Aquino Fires 20 Generals to Appease Young Officers : Retains 8 Others as Essential

MANILA —  President Corazon Aquino fired 20 top generals and 19 colonels today but extended the commissions of eight other Marcos-era generals whose continued service was deemed necessary by the new government.

The move was seen as an attempt by Aquino to appease younger officers who helped depose Ferdinand E. Marcos and sweep her to power. By retaining the 11 other officers, she appeared to break a campaign promise to retire all held-over military officials.

The decision came on the eve of Aquino’s third Cabinet meeting and her first since declaring a provisional constitution last week that abolished the National Assembly and gave her broad powers to rule by edict.

Agreement on Strike

Also today, American and Philippine negotiators reached an agreement in principle to end an 11-day-old strike by Filipino workers at eight U.S. military bases, but it was too late to stop the diversion of a U.S. naval force from a port call at the Subic Bay Naval Base.

Union officials said they would submit the agreement to their members later in the day and, if the rank and file approves the proposal, the 24,000 strikers will lift their barricades and return to work Wednesday morning.

The tentative agreement came after a nearly eight-hour negotiating session during a fifth round of talks aimed at ending the longest walkout ever at U.S. military bases in the Philippines.

Liberty Spending Lost

But it was not enough to prevent five ships carrying 4,000 sailors and Marines from being diverted from the naval facility at Subic Bay to an undisclosed port, a decision that will mean the loss of an estimated $1.5 million to the local economy.

The mass forced retirement of the officers, many whose terms had been extended by Marcos over the protests of younger officers, left a major gap in the military hierarchy.

It left just one four-star general--Armed Forces Chief Gen. Fidel Ramos, a leader of the revolt that forced Marcos’ departure in February. The remaining 52 generals have one-star rank.

Aquino approved the retirements of the 20 generals and 19 colonels and extended the terms of eight generals and three colonels at the recommendation of Ramos and Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile, the Philippine News Agency said.

Junior Officers Angered

Marcos’ practice of extending terms of loyal generals was a major source of dissatisfaction among junior military officers, who began a reformist campaign during the final months of his rule.

Meanwhile, the Aquino government’s chief auditor, Teofisto Guingona, said that 16 days before fleeing the country, Marcos signed a receipt for $4.7 million “in his personal capacity” on stationery of former Local Governments Minister Jose Rono.

“But there are no official records of what happened to the funds,” Guingona said. “There have been very irregular disbursements of public funds which form a pattern . . . but I cannot comment on it until we have full documentation.”

Objection Ignored

Rono confirmed that Marcos took the money and said that he had protested the move because his ministry needed it for a rural education and entertainment program and he feared “people might suspect us of wrongdoing.”

But Marcos insisted, Rono said, saying he needed the money urgently to fight the communist New People’s Army. Rono said the fund transfers were made between Jan. 27 and Feb. 10.

Asked if Marcos used the money to finance his campaign against Aquino in the Feb. 7 presidential election, instead of spending it on anti-insurgency needs, Rono replied, “That’s his problem, not my problem. . . . He said he needed the money for an intelligence operation and I took his word for it.”