Magsaysay, in winning the vice-presidency. Miffed, Carlos Garcia barred Vice President Macapagal from Cabinet meetings and isolated him from the government.

As the Philippines' economic woes have grown, Macapagal has become more and more outspoken in denouncing corruption in the Garcia regime. But effective opposition to Garcia's Nacionalistas is hamstrung by the existence of several major parties in Philippine politics. Besides Macapagal's Liberal Party, there is the Progressive Party, headed by Manny Manahan, another of the bright young men of the Magsaysay era. Somehow, Manahan and Macapagal could never agree to combine forces, and Old Pol Garcia maneuvered to keep them apart.

Last week, returning from a state visit to South Viet Nam, Garcia discovered that in his absence Macapagal and Manahan had got together, agreed to run a coalition slate against Garcia's wallowing Nacionalista regime in the Senate elections this fall. If everything goes well, Liberal-Progressives may merge completely in a year--just in time to wage a fire-breathing presidential campaign against Garcia himself.

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