Anti-Marcos Mood Grows in Congress

Despite concern about the future of U.S. Air Force and Navy bases in the Philippines, increasing numbers of congressional hawks have concluded that it is time to end U.S. support for President Ferdinand E. Marcos.

“There is a growing hesitancy on the part of friends of the (U.S.) military and the United States to continue propping up Marcos,” Rep. William L. Dickinson of Alabama, the senior Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, said in an interview Thursday.

Asked if a “dump Marcos” mood is growing among generally conservative lawmakers who usually support the Pentagon, Dickinson replied: “It damn sure is with me.”

Another conservative pro-military Republican, Rep. David O’B. Martin of New York, agreed that Marcos currently enjoys very little support on Capitol Hill and said he has been skeptical about the Marcos regime since the Vietnam War.

Although not all Pentagon-oriented conservatives share an aversion to Marcos, the growing anti-Marcos sentiment reinforces liberal objections and reduces the Philippine leader’s chances of obtaining foreign aid and political support from Washington.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard G. Lugar (R-Ind.) has warned Marcos repeatedly that the Manila regime must institute speedy reforms if it hopes to continue receiving U.S. aid.

“The question is, how do we direct our aid if Marcos thumbs his nose at us?” a spokesman for Lugar said. “I don’t think anyone has answered that.”

The Reagan Administration has been sharply critical of the Manila regime, in particular of Marcos’ recent decision to reinstate Gen. Fabian C. Ver as armed forces chief of staff after his acquittal on charges of conspiring to assassinate opposition leader Benigno S. Aquino Jr.

Communist Takeover Feared

But Administration officials have warned that a Communist takeover might be possible if the United States abandoned Marcos. Administration officials say the strength of the Communist New People’s Army in the Philippines is growing steadily.

In congressional testimony Thursday, James A. Kelly, deputy assistant secretary of defense for East Asia and the Pacific, warned that a Communist government in Manila or a Communist-dominated coalition regime would undoubtedly revoke the U.S. lease on Subic Bay Naval Base and Clark Air Base, probably the two most important U.S. military installations outside of the United States.

“U.S. facilities at Clark and Subic Bay offset the growing Soviet presence at Cam Ranh Bay (Vietnam) and, as a consequence, preserve the stability of Southeast Asia by securing the vital South China Sea lanes against the ever-increasing Soviet threat,” Kelly said.

He added, “To forestall (a Communist victory), we have reoriented our security assistance programs to support Philippine efforts to counteract the growing internal threat.”

But Dickinson said that if Marcos has become too corrupt to survive, it would be better for the United States to cut him loose now. He suggested that U.S. troubles in Nicaragua may have resulted from continuing for too long to support former dictator Anastasio Somoza, rather than from failing to back him long enough.

The Administration is pinning its hopes on the “snap” presidential election Marcos has called for Feb. 7. Administration officials say that if the balloting is perceived by Filipinos to be free, it will restore public confidence in the government, no matter who wins.

But the Administration’s position contains an implication--never stated openly--that the only way Marcos can prove that his government held open and fair elections is to lose.

Although some leaders of the democratic opposition in the Philippines have been critical of the U.S. bases, officials in Washington, both in the Administration and on Capitol Hill, are convinced that an opposition victory would not result in the closing of the bases.

A Senate staff member, who asked not to be identified by name, said the United States is searching, so far without success, for a way to support the democratic opposition without appearing to overtly overthrow the Marcos government.

And Rep. Thomas F. Hartnett (R-S.C.), also a member of the Armed Services Committee and a longtime friend of the Pentagon, suggested it may already be too late to move away from Marcos.

“We have always supported the Marcos government and that, in and of itself, would cause us not to be in that good a shape with the Filipino people,” he said.