HOW CORY CAME TO POWER

By Jose Alejandrino
October 22, 2017

In the December 19, 2016 issue of The Manila Times, Rigoberto Tiglao wrote about how the US maneuvered to put Cory Aquino in power. He quoted from the account of Sen. Paul Laxalt, the confidant and friend of US President Ronald Reagan.

The events coincide with what I wrote in my memoirs published in the US. As I had posted much earlier, Cory was the creation of Philip Habib and Edsa the outcome of a 3-phase plan drawn up by the CIA in Manila.

By the middle of 1985 CIA director William Casey had reached the conclusion Marcos had to go. Casey had talked to Reagan about it. They were worried about the outbreak of a bloody civil war in the Philippines that would affect US bases there, at Clark which was the home of the US 13th Air Force and Subic of the US 7th Fleet. They could not allow that because the Philippines occupied a strategic position.

Casey said they had a plan. Laxalt would suggest to Marcos that he calls for a Snap Election to show he still enjoyed the support of the Filipino people and announce it at the David Brinkley TV show. Marcos fell for the ploy and announced on Nov. 4 he would do it when interviewed on that show by Sam Donaldson and George Will.

So the first phase of the 3-phase CIA plan for the departure of Marcos was operationalized by Marcos without him being aware of it.

The 2nd phase was to demonstrate Marcos had cheated at the polls even if he won, as he really did the Snap Election by 700,000 votes. The CIA gave me the actual results. The cheating dramatized by the walkout of computer programmers at the PICC was to incense the people in order to create a massive People Power show.

The 3rd phase was to get Enrile and Ramos to barricade themselves at the camps and to ask Cardinal Sin to call on the people to protect them while Ramos persuaded elements of the AFP to join him. When Col. Sotelo finally defected with his 15th Strike Wing to Ramos, Marcos was finished.

On Feb. 24, as Laxalt recounted, Marcos phoned him. He was with US Secretary of State George Schultz and US ambassador Philip Habib when Marcos called. Earlier, President Reagan had sent him a message urging him to make a peaceful transition to Cory. After the phone call from Marcos, Schultz and Laxalt went to the White House to see Reagan.

The US president insisted Marcos transfer power to Cory and instructed Laxalt to call Marcos to tell him "it was time to cut clean" to avoid a bloody civil war. Marcos knew the game was up.

Still he harbored hopes of being allowed to remain in Ilocos Norte but Cory and Ramos vetoed the idea because they were afraid with Marcos in the country his presence would destabilize the Cory government.

Source: FB/Benson Bautista