Panel Votes to Curb Philippine Aid

A House Foreign Affairs subcommittee voted unanimously Thursday to suspend military aid to the Philippines and redirect economic aid to private groups until President Ferdinand E. Marcos steps down in favor of a “legitimate government.”

The 9-0 vote in the subcommittee on Pacific and Asian affairs was the first concrete legislative action taken by members of Congress to express growing dissatisfaction with Marcos’ declared victory in the Feb. 7 election, which was marred by widespread fraud and violence.

It also was the first step toward anticipated congressional passage of such legislation, which has broad bipartisan support in both the House and Senate. The full House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee are expected to approve similar legislation next week.

‘Has Withdrawn Support’

“What this legislation will do is send a signal to the people of the Philippines that the United States has withdrawn its support for the Marcos regime while continuing its support and assistance for the Philippine people,” said Rep. Stephen J. Solarz (D-N.Y.), subcommittee chairman.

“At the same time, it will also send a signal to the ruling elite and Establishment of the Philippines that their government no longer enjoys the support of the United States,” he added.

Bill’s Provisions

The bill stipulates that assistance should be withheld until President Reagan certifies to Congress “that legitimate government has been established in the Philippines which commands the support of the people of the Philippines.” Congress would then be required to pass a joint resolution to approve restoration of U.S. funding.

Solarz said a political solution in the Philippines that allows Marcos to remain in office would not satisfy the bill’s definition of a “legitimate government”--and thus would not bring restoration of U.S. aid after the suspension.

Solarz, who said he had talked to opposition leader Corazon Aquino through an intermediary earlier in the day, announced that the legislation passed by his subcommittee has her support. He said she “feels that it reflects her own view of how the United States can contribute to the restoration of democracy in the Philippines.”

Reagan Administration officials refused to embrace the bill. Paul D. Wolfowitz, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, told the subcommittee that Reagan will reserve judgment until he hears a report next week from his special envoy to the Philippines, Philip C. Habib.

But aides said Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard G. Lugar (R-Ind.) was encouraged to support the bill when he met Wednesday with Secretary of State George P. Shultz. “Shultz did not argue against it,” a Lugar aide said. “He expressed a desire that we all work together.”

Administration officials have repeatedly emphasized that their position does not imply support for Marcos.

Aid to ‘Philippine People’

“Our assistance does not go to individuals, but to the economic and security needs of the Philippine people,” Wolfowitz said. “No one should claim that U.S. assistance constitutes a personal endorsement or is for the purpose of supporting any individual’s claim to power.”

Under an existing U.S. treaty that governs American military bases in the Philippines, the Administration is obligated to make “a good-faith effort” to oppose any cuts in U.S. aid to the Pacific nation.

According to Solarz, the bill would deprive the Philippines of $69.8 million in military assistance in the current fiscal year and $70 million authorized for fiscal 1987. It also would redirect $345 million in economic and development funds now designated for the government to a variety of volunteer groups, including the Roman Catholic Church.

Not All Funds Cut

Not all military funds will be cut, however. Solarz said an estimated $67 million already obligated for military aid, but unspent, will continue to be available to the Manila government. (Congressional sources had earlier estimated the figure to be $31 million.) Nor does the bill end funding for a program that brings Filipino military officers to the United States for training, he said.

Solarz acknowledged that it would be difficult to redirect all of the economic development aid to private groups, since much of it was intended for roads and other public works projects that normally would be carried out by the government.

As evidence of the bill’s broad bipartisan support, one of its supporters in the subcommittee was Rep. Gerald B.H. Solomon (R-N.Y.), who previously has been highly critical of Solarz’s anti-Marcos approach. Another Republican, Rep. Doug Bereuter of Nebraska, noted that GOP subcommittee members “are not reluctantly riding along on this.”

Meanwhile, in Bal Harbour, Fla., the AFL-CIO executive council adopted a resolution saying that Washington must be “unequivocal in denouncing” Marcos’ effort to “deny the effective right to vote. . . , “ and called on the United States to encourage political, union and church forces working for a “truly representative government” in the Philippines.