Manila Chief Fired; Election Due by March

President Corazon Aquino fired the Manila police chief today for failing to contain violent protests by supporters of deposed President Ferdinand E. Marcos, and promised national elections would be held by next March.

Aquino dismissed police chief Gen. Narciso Cabrera one day after thousands of Marcos loyalists battled riot police in downtown Manila in the worst street violence since she took office Feb. 25. At least 33 people were injured and more than 60 were arrested.

The president asked Brig. Gen. Alfredo Lim to temporarily assume Cabrera’s post. Lim heads one of four districts in the Metropolitan Manila Police Department, which covers several cities.

Presidential spokesman Rene Saguisag said in a statement that Aquino is committed to holding elections before March 25, but did not say what posts would be up for election.

Response to Rumors

He said the announcement came in response to rumors that the government would not hold elections for two years.

Aquino has ruled by decree since she abolished the Marcos-controlled National Assembly and replaced pro-Marcos officials in an effort to dismantle his political machine. She has given herself until next month to appoint 50 people to a commission that will write a new constitution.

Cabrera headed another police district that covered most of Manila. He had been in office since 1981 and frequently ordered anti-riot police to break up protests against then-President Marcos.

Aquino asked Gen. Fidel V. Ramos, chief of the armed forces, to investigate Cabrera’s performance. The military oversees all police forces.

Cabrera was fired for failing “to contain the illegal demonstration and camping of unruly elements claiming to be Marcos loyalists,” said a letter from Executive Secretary Joker Arroyo to Ramos carrying Aquino’s orders.

Cabrera was in charge of police who allowed Marcos loyalists to camp out across the street from the U.S. Embassy in downtown Manila for about three weeks. The loyalists, usually numbering about 100, sometimes turned violent, attacking vehicles and carrying sticks.

On Thursday, following Aquino’s May Day rally at nearby Rizal Park, Cabrera’s police officers twice failed to disperse about 10,000 Marcos supporters with tear gas and water cannons. The crowd finally was broken up by a small number of members of a separate police force, the national constabulary.