U.S. Restricts Marcos Over Alleged Anti-Aquino Plot

WASHINGTON â€”  The Reagan Administration confined Ferdinand E. Marcos to the Hawaiian island of Oahu after the former Philippine president was overheard plotting with purported arms dealers to overthrow the government of President Corazon Aquino and take her hostage, it was announced Wednesday.

The order--which amounts to “island arrest,� a modified form of house arrest--was issued Monday and prohibits Marcos from leaving Oahu without permission of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. He has been living on the island, in a hillside home overlooking Honolulu, since shortly after he was ousted by Aquino’s “people power� revolution in February, 1986.

According to a transcript of one conversation, tape-recorded last May, Marcos talked about returning to the Philippines on July 10 to be met by a friendly force of 10,000 men. On the tape, obtained by Rep. Stephen J. Solarz (D-N.Y.), Marcos sought to purchase tanks, Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, rocket-propelled grenade anti-tank weapons, armored personnel carriers, 90-millimeter recoilless rifles, M-16 assault rifles and enough ammunition to last for three months.

Solarz, chairman of the Asia and Pacific subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, scheduled a hearing for today during which the tape recordings will be played and the two men who made them will be questioned. A spokesman for Solarz identified the men only as American citizens who will testify under oath. He said one of the men told Marcos that he was an arms dealer and the other said he was the attorney for a Saudi Arabian prince from whom Marcos hoped to borrow between $18 million and $25 million.

Administration sources said the two men never intended to carry out their part of the bargain with Marcos but had hoped to trick him into giving them money. The sources said federal investigators also have obtained copies of the tapes.

The sources said the men turned the recordings over to federal agents in an attempt to reduce their own problems with the government. The sources would not identify the individuals or specify their problems.

Officials emphasized that the government had no involvement in the taping. “It was not done with our knowledge, encouragement or participation,� one source said.

On the tapes, Marcos boasted of his collateral for the loan he sought from the unnamed Saudi prince. He said it included Swiss bank accounts, Manhattan real estate and a secret cache of 1,000 tons of gold in the Philippines.

Marcos was overheard saying that his wealth was underestimated by the present Philippine government.

“They think in terms of 200 to 300 tons (of gold) . . . but not a thousand. . . . That’s why we couldn’t dispose of it,� he said.

Plan to Capture Aquino

Marcos said he planned to take Aquino prisoner but not kill her.

“What I would like to see happen is that we take her (Aquino) hostage,� Marcos said.

The other man replied: “As hostage? In your control? Right there?

Marcos: “Yeah . . . not to hurt her . . . but if necessary forcibly take her . . . without killing her.�

Describing his ultimate objective, Marcos said, “I am going to land there, I don’t care who opposes me, . . . and if they oppose the landing, that is when we start the battle. . . . This is a go-for-broke deal.�

Marcos was notified of the restriction on his movement by officials of the State Department, the Justice Department and the Immigration and Naturalization Service. He signed the immigration service notice of the restriction but objected to an immigration official’s statement that there was reason to believe that Marcos intended “to depart from the United States, in a manner which would be prejudicial to the interests of the United States.�

Marcos wrote on the notice, “I have no such intention of departing without notice to the U.S.�

State Department spokesman Charles Redman announced the restrictions, although he described the reasons for the order only in general terms.

U.S. ‘Seriously Concerned’

“The United States is seriously concerned about indications that Mr. Marcos appeared to be seeking to destabilize the Aquino government and was contemplating a return to the Philippines without the express permission of the Philippine government,� Redman said.

Redman said Abraham D. Sofaer, the State Department legal adviser, delivered the word to Marcos on Monday in Honolulu. Sofaer was accompanied by Gregory S. Walden, associate deputy attorney general; Charles B. Salmon Jr., director of the Philippine desk at the State Department, and William W. Craig, INS district director in Hawaii.

Sofaer also gave Marcos a letter from President Reagan, Redman said. Asked to characterize the letter, the State Department spokesman said: “Basically, the President has stated from the outset that while Mr. Marcos is in the United States, he is subject to our laws, and that message was repeated.�

“Judge Sofaer conveyed to Mr. Marcos U.S. concerns about his activities which we believe violated the understanding under which he is permitted to remain as a guest in the United States,� Redman said.

15 Days to Seek Hearing

Marcos’ travel was restricted under a federal law that makes it unlawful for any alien to leave the country unless the departure conforms with immigration rules and regulations. Marcos has 15 days in which to seek a hearing before an immigration judge on the order, which otherwise becomes final.

Ordinarily, such orders are served on ships, planes or other carriers, an INS spokesman explained. But in the case of Marcos, who is believed to have access to a private plane, the order was served directly on him.

“The order has the force of law, and he can be restrained,� the spokesman said. Another source familiar with the matter said, “You can bet we’ll be keeping an eye on that (Marcos’) airplane.�

Redman also noted that Marcos “is presently barred from leaving the United States under an order issued by the federal district court in Alexandria on Feb. 11, 1987,� an order Marcos is appealing. That court held Marcos in contempt for his refusal to testify before a federal grand jury investigating allegations that U.S. military aid was illegally diverted to Marcos and his cronies.

But a Justice Department source made clear that the contempt order was only a secondary reason for the travel ban.

Cannot Be Prosecuted

Because the purported arms dealers who recorded their discussions with Marcos are suspected of falsely representing themselves, government sources said, Marcos cannot be prosecuted for seeking to purchase arms to overthrow Aquino. These sources would not comment on whether Marcos is under investigation on any related matter.

Asked if the Philippine government had requested the travel ban, Redman said the step “was done in response to our responsibilities to enforce our rules.� Although Redman continued to refer to Marcos as a “guest,� he made no effort to hide the fact that he is a guest facing a great deal of trouble with his hosts.

News reports from the Philippines have said that a series of weekend bombings there was financed with $7 million allegedly sent by Marcos to fund a coup to overthrow the Aquino government before a new Congress is seated July 27.

Marcos said Sunday in Honolulu through his spokesman that he was “packed and ready to go home� to respond to possible lawsuits against him in the Philippines.

U.S. officials visited Marcos’ estate last Jan. 28, after a mysterious Boeing 707 jet landed at Honolulu International Airport on an apparent mission to take Marcos back to Manila. He was told at the time that he would be physically restrained if he attempted to return to the Philippines.