Aquino Expresses Appreciation : Reagan Stresses Support for Philippine President

U.S. government officials, while trying to determine the strength of the coup attempt in Manila, stressed Friday the long-term need for stability in the Philippines and took pains to make known President Reagan’s support for President Corazon Aquino.

Reagan’s aides said that Aquino expressed appreciation for the President’s message Thursday evening backing her up in the face of the attempt by mutinous military officers and men to overthrow her government.

Reagan, reflecting a degree of confusion within the government about details of the coup attempt, declined to comment Friday, telling reporters during a photo session at the start of a meeting in Los Angeles, “Frankly, we’re trying to keep track of what’s going on there.”

His spokesman, Marlin Fitzwater, said the Administration lacked “a very detailed analysis of the situation on the ground there.”

But Fitzwater said there was no indication of American casualties as a result of the mutiny led by Col. Gregorio Honasan, and added, “The government is moving toward restoring order.”

The Administration, which set up a special working group in the State Department to monitor developments in the Philippines, said it had seen no evidence of involvement by senior officers other than Honasan.

May Discourage Investment

One official, meanwhile, said that U.S. concern about such coup attempts stems from the Philippines’ need for “substantial investment”--not only by United States and other foreign investors but by local residents, too--and that such financial support is bound to be discouraged by uncertainty about the government’s stability.

“As all the coup attempts have demonstrated, they do not have widespread support,” said the official, speaking on the condition of anonymity. “So the concern is less about the ability to overthrow the Aquino government than it is about the continuing picture” of long-term stability.

The mutiny in Manila was but one of several that have occurred since Aquino took office after a coup that overthrew President Ferdinand E. Marcos in February, 1986.

An intelligence source said there was nothing to indicate that Marcos was involved in the latest attempt. The former president is living in Hawaii, restricted by the U.S. government to the island of Oahu.

Fitzwater and others who accompanied Reagan to Los Angeles affirmed that assessment about the apparent lack of any specific role by Marcos.

U.S. ‘Monitoring’ Marcos

“We do have a procedure for monitoring Mr. Marcos’ activities, and that monitoring will continue,” Fitzwater said. But officials would not disclose in detail the procedures used to keep track of the former president and his contacts with supporters in the Philippines.

The White House spokesman said he was unaware of any direct U.S. government contact with Marcos in the wake of the attempted coup.

The Administration, meanwhile, made certain that Reagan’s message of support, issued late Thursday evening while the President was returning to the Century Plaza Hotel from a dinner at a private home, quickly reached the Philippines.

“All factions of the military, including the rebels, are aware of our position,” Fitzwater said.

In that statement, Reagan said:

“I am profoundly concerned by reports of elements of the armed forces of the Philippines who have engaged in military action against the democratic government of President Aquino. The United States condemns this attempt at extra-constitutional action. I wish to make absolutely clear America’s unqualified support of President Aquino.”

The message, prepared while Reagan was at dinner, was relayed to Aquino through the U.S. Embassy in Manila. Fitzwater said Reagan spoke twice by telephone during the evening with Frank C. Carlucci, the White House national security adviser.