Aquino Future in Philippines

The leaders of the failed military rebellion may never admit that they are conspirators in the plot to destabilize the government of President Aquino, instigated by Marcos die-hards, probably aided and abetted by anti-Aquino politicians of various persuasions, but it can be inferred from recent events that the coordinated operations launched by the rebels was calculated to trigger an explosion resulting from the buildup of disenchantment with the new government.

First, there was the piecemeal leakage of the overseas telephone conversation between the president and her executive secretary, Joker Arroyo, whose removal from office was demanded by the military and ousted Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile. The leakage appeared in the daily newspaper columns of Francisco Tatad, one-time minister of public information of Marcos. The conversation, which Arroyo denounced as taken from a spliced tape, tended to show that Aquino wanted to influence the Constitutional Commission to remove some provisions in the proposed charter inimical to the interests of the United States. Thus, the object of the expose was to brand Aquino as a puppet of Uncle Sam.

Second, the violent dispersal of a peasant demonstration on Jan. 22, which left 12 dead and 94 wounded, was done by the Philippine marines, an organization believed to be loyal to the deposed president. It may be recalled that a brigade of marines was ordered by Marcos to quell the people’s power revolution in February, 1986. Whether the action of the marines was normal in the face of a clear and present danger to their safety, or it was a deliberate attempt to cause more people to withdraw their support from the Aquino government, is anybody’s guess. A bigger and potentially more violent demonstration on Jan. 26 ended without a bloody confrontation. It suggests that the military overreacted, and those deaths and injuries could have been avoided.

Third, most of the principal characters in the recent drama, including the military units involved, played a part in the proclamation of a Marcos government at the Manila Hotel led by Arturo M. Tolentino, the running mate of Marcos in the presidential elections.

The hands of Marcos and his underlings are there, even if they deny it. But if Aquino can hold her government together for even six months, until the members of the new Congress are elected in May, then she shall have weathered the storm.

The sergeant quoted as saying that “in six months’ time, maybe a year, maybe there will be no more government,” may think that time is running out, but time is on the side of Aquino. The longer she stays in power, the more she can consolidate her position. Her enemies know this, and that’s why they would like to topple her government now. They released a trial balloon, but what they saw was this: the majority of the Filipinos would still like to see Aquino succeed, and they are willing to give her a chance.

ISAGANI A. TADEO

Los Angeles