When Fidel Ramos was president, in 1992-98, he used to lament that outsiders often regard elections in the Philippines as a kind of carnival. In fact they are not just serious but sometimes lethal, as demonstrated by a terrible massacre this week on the southern island of Mindanao (see below). Even so, the parade of characters who have applied to register as candidates for president includes one whose ambition is to be emperor of the world and another who can crow like a rooster. The Commission on Elections will probably reject such people as "nuisance" candidates after the deadline for registration on December 1st. That would still leave a wide field of candidates generous-spirited voters might deem "serious".
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