Laurel Joins Aquino Campaign : Marcos Foes End Rift; He Picks Critic for No. 2 Spot

Corazon Aquino and former Sen. Salvador Laurel today announced that Laurel will run for vice president on a ticket she will head, ending a split in the opposition that had threatened to torpedo any serious challenge to President Ferdinand E. Marcos in the Feb. 7 election.

The announcement came hours after Marcos, duly nominated by his party for another term, chose maverick Assemblyman Arturo Tolentino as his running mate in the presidential election that Marcos hopes will blunt criticism of his 20-year-old government.

The ticket with Aquino, the widow of assassinated opposition leader Benigno S. Aquino Jr., and Laurel is considered by many Filipinos as the strongest possible opposition team.

Last-Minute Decision

The two filed for their united candidacy at the national election headquarters one hour before the filing deadline.

“Someone has to make the sacrifice and I decided to make it,” said Laurel, 57, head of the nation’s largest opposition coalition. “It was necessary to have a united opposition to topple the dictatorship.

“It’s going to be a Cory-Doy ticket,” Laurel said, referring to the candidates by their nicknames.

The announcement came three days after Laurel announced his own presidential candidacy, rejecting an offer from Aquino to join her--reportedly because she refused to run under the banner of his conservative United National Democratic Organization.

But Aquino finally signed as a candidate for the party. The agreement came after the two met with Manila’s Roman Catholic Cardinal Jaime L. Sin.

“I’m very grateful to Doy for this very great sacrifice,” Aquino said.

Surprise Nominee

Marcos’ nomination by a conference of his New Society Movement was guaranteed, but 75-year-old Tolentino was a surprise choice for the vice presidential nomination.

Marcos, 68, fired Tolentino as foreign minister earlier this year after he repeatedly criticized Marcos’ law-making powers and economic policies.

Tolentino told the more than 8,600 party delegates today that his selection was “a pleasant surprise.”

“I have been called by some columnists a more effective critic of the president than even the opposition itself, and for this reason I thought I was far away from being selected as his running mate,” he said.

Observers said Tolentino, a lawyer and expert on constitutional law, could boost Marcos’ credibility because he has a reputation for honesty.

Opposition leaders ridiculed Tolentino’s selection, saying it indicates Marcos is desperate to win the election. One called Tolentino “the quintessential chameleon” for his ability to damn and then praise Marcos.

Enthusiastic Supporters

Marcos was carried into the hotel ballroom on the shoulders of supporters and was nominated by acclamation.

Last month, when he issued a surprise call for the special election, he said it would settle doubts at home and abroad about his popularity. He originally said he would run alone, but later announced he would restore the vice presidency, abolished in 1972 when he began eight years of martial law.

The governing party’s platform, read before the 8,642 listed delegates, defended the presence of U.S. military bases in the Philippines and called for full military action and economic development to put down a growing Communist insurgency.