U.S. Aid Boost Isn’t Enough, Aquino Says

President Corazon Aquino told Secretary of State George P. Shultz today that $150 million in proposed additional U.S. aid falls far short of what the Philippines’ crippled economy needs, and that the Philippine people will solve their own problems.

In a 45-minute meeting at a glass-paneled guest house near the palace of deposed ruler Ferdinand E. Marcos, Shultz reiterated an invitation to Aquino to visit the United States, and the president said she was considering making the trip in November after both nations hold elections.

In a briefing for correspondents traveling with Shultz, Information Minister Teodoro Locsin described both Aquino and Shultz as “very formal persons, very correct” and the meeting as “very friendly.”

Shultz, winding up a 26-hour visit, also told a news conference that Marcos probably will remain in Hawaii, even though he would like to leave, because no country wants to take him in and run into trouble with the Aquino government.

Meets Marcos’ Adherents

The secretary of state met earlier with former supporters of Marcos who said they appreciated U.S. interest in Philippine stability.

Shultz said that Marcos was mentioned “only in passing,” and Aquino did not mention him at all.

Marcos, who fled the Philippines Feb. 26, has been in exile in Honolulu, which is Shultz’s next stop on the way home from Asia. But Shultz said he has no intention of contacting the former president, who is accused by the Aquino government of plundering $5 billion to $10 billion of the country’s assets.

As when he arrived in the Philippines on Thursday, Shultz was confronted by about 200 leftists chanting “Reagan terrorist” when he arrived at the grounds of Malacanang Palace to see Aquino.

Disperse Peacefully

The protesters dispersed peacefully soon after Shultz left for a series of meetings with other officials, including Vice President Salvador Laurel and Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile.

Earlier, police held back more than 200 Marcos loyalists who shouted, “We want Marcos back” as Shultz laid a wreath at a monument to the Philippine’s national hero, Jose Rizal, on his way to Malacanang Palace.