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Aquino backs
US pull-out
over 7 vears
J
MANILA: The 'President, Corazon
Aquino, defeated in her battle for rati
fication of a new military bases pact
with the United States, backed a pro
posal for a seven-year withdrawal of
American forces from the Philippines.
Mrs Aquino said in her weekly ra
dio show that a "very orderly and
expeditious withdrawal" would cush
ion the impact on an economy reeling
from devastation wrought by Mount
Pinatubo volcano.
She said she bad asked Japan for a
SUS200 million (SA25234 million)
commodity loan to rebuild areas dam
aged by Mount Pinatubo, but that the
loan had yet to be approved.
She gave no details.
Mrs Aquino had called for a refer
endum to overturn a Senate vote re
jecting the bases treaty, but appeared
to have backed off after legislators
said such a move would be unconstitu
tional and that she risked impeach
ment.
The referendum plan has also
sparked a row in the Cabinet
The Health Secretary, Alfredo
Bengzon, hinting he might resign if
Mrs Aquino pushed through with the
referendum, denounced it as an at
tempt to change the rules of the game
"because some of us did not like the
flnn! srnrp".
— Router
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