Shultz Tells Philippines Not to Count On More U.S. Aid : Plans to Meet Marcos Aides During Stopover

Secretary of State George P. Shultz said today that there will be no U.S. aid increases to the debt-ridden Philippines beyond the $200-million commitment already made and that the new government’s priority should be “to get the economy rearranged.”

Shultz also said Congress is in a mood to reduce foreign aid requests, and “it is not in the interest of the United States to have the kind of cuts that seem to be in the offing.”

Shultz said the “assertion of democracy” in Manila had earned worldwide respect and admiration. “Americans are interested in knowing how we can help resolve your economic problems,” he said a statement when he arrived in Manila.

He is here for talks with President Corazon Aquino, and also has scheduled a meeting with politicians from the government of Ferdinand E. Marcos, who fled the country Feb. 26 after two decades as president, as a result of a military-civilian rebellion.

Rules Out ‘Violent Means’

Supporters of Marcos have a right to demonstrate, Shultz said, provided that they do not use “violent means.”

Marcos loyalists, encouraged by the former president from exile, have held street demonstrations and public rallies demanding his return.

Shultz’s 26-hour Philippines visit is intended to demonstrate the Reagan Administration’s support for the new government.

Shultz arrived in Manila from Seoul, where he met with South Korean President Chun Doo Hwan. (Story on Page 19.) On the flight from Seoul, Shultz said the Reagan Administration will not go beyond the $200-million request for additional economic and military aid to the Philippines announced last month.

He said Congress was engaged in a “budget-cutting exercise” that threatens deep reductions in the foreign aid program, the State Department budget and anti-terrorism security measures at U.S. embassies.

$26-Billion in Debt

Aquino’s government must cope with a $26-billion foreign debt and diminishing investment caused by a steady decline of confidence in Marcos’ government before he left and uncertainty about the course of his successors.

“They have lots of hard problems,” Shultz said, “but they don’t have insoluble problems.”

Philippine officials accuse Marcos and his associates of plundering at least $5 billion in public funds while they were in power.

To Meet Marcos Aides

Shultz arranged to meet Friday morning with two former Philippines Cabinet members, Blas Ople, labor minister, and Jose Rono, deputy premier, and three pro-Marcos members of the disbanded National Assembly.