Screen-action hero trying to oust Arroyo in Philippines election

By Paul Alexander
The Associated Press

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo

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Some Filipinos are calling today's election "Da King vs. The Queen" — screen-action hero Fernando Poe Jr. against Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the tough-minded, hands-on president who led recent opinion polls by six percentage points.

	Fernando Poe Jr.

The race comes against a backdrop of rampant poverty, long-running communist and Muslim insurgencies, and worries that terrorists are training in the restive Muslim south.

Under Arroyo, this one-time U.S. colony is one of the staunchest Asian backers of the war on terror, even though it has cost the president her left-wing support.

Poe refuses to do interviews or news conferences but has shown no inclination to weaken the U.S. alliance.

However, he has been endorsed by Vice President Teofisto Guingona, who split with Arroyo when she allowed U.S. troops into the country to train Philippine forces in fighting terrorists.

The candidates Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Age: 56. Daughter of late President Diosdado Macapagal and classmate of former President Clinton at Georgetown University. Served as a trade undersecretary under President Corazon Aquino in the 1980s. Won Senate seat in 1992. Elected vice president in 1998; served as President Joseph Estrada's social-welfare secretary. Sworn in as president when Estrada was forced to step down amid anti-corruption protests in January 2001. Fernando Poe Jr. Age: 64. Son of popular actor Fernando Poe Sr. and Elizabeth Kelley, an American. Family prospered until father died of rabies. Poe had to drop out of high school to help support family. Became full-time actor in 1950s, specializing in underdog hero roles. Formed own movie company for which he has produced, directed and starred. — The Associated Press

Poe, 64, had to fight off a court challenge to his citizenship and therefore his eligibility to run for president. He was born in the Philippines, but out of wedlock, to an American mother and the son of a Spanish national.

A high-school dropout and a political neophyte, he has solid support among the poor, who love his screen persona of strong, silent and fast-punching champion of the oppressed.

Poe is banking on the 40 percent of the 84 million population who live on less than $1 a day. His candidacy has unsettled the markets, which fear a repeat of Estrada's failed presidency.

Poe has relied in his campaign almost solely on his star power, holding rallies featuring the scantily clad Sex Bomb Dancers and a coterie of actors, musicians and sports stars.

Arroyo, 56, a former economics professor, has portrayed herself as a troubleshooter but has been stymied by the deep political divisions, poverty and security problems that have made the Philippines an economic laggard in Southeast Asia.

She is symbolic of the country's elite as the daughter of the late President Diosdado Macapagal, and she too had to fight off legal challenges to the legality of her campaign.

She became president when her movie-star predecessor, Joseph Estrada, was ousted in a mass uprising halfway through his six-year term. Since she was unelected, she didn't fall under the constitutional ban on presidents seeking re-election.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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