Race to the Finish in the Philippines.(Brief Article)

Byline: Joe Cochrane, With Marites Vitug

A few months ago Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was on the ropes. The Philippine leader's presidency was beset by a stagnant economy, a tumbling currency, terrorist attacks and Muslim and communist insurgencies. Her hopes for a second term seemed even dimmer after she was challenged by Fernando Poe Jr., an action-movie hero who polled well among the country's 20 million-plus lower-class voters. Given that Filipinos elected Joseph Estrada, another B-movie actor, their president six years ago, the Poe campaign was no empty threat. Says Dindo Manhit, the actor's national campaign manager, "[His support]is a reaction to the frustrations of millions of Filipinos who are sick of the traditional political leadership."

But the incumbent has staged a remarkable comeback, only days before the May 10 presidential vote. After narrowing the race to a statistical dead heat, Arroyo pulled ahead of Poe by three points in mid-April opinion ...