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Nobody was surprised when the Nacionalista machine rolled back into office. But Manuel Quezon was disappointed. Instead of the 100% victory he had hoped for, he nosed out his nearest opponent, Juan Sumulong, by a piddling 7-to-1. Even bigger than Quezon's majority was the landslide vote for Vice President Sergio Osmeña.
Last year, as his six-year term was running out, Quezon held a plebiscite to amend the Constitution so that he could succeed himself. The President's term is now four years—but he can serve only eight years in succession. In 1943, halfway through the term he won last week, President Quezon will have to give up his office, wait two years before he can run again. It was to bridge this gap without losing his grip on the Philippines that Manuel Quezon wanted a flood-tide victory for his Nacionalista cohorts. This week Quezon's hectic flush was not entirely due to his illness. For the man who got the biggest vote was the Vice President who will succeed him in 1943, slant-eyed, mannerly Sergio Osmeña.