Marcos Should Have Passport, Reagan Quoted

President Reagan suggested to the Philippine government that it should give deposed leader Ferdinand E. Marcos a passport so he can go to a third country, Vice President Salvador Laurel said today.

“There was a suggestion which came from President Reagan that Mr. Marcos be given a passport in order to enable him to go to a third country--not really return to the Philippines but go to a third country,” Laurel told a news conference.

He said Reagan made the suggestion when the President met with Laurel in Bali, Indonesia, last Thursday. Laurel said that he was passing the message on to President Corazon Aquino but that he personally was not inclined to give Marcos a passport until the Philippines becomes politically stable.

“Right now if we issue him a passport, that means that we are ready to let him come home. Even if he goes to a third country, we must be prepared for that decision on his part, to come home,” he said.

‘Not Ready for Him’

“I do not believe we are ready to have Mr. Marcos back. We are speeding up a return to constitutional normalcy and we do not want any possible disruption or delay.”

Laurel added he was afraid Marcos might “go to a third country solely to get hold of his funds and use this money to destabilize” the Philippines.

One of Marcos’ lawyers said that if the former president had a passport he would return to the Philippines to defend himself against charges being prepared by the government.

Rafael Recto, who returned today from Hawaii where Marcos has been living since fleeing Manila in February, also said he doubts Marcos could cause trouble.

“He is a man who has a few friends left but he has been deposed. Mrs. Aquino has the ‘people’s power’ and the military is not with him. So how can he cause trouble?” Recto told reporters.