Candidate Against Marcos
By 1981, Santos had mostly retired from political life, devoting his activity to veteran's affairs. It came as a surprise when he agreed to run for President against Ferdinand Marcos in the 1981 elections. The elections were called shortly after Marcos lifted the nine-year old declaration of martial law while retaining authoritarian powers at the same time, and were seen as a means of maintaining the veneer of democracy, especially in the international community. However, the anti-Marcos political opposition, which felt it was cheated out of victory in the 1978 parliamentary elections, refused to participate in the presidential elections and successfully called for a boycott. Santos' candidacy, ostensibly under the banner of the then-moribund Nacionalista party, provided Marcos with at least one other candidate he could run against. Santos, as the sole opponent of Marcos, did not offer a vigorous campaign, and he was trounced in the election, garnering only 8% of the vote as against Marcos's 88%.
Santos died just three years later and was buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani. A camp of the Philippine National Police in Bulacan is named after Santos.
Read more about this topic: Alejo Santos
Famous quotes containing the words candidate and/or marcos:
“The candidate tells us we are the “backbone of the State,” and we know that it is true, not because we are possessed of certain endowed virtues, but because we are a majority and have the vote.”
—Federal Writers’ Project Of The Wor, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)
“I get so tired listening to one million dollars here, one million dollars there, it’s so petty.”
—Imelda Marcos (b. 1929)