Aquino Does Well

President Corazon Aquino insisted that the plebiscite on a new constitution for the Philippines should be regarded as an endorsement of her own tenure, and on those terms she has scored an impressive personal victory. While probably few Filipinos bothered to read through the 24,000-word constitution, 80% of eligible voters did cast ballots, and preliminary returns indicate that more than 75% of them approved the new law. Aquino’s identification with the constitution aside, this represents clear support for a government committed to policies of centrism and moderation. The challenge now facing Aquino is to try to assure that these sentiments prevail.

A test will come quickly as campaigning gets under way for a bicameral national legislature. Elections are scheduled for May. The loose coalition that formed behind Aquino in her successful effort a year ago to end the dictatorship of Ferdinand E. Marcos has long since begun to fragment. As the Philippines returns to a freewheeling multi-party political system, these divisions are certain to become more intense.

The threats posed by the far left and the far right, meanwhile, have not subsided. Political extremists have little regard for the democratically expressed will of the electorate. They are interested only in power, and they recognize no legal inhibitions as they seek to acquire it. Negotiations between Communist-led insurgents and the government have collapsed, and a renewal of fighting seems imminent. The military, on its part, remains restive. A majority of the 200,000-man army seems to have expressed no confidence in Aquino by voting against the new constitution. These threats can’t be underestimated. Neither should they be seen as paralyzing. Aquino can rightly claim an unmistakable popular mandate, not least to achieve vital economic reforms. Now she must end the inertia that characterized her first year in office by showing that she knows how to use that mandate.