Philippines’ Laurel to Seek Reassurance From Reagan

Citing “cobwebs of doubt” over President Reagan’s commitment to his government, Philippine Vice President Salvador Laurel said he will seek direct assurance from Reagan in a meeting here Thursday that he is fully behind President Corazon Aquino.

Reagan’s lengthy and highly publicized call Saturday to deposed President Ferdinand E. Marcos fueled doubts in the Philippines that Reagan had made the adjustment from his old friend and ally to the opposition party now in power.

“Tomorrow I will get it straight from the horse’s mouth,” Laurel told reporters.

At the same time, he said Marcos will some day be welcome to return to his native village in the Philippines.

‘Stay Away a Little While’

“We are not going to stop him from coming home,” he said. “He is a Filipino. We are just asking him to stay away a little while. When the country is stabilized, and it won’t take very long, he can come home.”

Laurel estimated that Marcos could return to the Philippines by the end of the year. He said he has no concern that Marcos could recapture the presidency. “He’s not going to pull a MacArthur,” he said, referring to the late Gen. Douglas MacArthur and his successful vow, “I shall return,” after the Japanese offensive during World War II forced him to leave the Philippines.

Laurel said that Reagan’s pledge of $150 million in additional foreign aid to the Philippines is “certainly not enough,” and that he will press U.S. officials for more help in recovering assets held by Marcos in American banks.

“Mr. Marcos went away and took almost all the money with him,” he said. “The country’s broke.”

Cites ‘Lingering Doubts’

Laurel met today with Secretary of State George P. Shultz in preparation for his meeting with Reagan. He said Shultz assured him that Reagan told Marcos to “stop hoping he will make a comeback in politics.”

While there is “no doubt” in his mind of Reagan’s support, he said, his countrymen still have “some lingering doubts” because of statements made by Reagan during the height of the revolution in the Philippines.

Laurel, who also holds the title of foreign minister, was in Bali for a meeting of Assn. of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) officials.

Reagan will meet with the group Thursday before heading for the Tokyo economic summit, which will open Sunday. The stop in Bali was an effort to provide Reagan with a rest stop on the long trip to the Far East.