Military Backs Him, Enrile Says as Aquino Rift Widens

Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile declared Sunday that the powerful Philippine armed forces are solidly behind him as a rift between the defense minister and President Corazon Aquino’s government widened sharply.

Amid a new round of calls for Enrile’s resignation from other members of Aquino’s Cabinet, Enrile told a regional radio audience that his resignation might destroy the fragile balance between the civilian and military elements of the government. It would “dissolve” the political coalition that brought Aquino to power, Enrile said.

“This is not Enrile talking--this is your military organization talking,” Enrile told the radio listeners. “I am talking for them because the military organization from Gen. (Fidel V.) Ramos (military chief of staff) down to the last private cannot talk like this. . . . They cannot involve themselves in political discussions.”

After his appearance on the two-hour radio show, Enrile told reporters that he will resign only if President Aquino personally asks him to step down. Later, he spoke briefly to a crowd of more than 15,000 supporters at an anti-Communist rally in this key central Philippine city.

Enrile, who staged the February coup that drove then-President Ferdinand E. Marcos into exile and brought Aquino to office, has been increasingly estranged from Aquino’s government in recent weeks. Those closest to Enrile said he believes that Aquino’s inner circle of advisers is trying to force him out of the coalition government.

Enrile met last week with Vice President Salvador Laurel, who feels similarly shunned by Aquino’s ruling circle. Several top political leaders in Manila have speculated that Enrile and Laurel are forging a new political alliance.

In separate public statements this weekend, Aquino’s labor minister, Augusto Sanchez, and her justice minister, Neptali Gonzales, both said that Enrile should step down if he disagrees with the policies of the civilian government.

“Are they speaking for the president?” Enrile said in an informal chat with reporters Sunday morning. “I really don’t know. I don’t believe I have done anything yet that has contradicted the president--none that I know of.”

In dozens of recent speeches and public appearances, Enrile has said that Aquino “threw away” her mandate to rule the country when she dissolved the nation’s constitution in March, and he has criticized the president’s approach to solving the nation’s bloody, 17-year Communist insurgency. Aquino has sponsored a series of negotiating sessions between representatives of her government and the Communist rebels.

‘A Stronger Policy’

“I am not urging the president for a stronger policy,” Enrile told reporters Sunday. “What I am saying is, do not talk without exerting a military pressure on them at the same time you’re negotiating.”

Speaking of the rebels, whose armed uprising has left more than 2,000 dead since Aquino became president Feb. 25, Enrile added: “Their negotiation for peace is actually a continuation of their struggle. . . . They are negotiating to gain an advantage.”

During a three-day tour of the central and southern Philippines, Enrile has been visiting with senior military commanders, many of whom are known to be increasingly angry with Aquino--not simply over the insurgency issue but also over her handling of military affairs.

Upset Over Promotions

Privately, senior officers said they were particularly upset with the way Aquino promoted 10 new generals last week. The 10 men were selected only after Aquino personally interviewed many candidates for promotion in her office at the presidential palace.

“This is not the role of the president,” one army colonel said, asking not to be identified by name. “Does President Reagan personally select his generals? No, never. This is the job of our minister of defense.”

During Enrile’s meetings with regional commanders in Cebu, Zamboanga and Jolo during the weekend, he has urged them to remain united, and he has visited privately with several generals and colonels.

‘We Are One’

In responding to questions during the radio show about the calls for his resignation, Enrile spoke several times about that unity within the military, at one point declaring: “When I say ‘we,’ I am speaking of the armed forces of the Philippines. We are one.”

One listener who called in to the radio show told Enrile, “You can take over the government now.”

“Thank you for your confidence,” Enrile replied. “How can I undertake a job like that when some of my colleagues are asking me to get out of the government?”

The caller persisted, “You can get rid of them all one by one.”

“I will not be the one to do that,” Enrile replied. “It will be the armed forces of the Philippines.”