World IN BRIEF : PHILIPPINES : Santiago Confident Her Lead Will Hold
Miriam Defensor Santiago expressed confidence that her early lead in the Philippine presidential tally would withstand any challenge from the other candidates to replace Corazon Aquino, who declined to seek another term. But election officials cautioned that no trend in the presidential voting will be apparent before the weekend. The latest count showed Santiago ahead with 536,644 votes, or about 27%. Former Defense Secretary Fidel V. Ramos had 461,078 votes, or about 23%. His staff expects him to eventually overtake Santiago.
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