The Philippines Cory Shows a Steely Side

By William E. Smith

"We need a fresh start." With that, a beleaguered President Corazon Aquino moved decisively this week to counter a growing sense that her government was foundering badly. In a brief national television appearance Sunday, Aquino announced that she had asked for the resignations of her entire Cabinet. Among those forced out: Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile, who with increasing boldness has recently opposed Aquino's policy of seeking a negotiated end to the country's 17-year-old Communist insurgency. The President then announced that she had appointed Deputy Defense Minister Rafael Ileto, a West Point graduate and former Ambassador to Iran and Thailand, to succeed Enrile. Said the President: "I hereby give notice to all those who may be inclined to exploit the present situation that the sternest measures will be taken against them if they try."

Aquino's stunning action capped a fortnight of public protest and violence unmatched since the former housewife took office nine months ago. Only days after the leftist trade-union leader Rolando Olalia and his driver were brutally murdered, a right-wing former National Assemblyman, David Puzon, was ambushed and shot to death in a hail of automatic-weapons fire. A leading Japanese businessman was kidnaped while returning home from a round of golf. A bomb exploded in a Manila department store, injuring 13 people. Finally, at week's end Ulbert Ulama Tugung, a prominent Muslim ally of the President's, was slain outside a hotel in the capital.

Rumors began circulating in Manila that unnamed politicians, assumed to be allied with former President Ferdinand Marcos, Enrile and elements in the military, planned to reconvene illegally the national assembly that Aquino disbanded after her accession. As word of the presumed minicoup spread, armed forces Chief of Staff General Fidel Ramos moved to block it, ordering his commanders to "disregard" any orders that might come from the Defense Ministry. At Ramos' direction, government troops in trucks and armored vehicles lined the street leading to the presidential palace in Manila and secured key radio and television stations.

On Sunday afternoon Aquino summoned Enrile and Vice President Salvador Laurel to her Malacanang Palace residence. After a 25-minute session Enrile emerged smiling and waved at bystanders but made no comment. Ninety minutes later Aquino went on television to announce that the Defense Minister had stepped down. She also declared, "We shall be acting on the other resignations in the next few days," and emphasized that Ramos "has taken preventive measures against the recklessness of some elements in the military." Ileto became the first member of the new Cabinet to be sworn in. Lest anyone miss the point, Ramos issued a statement through a palace spokesman declaring that the "New Armed Forces of the Philippines stands behind the present government of President Aquino."

For days backers of the ousted Defense Minister had seethed after Philippine leftists took to the streets in a massive demonstration of pro-Aquino, anti- Enrile sentiment to mark Olalia's funeral. On Thursday a huge but orderly procession for the slain labor leader wound for miles through the streets of Manila. Waving red flags and placards, a crowd of more than 100,000 followed a flower-bedecked truck bearing the coffins of Olalia and his driver. J.V. Bautista, a leader of the leftist Bayan political coalition, hinted that Marcos backers might have been responsible for Olalia's death. But he spoke for many when he added, "That doesn't mean that Enrile is not involved."

, Evidence surfaced last week of pressure on Aquino from the Defense Minister and a small group of army officers known as the Reform the Armed Forces Movement. The group was formed in March 1985 to counter the corruption within the military that had flourished under Marcos, who last week learned that his plans to move from Hawaii to Switzerland had been blocked by the Swiss government. Senior military sources disclosed that armed forces commanders, including Ramos, had given the President a letter proposing that she delegate all authority concerning national security to the Defense Minister and asking for her answer by Jan. 6. In addition, the commanders, whose political goals differ from those of the Enrile group, presented Aquino with a list of further demands. Among them: the dismissal of several ministers reputed to be incompetent, corrupt or too far to the left, and a tougher line against the Communists.

Earlier in the week Aquino seemed to harden her stance against the rebels, who have refused to discuss a cease-fire since Olalia's murder. Said the President: "We shall never be slaves again -- not to the Communists, who did nothing to help us recover our democracy, nor to the sad remnants of the right who hanker to be our masters again." In the next six weeks the President must continue to reassert her authority in a way that will satisfy the nation and dissipate the rebellious mood within the armed forces.

Aquino's goal will be to get past Feb. 2, when her countrymen will vote on whether to ratify the new constitution, which strengthens the powers of the presidency. Increasingly, the future stability of her government depends on Ramos. The popular professional soldier has dramatically proved his loyalty to Aquino, but he has also made known his deep concerns about the country's security.

With reporting by Richard Hornik/Manila