The Philippines Please Speak into the Microphone
By Susan Tifft
As he spoke with an American businessman last May about his wish to buy weapons for a planned invasion of the Philippines, former President Ferdinand Marcos warned the man against using the telephone. The phones, said Marcos, could be tapped and used to record their conversation. The warning was ironic. Even as he spoke with Marcos, the businessman, Electronics Executive Robert Chastain, was secretly taping their every word with a special voice-activated recorder built into his burgundy-colored briefcase.
That briefcase was on display last week when Chastain told the U.S. House Subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Affairs how he had posed as an arms dealer to trap Marcos into revealing his plans. He then turned the tapes over to the Philippine government, which informed the U.S. Government of the plot.
The insurrection, which missed its original June deadline and was rescheduled for last week, had all the trappings of a James Bond thriller, including hidden treasure and a scheme to kidnap Philippine President Corazon Aquino. If actually carried out, an invasion could also have been bloody. Marcos, who was deposed in a People Power rebellion in February 1986, planned to buy $18 million worth of Stinger missiles, M-16 rifles, tanks, grenade launchers and enough ammunition to equip 10,000 soldiers for three months.
% Although Marcos' designs sounded improbable, the Reagan Administration took them seriously. Early last week State Department Legal Adviser Abraham Sofaer and Gregory Walden, a Deputy Associate Attorney General, traveled to Honolulu, where the deposed leader has been living in exile. They informed Marcos that he cannot leave the island of Oahu, and gave him a personal letter from President Reagan reminding him that he is subject to American laws.
According to conversations recorded by Chastain and an associate, Virginia Lawyer Richard Hirschfeld, Marcos planned to invade the Philippines with arms obtained on credit backed by $500 million in Swiss bank accounts and 1,000 tons of gold bullion, worth $14 billion, hidden in various locations in the Philippines. According to Marcos' plan, he was to go first to Tonga, an independent South Pacific island where he supposedly had allies. From there, he was to land by boat in his home province of Ilocos Norte, where he expected to be greeted by supporters and swept back into power. As for Aquino, Marcos said he would like to take her hostage, "not to hurt her ((but)) forcibly take her without killing her."
The bizarre revelations were made by an equally unlikely pair. Lawyer Hirschfeld has had intermittent legal skirmishes with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Chastain has been vaguely described as a business associate of Hirschfeld's. Last fall, in his search for financial backing, Marcos apparently sought out Hirschfeld because of the attorney's relationship with Mohammed al-Fassi, a client and wealthy Saudi businessman. Marcos wanted al-Fassi to loan him $18 million for weapons purchases. The loan would be secured by Marcos' hidden gold and a lien on his Swiss bank account.
After the invasion plans became clear, Hirschfeld introduced Chastain to Marcos, telling the deposed ruler that Chastain was an arms dealer, and secretly arranged to tape their conversations. Before the recordings were made, however, the duo tried unsuccessfully to get the Justice Department involved. Hirschfeld and Chastain then proceeded on their own, meeting with Marcos in late May to discuss weapons purchases. On June 4 Hirschfeld gave the Aquino government the tapes. About a week later Philippine authorities passed them on to the U.S.
In Manila, few believed the plot was a serious threat to national stability. Nonetheless, President Aquino expressed relief that the U.S. had further restricted Marcos' travel. For his part, Marcos last week denied the foiled plans, calling the charges "incredible." But the conversations on the tape told a different tale.
With reporting by Ricardo Chavira/Washington and Nelly Sindayen/Manila