Nation : U.S. Temporarily Removes Ailing Marcos From Racketeering Case

Federal prosecutors agreed today to temporarily sever former Philippine President Ferdinand E. Marcos from a racketeering case because he is too ill to stand trial for the foreseeable future.

In a letter to the judge presiding over the case against the deposed ruler, his wife and several co-defendants, prosecutors acknowledged that Marcos’ health has deteriorated since a medical examination by a government doctor last fall.

Marcos, 71, is in guarded condition in Hawaii at St. Francis Medical Center, where he has been confined since Jan. 15 for treatment of heart and respiratory problems.

The government’s action does not mean it is dropping the case against Marcos, only that the case against his wife, Imelda, and others will go forward without him for now.

The government’s letter asked the judge to place the charges against Marcos “in suspense,” in case Marcos recuperates and the government seeks to rejoin his case with the others. John J. Tigue, a Marcos lawyer in New York, said Marcos was “highly unlikely to survive his current medical condition” and ever stand trial.