Aquino Fires Manila’s Police Chief

President Corazon Aquino fired the Manila police chief Friday for failing to contain violent protests by supporters of deposed President Ferdinand E. Marcos. She promised national elections will be held in the Philippines by next March.

Aquino dismissed 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 34 people were injured and 77 were arrested.

The president named 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.

Cabrera had held the job since 1981, and during Marcos’ presidency, he frequently ordered riot police to break up protests against Marcos.

New Assignment

Cabrera could not be reached for comment. An official at police headquarters said Cabrera will be assigned to another police post.

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 the president’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. Armed with sticks, they attacked vehicles.

Other Police Called Out

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 force from a separate police organization, the national constabulary.

In a speech earlier Friday at Villamar Air Base, Aquino said her tolerance of Marcos’ supporters proved the strength of the new government.

“The pinpricks of bought and benighted loyalists will not provoke us to violate the basic principles for which we struggled and make us no better than the tyrant we deposed,” she said.

In other developments Friday:

--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. 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.

--The government filed criminal charges against Marcos and three judges, alleging they plotted the acquittal of 26 men who were accused of killing Aquino’s husband in August 1983.

Benigno S. Aquino Jr. was gunned down at Manila International Airport after returning from exile in the United States to lead the opposition against Marcos. The defendants, 25 members of the military and one civilian, were acquitted last year after a 10-month trial.

--Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile said he would arrest Marcos if he returned to the Philippines and that it would be difficult to guarantee his safety.

Younger military officers “will never forgive Marcos for what he had done to the country and the military organization,” Enrile said.

Marcos fled Feb. 26, a day after a military-civilian revolt swept Aquino into power. Marcos has made several speeches on Manila radio stations from exile in Hawaii, claiming he remains the country’s legitimate president and promising to return.