The Philippines Two Small Steps Forward

By Louisa Wright

Shortly after dawn late last week, the ramrod-stiff figure of General Fabian Ver, the armed forces Chief of Staff, arrived at a govern ment office building in downtown Manila to surrender himself. Two days earlier the Tanodbayan--a four-member panel of ombudsmen--had indicted Ver, 24 other members of the military and one civil ian for their alleged involvement in the 1983 murders of Opposition Leader Benigno ("Ninoy") Aquino Jr. and of Rolando Galman, the man said by the military to have killed Aquino. Ver brought $1,600 to post as bail, then left before any photographers showed up. Ver, a cousin of President Ferdinand Marcos, was once considered the second most powerful man in the Philippines. Now his authority has been seriously weakened. With Ver's indictment, the Tanodbayan supported the findings of last fall's majority report of the Agrava board, which had been appointed by the government to investigate the deaths of Aquino and Galman. Four of the five members of the commission--all except Chairwoman Corazon Agrava--had implicated the same 26 men who were indicted last week. Ver and the officer he assigned to investigate the killing, Major General Prospero Olivas, were among eight men named by the Tanodbayan as accessories for their part in concealing evidence of the crime.

The panel's findings, particularly in regard to Ver, resulted largely from his testimony to the Agrava board last April. According to the Tanodbayan report, that testimony was found "to be of doubtful veracity or at times . . . false." In addition to those named as accessories, 17 soldiers, including Aquino's military escorts and Brigadier General Luther Custodio, who was responsible for security at Manila airport, were charged as principals in the conspiracy and ordered held without bail. Herminio Gosuico, a Manila businessman, was named as an accomplice. Said Agapito ("Butz") Aquino, 45, younger brother of the slain opposition leader: "What is lacking is the mastermind."

The indictments were not unexpected; if the panel had decided that the 26 men should not be prosecuted, there would likely have been a national outcry. Conviction, however, is another matter. The accused will be arraigned this week and their joint trial may begin shortly thereafter. As many as 26 lawyers are expected to cross-examine witnesses before the three judges of the Sandiganbayan. "This is just a preview to a whitewash," said a Manila businessman after the indictments. Aquilino Pimentel, leader of the Democratic Party, has called Ver's indictment a ploy "to get acquitted and prevent any further charges against him." Said a member of Marcos' Cabinet: "If Ver ever gets reinstated, it will only be for two weeks, and it will only be to save face. So after that, he will be retired."

In the meantime the anti-Marcos forces received a boost last week when another exiled opposition leader, former Senator Jovito Salonga, 62, returned from a four-year stay in the U.S. The government had taken some of the drama from his arrival, first by dropping the subversion charges against him only two days before his homecoming, and then by inviting Salonga's family to participate with the military and other civilians in enforcing tight security precautions at the airport. Said General Hermilo Ahorro, deputy police chief: "It all went very smoothly this time."

Salonga is described by supporters as one of the few figures who might be able to bridge the gap between moderates and radicals in the opposition, a division that has long weakened the anti-Marcos effort. Blind in one eye, deaf in one ear and carrying 100 pieces of shrapnel in his body as the legacy of a political bombing in 1971, Salonga has denied any intention of running in the next presidential election, due in 1987, unless he is drafted. Still, his modesty is usually discounted and his name included on the increasingly crowded list of would-be candidates.

Calls for unity among opposition leaders multiplied in recent weeks after Marcos was reported to be in ill health, but that goal seems as illusory as ever. Bad feelings linger from the split highlighted during last year's elections, which some opposition parties participated in and others boycotted. The most comprehensive unity plan was signed last month by nine of the eleven major opposition leaders. Two pivotal figures, Assembly Member Eva Estrada Kalaw and former Senator Salvador Laurel, refused to sign the document, which outlined a platform and a nominating procedure in case of Marcos' sudden demise. Kalaw, leader of one wing of the Liberal Party (Salonga heads the other wing), objected to the "undemocratic process" by which the presidential nominees would be chosen. Laurel, president of the opposition umbrella group UNIDO (United Nationalist Democratic Organization), disagreed with a clause demanding the removal of U.S. military bases from the country in the absence of a plebiscite on the issue.

Salonga has staked out a middle ground on such divisive questions. Shortly after his arrival, he noted that the current base agreement expires in 1991. "If we comply with the agreement, there is nothing sensational about the demand to have the bases taken out," he said. On the proposed legalization of the Communist Party of the Philippines, Salonga was again conciliatory. Said he, in a sentence that neatly framed the aspirations of moderates opposing the government that they hold responsible for Aquino's death: "There should be open ventilation of all opinions--except violence."

With reporting by Sandra Burton and Nelly Sindayen/Manila