Aquino Urged by Ramos to Shift Cabinet

The military chief of staff asked on Friday that several Cabinet ministers be fired for incompetence, piling further pressure on a government faced with a growing polarization between the left and right.

Gen. Fidel V. Ramos said after a 90-minute meeting with President Corazon Aquino that the military urged changes in her nine-month-old Cabinet.

At a later news conference, presidential spokesman Teodoro Benigno made no mention of possible Cabinet changes, but he said that Aquino was “moving in the direction” of appointing a chief of staff to improve efficiency.

Disputed Report

A television station quoted Benigno as saying the president may dismiss “one or two” ministers and trim the powers of a third. But Benigno told the Associated Press he had made “absolutely no statements” about Cabinet changes.

Ramos said that he and senior generals recommended “the immediate replacement of Cabinet officials who have not performed adequately, especially in putting into operation in the field the mechanisms for efficient government performance.” He did not name the ministers on the list and denied press reports that the military had demanded a purge of leftists from the Cabinet.

Newspapers said Ramos asked for the ouster of, among others, Executive Secretary Joker Arroyo, Labor Minister Augusto Sanchez and Local Governments Minister Aquilino Pimentel, who has been criticized for appointing inept local and regional government officials.

Ramos denied that he asked Aquino to call new presidential elections and reconvene the pro-Marcos National Assembly she dissolved shortly after taking office in February. Those two demands have been made by Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile, a hard-liner who has criticized the president for seeking to negotiate an end to the 17-year-old Communist insurgency.

Mediator Role

Ramos has been seen as a mediator between Aquino and Enrile and has been widely credited with staving off a coup rumored to be plotted by officers close to Enrile.

Ramos has declared his loyalty to Aquino but has sided with Enrile in criticizing her handling of the Communist insurgency. His statement Friday indicated that he and Enrile were allied on other key issues.

Enrile and Ramos both served under ousted President Ferdinand E. Marcos and helped spark the military-civilian revolt that brought Aquino to power.

In the last nine days, the country has been shaken by political violence. The leader of the country’s largest labor union and a businessman friend of Enrile were murdered, a Japanese business executive was kidnaped and a bomb exploded in a crowded department store.

Leftists have blamed much of the violence on “fascist elements” trying to destabilize the government and have demanded the ouster of Enrile. On Thursday, tens of thousands of people joined the funeral procession of the slain labor leader, Rolando Olalia, making it the largest show of leftist strength in recent memory.

CIA Accused

Agapito Aquino, the president’s brother-in-law, claimed Friday that the CIA was siding with the rightists and might have a hand in trying to undermine the government. He did not offer proof but said that “reliable sources” told him that Marcos loyalists and members of the military planned some kind of terrorist incident Tuesday on Mindanao Island as part of their destabilization campaign. He said the plan was to blame the incident on Muslim separatists with whom the government is trying to arrange peace talks.

The U.S. Embassy said that the Reagan Administration and Congress have “stated repeatedly that the U.S. firmly and unequivocally supports the government of President Aquino.”