Peace Corps Workers in Philippines Told to Retreat Because of Threats

The U.S. Embassy ordered all Peace Corps staffers in the Philippines to go to Manila because of intelligence reports that Communist rebels planned to kill volunteers, American officials said today.

Ambassador Nicholas Platt issued the order last weekend but delayed the public announcement for security reasons, embassy spokesman Stanley Schrager said.

He said no decision had been made on when the 261 volunteers would be allowed to return to their posts, many of which are in remote, poorly protected areas.

Schrager said the embassy had received a report that Peace Corps volunteers had been added to the target list of the New People’s Army, which has been waging a 21-year insurgency to establish a Marxist state.

“This became an issue because recently we received information suggesting that Peace Corps volunteers may be targets of political violence by the NPA,” Schrager said.

He refused to identify the source of the report but said the embassy took it seriously.

Communist rebels claimed responsibility for killing two American airmen last month near the U.S.-run Clark Air Base and had vowed to kill more until all American troops leave this country.

Eight Americans are believed to have been slain by Filipino Marxist extremists since April, 1989.

At the Admiral Hotel, where many Peace Corps volunteers were temporarily housed, several said they were ordered to Manila on short notice but were not briefed on the reason beyond the embassy’s official statement.

“Most of the Filipinos in my area support Cory (President Corazon Aquino), have nostalgic feelings for (the late President Ferdinand) Marcos and want nothing to do with the NPA,” said one volunteer, who works at an agricultural and timber project in Nueva Vizcaya province. He spoke on condition of anonymity.

The rebels have made no specific public threats against Peace Corps volunteers but have charged that U.S. and Japanese aid workers were secretly assisting the Philippine government in its counterinsurgency operations.

Washington and Tokyo deny the charges. On May 29, rebels on Negros island kidnapped Fumio Mizuno, a training director for a private Japanese aid group, the Organization for Industrial, Spiritual and Cultural Advancement.

Negros authorities have appointed a negotiating team to secure the release of Mizuno, but no talks have been held.

Last week, the Philippine military said rebels operating in Manila planned to kidnap and murder foreigners, especially Americans, over the next six months.