E 0 E PROOF ONLY
TRANSCRIPT OF PRESS CONFERENCE AT PARLIAMENT HOUSE 26/ 02/ 86
PM:......... involved now in the Philippines, the corruption that
took place in the elections clearly meant that the will of the
Philippine people had not been given effect to. Now Mrs Aquino
will assume the Presidency and they can get on with the task of
bringing economic development to the people of the Philippines
within the framework of democracy.
JOURNALIST:........ willing to make a visit to the Philippines
now? PM: Yes, I am prepared to now. We haven't made any specific
plans. What we have done immediately is to arrange that Mr
Hayden, who is going off overseas into the region at any rate at
the end of this week, will now include the Philippines in his
program. And the question of my visiting there is something to
work out within the near future. It will be worked out in the
near future. When it will take place I am not sure.
JOURNALIST: What is your view of Mrs Aquino, Prime Minister?
PM: Well obviously I haven't had the opportunity of forming
judgment at first hand meeting with her. But from what one has
seen she is clearly a woman of very considerable courage,
fortitude and determination and she will take with her into the
Presidency now the best wishes, I think, of not only all
Australians but of all men and women of good will around the
world. And for the great work to be done there, she seems to have
all those qualities of determination and application to do it,
Laurie.
JOURNALIST: Do you think she is equipped to handle the problems
of the Filipino economy and the NPA?
PM: Well, there is no reason to assume that she is not. I mean
after all leadership is not simply a question of some sound,
detailed, theoretical knowledge of economics. She will, I am
sure, gather around her people who have the necessary expertise
as she seems to have as a leader, as I say, the determination,
capacity of application which is required to undertake a very
important and difficult task that lies ahead of her.
JOURNALIST: Would Australia be offering any expertise?
AL I VA3Y36 ATAJ M
PM: Well, we have there already within the embassy facility. We
have made it clear that if there is any assistance which they
would seek in addition to what we have been doing now, we would
obviously give very positive consideration to that.
JOURNALIST: Do you think it will be any more than just transfer
of power from one wealthy group to another wealthy group?
PM: Yes, I think it will be more than that because I would
believe that Mrs Aquino will realise that the world is looking
now not for that sort of transfer of power and influence but an
application of the powers of the Presidency and the powers of
administration to advancing the real interests of the mass of the
Philippine people.
JOURNALIST: Is it fair that Mr Marcos should be leaving the
country? Should he stay in the Philippines and be judged by his
people? PM: Well, I think that the events of the last few weeks have
basically been marked by a relative lack of violence which is to
the credit of the Filipinos. I don't think that very much is
served by a detailed going into the events that have led up to
this position. The only thing that I must say that I find galling
and I would think the people of the Philippines would find
particularly galling is the apparent rape of the wealth of the
Philippines by President Marcos. He seems to have salted away
enormous amounts, some put it into billions, others in the
hundreds of millions. I think if some way could be found to
ensure that that property of the people of the Philippines could
be restored, that would obviously be a good thing.
JOURNALIST: Has he salted any away in Australia?
PM: Not that I am aware of.
JOURNALIST: What if he had?
PM: Well, then that would be a question for approach by-the new
administration of the Philippines and for discussion between us.
But that is entirely hypothetical. I have not any knowledge of
any such salting away here, Laurie.
JOURNALIST: Can you understand why President Reagan seems so
happy to be offering Mr Marcos and his family asylum?
PM: I hadn't noticed happiness.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, do you think that the Americans
could have acted a little sooner given that they had knowledge of
PM: Well, I guess that the United States administration wanted
to be quite sure that the processes were going to work out there
in a way which did reflect the will of the people there. And they
did not want or wish to be too precipitated in their
intervention. I would say that it-is very hard to be critical of
the way in which the United States has played their hand in the
ZO~
events of the last few weeks. Imean I must say that i,
outside observation of what's happened, the Soviet Union who
seems to be the defender President Marcos has been accusing the
United States of being too forthcoming in its intervention and
support of Mrs Aquino. That is a very interesting state of
affairs. ENDS e-
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