Pro-Marcos Crowd Burns Time Copies

Hundreds of supporters of Ferdinand E. Marcos burned back issues of Time magazine Sunday after the U.S. news weekly named President Corazon Aquino its “Woman of the Year.”

The Marcos loyalists also staged a noisy motorcade through this capital to urge a “no” vote in the Feb. 2 plebiscite on a new national constitution backed by the Aquino administration.

About 50 cars painted with slogans such as “No to Cory and Communism!” and carrying an estimated 200 people took part in the procession. They gathered with a few hundred other supporters of the ousted former president in front of the downtown post office to burn copies of Time and other magazines bearing Aquino’s picture.

A sign held by one protester read, “Time Magazine Get Out of the Philippines.”

20 Years of Marcos

Aquino, 53, took office in February after a civilian-military uprising ended 20 years of authoritarian government by Marcos, who lives in exile in Hawaii.

Aquino also won praise for the Time honor.

The nationally circulated Manila Bulletin congratulated her in an editorial describing her as a “rallying point” for the country.

“To be the rallying point implies a following,” it said. “In this case, the following is massive and cooperative. The year has turned out to be a fortunate one for the country, and everybody seems to be eager to meet the challenges of the new one.”

There was no official reaction from the presidential office to Aquino’s selection by Time. The magazine cited her for being able “to lead a revolt and lead a republic without ever relinquishing her buoyant calm or her gift for making politics and humanity companionable.”

In a speech Sunday to a convention promoting family values, Aquino condemned nepotism and corruption that masquerade as dedication to family. Her supporters have accused Marcos of favoring his relatives and friends with lucrative contracts and government favors.

The audience of about 3,000 people included the archbishop of Manila, Cardinal Jaime L. Sin. Sin last week urged Aquino to root out corruption, which he said persisted under her administration.

“Our legacy to our children should not be measured by the size of our bank account and the height of our position we have attained in society but the size of the space we make in our hearts for our children and the loftiness of the values and ideals we espouse,” she said.

She also reaffirmed that her government will use force to end a nearly 18-year-old Communist rebellion “only as a last resort and only to defend the values and ways of peace and democracy.”