The Philippines Getting Their Acts Together

Marcos names a running mate, and his foes form a joint ticket

The countdown to disaster had already begun. On Monday, Salvador ("Doy") Laurel, 57, marched into the office of the Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) and filed as a candidate in the Feb. 7 presidential election. On Wednesday, Corazon ("Cory") Aquino, 52, did the same thing. With the ink on Aquino's registration papers barely dry and with only hours remaining before the midnight filing deadline, there was only the dimmest hope that the two opposition leaders would patch up their differences and revive plans that had collapsed three days earlier to run on a single ticket. The possibility loomed that the opposition...

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