Aquino to Set Up Interim Revolutionary Government

President Corazon Aquino, swept to power by a civilian-backed military rebellion, will formally proclaim a revolutionary government next week and adopt a six-month provisional constitution, the justice minister said today.

Justice Minister Neptali Gonzales, head of a ministerial study group on political reform appointed by Aquino at her first Cabinet meeting earlier today, told reporters the provisional charter will serve for six months while the government designs a new constitution.

Aquino later held her first conference with military commanders at the suburban Camp Aguinaldo and vowed to “strengthen this new relationship between the civilian (authority) and the military.”

Briefed by General

She also was briefed by armed forces chief Gen. Fidel Ramos on conditions in the nation, a spokesman said. Ramos was one of the leaders who spearheaded the military rebellion that led to the toppling of the 20-year-old Marcos regime two weeks ago following fraud-tainted Feb. 7 presidential elections.

The meeting coincided with reports that military authorities had taken into custody a member of the ruling party under Marcos, Orlando Dulay--one of two Marcos loyalists wanted in the election-related murders of Aquino supporters. Military sources said Dulay “voluntarily reported” after his arrest was ordered Tuesday.

Gonzales said he expects Aquino to unveil the temporary constitution next week along with a declaration of a revolutionary government--moves that he said were necessary to formalize the powers of the new regime while safeguarding basic rights.

Report Due Next Week

“We were given a short period to submit our position paper (on political reform) and hopefully we will be able to finish it at the latest at the early part of next week,” Gonzales said.

Gonzales indicated the position paper would call for the declaration of a revolutionary government and other moves aimed at paving the way for Aquino to overhaul Marcos’ political apparatus and would be submitted during next Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting for adoption.

Gonzales said the provisional constitution, a general charter of “basic laws” guaranteeing human rights and existing commercial and treaty laws, would “self-destruct” in six months after a new constitution had been approved in a plebiscite.

Old Laws Paralyzing

He said within three months, the government will either call a constitutional convention or form a commission to draft the new constitution. The drafting process would take another three months.

Gonzales said a new constitution is necessary to prevent the Aquino government from being “paralyzed” by the Marcos-tailored constitution, adopted in 1973, or being constrained by charges by Marcos’ KBL (New Society Movement) that the Aquino regime is “illegitimate.”

Western diplomats had expressed hope that Aquino would act swiftly to establish a timetable for transforming the legal structure of the deposed regime.

However, Gonzales said Aquino was a “very, very prudent person” and was moving with “caution” because of several politically explosive consequences of drafting a new constitution, including the possible dissolution of the 190-member National Assembly.

The Assembly was controlled by Marcos’ party, and legislators have expressed concern over their political future after being elected to a six-year term two years ago.