Yesterday, the members of the Assembly were elected to create the impression that the old representative system is being restored. There is, however, nothing farther from the truth. There was no election, nor had the members of the Assembly been selected. The central government through the Kalibapi—or vice-versa—sent to each electoral district the name of the candidate who was to be vested with a particle of popular sovereignty. The officials of each province and municipality then met, going through the motion of electing their representatives, each one voting for the pre-selected candidate with complete agreement and surprising discipline. There could not have been a more peaceful election ever held in the Philippines—no meetings, no campaigns, no waste of money. Only fifty-four representatives were elected. The other fifty-four were representatives by virtue of their office as governors and mayors.
Juan Labrador
Spanish member of the Order of Preachers; Rector of Colegio de San Juan de Letran.
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