Word: aquinos
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When Philippine Finance Minister Jaime Ongpin returned to Manila last month after 27 days of tough bargaining in New York City, he was jubilant. With reason: the patrician Ongpin had won an impressive new financial deal from U.S. and foreign bankers for the still struggling government of President Corazon Aquino. Payments on nearly half of the country's $28.2 billion foreign debt had been rescheduled at interest rates nearly 40% lower than the banks had originally demanded, saving about $1 billion. Ongpin had also won approval for a novel method of turning some of the remaining interest into badly needed...
...last week, however, Ongpin was much less sanguine. At a Manila press conference, he announced that the Philippines might reject his hard-won arrangement. The reason: hard-pressed Argentina had reportedly secured even more favorable terms on the repayment of its staggering foreign debt. Ongpin said the Aquino government demanded further negotiations to alter a deal "based on false premises...
...change in policy toward the rebels? Aquino had reluctantly concluded that her conciliatory approach had run out of steam. Since a 60-day cease-fire ended in early February, military officials said 170 N.P.A. rebels, 115 soldiers and police and 31 civilians had been killed. Pressure from her generals and Washington was also a factor. Most Reagan Administration officials believed that she was wasting her time negotiating with the Communists...
...N.P.A. reacted to Aquino's battle cry by offering a cease-fire during Easter and the congressional elections in May, but Manila rejected the proposal. At the same time, however, many army officers faulted Aquino for not providing a comprehensive counterinsurgency plan to accompany her tough words. "We are like a dog running in circles looking for its tail," said one general. He could hardly have been comforted by Defense Minister Rafael Ileto's announcement last week that he planned to keep 40% of the military's 125,000 troops out of sight until after the May elections, lest voters...
...Aquino, to be sure, has sent mixed signals in the past. After first ordering that paramilitary groups be disbanded, she commissioned a study on how to integrate the forces into the army. Then, last week, Manila Mayor Mel Lopez announced that paramilitary units would be used to counter the recent spate of N.P.A. attacks in the capital. The move pleased the military, which is convinced that peace can be won only with the help of such groups. Some Aquino-appointed government officials, however, complain that the private armies often shoot first and ask questions later. It is a measure...