This Q & A is with Erick A. San
Juan a prominent civic leader, political activist
(anti-Communist advocate), author, journalist & weekly
contributor to newspapers & Philippine radio.
Q. From your direct knowledge, what events or conversations
with certain personalities indicated foreign complicity in
the EDSA Revolution and its connection to the Marcos gold?
Who were the gainers and why?
A. During the latter stages of the Marcos regime, I came to
be friends with James Brandon Foley* [Note: I am constrained
to break my pledge to preserve the anonymity of my sources
because without any attribution to an authoritative source,
this revelation will be nothing but hearsay. My apologies. I
sincerely hope he will understand, given the situation I am
in and the position I have taken.] a political officer
(another term for CIA agents at that time) of the U.S.
Embassy. We used to go out and date several women, sometimes
to discos, and the like. Our favorite hang-out was the Hyatt
Regency. In between socials, Jim and I would engage in
frequent brain-storming at his private apartment at the
Seafront. On one particular night, he disclosed to me that
there was a secret operation plan to oust Marcos, and that
men like Jose Concepcion of RFM and the Ayalas were being
used as conduits to access the smooth flow of funds to
finally bring an end to the Marcos authoritarian government.
Jim likewise mentioned the involvement of Cardinal Jaime
Sin, whose role was to draw a large crowd of supporters and
sympathizers in the event that a blocking force was needed.
Sin is an expert in the Antonio Gramsci-type of Marxism.
This was confirmed by Dr. John Coleman in his expose 'The
Violation of the Christian Church,' where he stated that
Sin's Radio Veritas 'speaks out Communist propaganda in 13
languages all throughout Asia,' using Liberation Theology to
destroy the moral fiber of the large number of Catholics.
Sin believes in the Marxist principle that 'Religion is the
opium of the masses.' He exploited this tactic to the hilt
and succeeded in what is now called 'people power' mass
action. As acknowledged by Coleman, 'Cardinal Sin of the
Philippines worked diligently to overthrow the government of
President Marcos. He was ably assisted by a former executive
of the World Council of Churches, Jovito Salonga. Salonga
was brought back to the Philippines under escort of the U.S.
State Department.' (CDC Report, October 1988)
In Coleman's estimation, Salonga was to take Mrs. Aquino and
this Protestant 'will cut a deal with the Marxist New
People's Army (NPA).' Although this did not materialize
because of Salonga's poor health, Coleman was still partly
correct. Another fellow Protestant filled in his shoes
(Fidel V. Ramos) and has quite successfully negotiated peace
with the Communists!
Q. What events preceding Marcos' announcement of the snap
election proved that he was under American pressure? Why do
you think he acceded to the 'request?'
A. Everything really hinged on the Marcos gold bars. The
Trilateral Commission, through its chairman David
Rockefeller, and member George Schultz, were convinced that
they had been conned by President Marcos. This being so, the
Trilateralists did everything to pressure him, to
destabilize his one-man rule, cut his source of funding, and
even blackmail him (the Dovie Beams affair). A part of the
globalists' notorious activities were documented by David
Smith of the U.S. based Newswatch magazine, in August 1987:
'Representatives from Indonesia and the Philippines went to
Jonathan May (ex-World Bank head)
and stated that agents
from the Chase Manhattan Bank and other banks said they
would 'forgive' the loans and interests if the following
were met:
(1) Eliminate their National Currency;
(2) Dollar-denominate their new money system;
(3) Use a debit card system instead of a currency system;
(4) Give the bankers perpetual rights over all natural
resources.
Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines refused to accept and
was deposed very shortly thereafter.'
Marcos eventually gave in to the globalists' proposal for a
snap election, using veteran 'ambush interview' expert Ted
Koppel of CBS. Clever as he was, Marcos did not reveal to
the Americans that prior to his interview with Koppel, he
had already conducted a secret survey of the electorate.
Despite the adverse media hype launched against him, Marcos
was confident of a re-election.
However, Jim Foley (who was later transferred to Algiers),
disclosed that the real agenda was not the snap election;
rather, it was to persuade Marcos to sign a document
attesting to the fact that his gold bars and other precious
metals deposited at Fort Knox and other depositories of the
world would be under the guardianship of the Trilateral
Commission, and a certain percentage would be given to the
Philippine Government in the form of an investment loan from
the World Bank.
The document was subsequently hand-carried by. U.S.
Ambassador-at-Large Phillip Habib, which Marcos refused to
sign. The Filipino head of state felt that the war loot
(which was remolded into gold bars bearing the Central Bank
seal) must be given to the Filipino people.
Q. How was the American's influence exerted during the snap
election? Was there American involvement in the walkout of
the computer workers?
A. First, there was the barrage of disinformation launched
by Newsweek, Time and other publications regarding the
illicit love affairs of both Marcos and the First Lady
(e.g., George Hamilton), the incurable ailment of the
President, and the public confidence in Namfrel and distrust
in the Comelec. Then came the walk-out of the computer
workers at the PICC. These were all part of the U.S.
scenario during the snap election.
Most of the computer workers were promised visas and
immigrant status to the U.S. Some of them, I understand,
took advantage of this rare opportunity.
Q. Did any of your contacts know about the outbreak of the
mutiny at EDSA?
A. Both Jim Foley and Norbert Garrett, CIA Station Chief,
U.S Embassy, predicted a bloody confrontation in the event
that Marcos stubbornly decided to stay in Malacanang. The
Presidents only saving grace was the signing of the document
brought by Habib.
Q. Who were pressuring Marcos to give in and leave? Is there
any, credible evidence that this happened?
A. The pressures came from both U.S. and Philippine sources.
On the American side, there was Philip Habib. He was joined
by U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines, Stephen Bosworth,
Richard Armitage, Michael Armacost, Rep. Stephen Solarz,
Norbert Garrett (CIA Station Chief in Manila), and Joseph
Mussomelli (Anti-Fraud Section, U.S. Embassy). Senator Paul
Laxalt as you probably know, was the guy who spoke to Marcos
on the phone and told him to 'cut and cut cleanly.' Lines to
Washington were kept busy by calls coming in from Lawrence
Eagleburger and Henry Kissinger. Later on, I was told that
operating funds came in from Maurice 'Hank' Greenberg,
through dollar grants from the C.V. Starr Foundation of New
York. Greenberg is a powerful member of the B'nai B'rith.
Others like Higdon, Brzezinski and Generals Pike and Allen
of JUSMAG also formed part of the American initiative to
oust Marcos.
On the Philippine side were assets like Joe Concepcion, Jobo
Fernandez, Cesar Zalamea, Jaime Ongpin, and Alex Melchor.
Journalists, likewise, were used for their media hype.
Q. Could you elaborate more on Habib's role in the events
that followed?
A. As I have earlier stated, Habib was sent by the
Trilateralists to the Philippines to pressure Marcos into
signing the document prepared in the U.S. It contained
provisions of equal sharing of the gold bars among different
countries (through their banker's in the Commission),
transshipped by Marcos to Fort Knox and other depositories
under a top secret operation plan coded 'Tuna Highway.'
Initially, Marcos was supported by the Commission to
implement martial law in l972, and was even provided with a
martial plan. Along with it came a minting plant, installed
at the Central Bank premises by Thomas de la Rue Ltd. of
London, and a smelting plant with which to convert the war
booty into new gold bars. The plan was executed by trusted
generals of Marcos who diverted some portions of the
shipment to other destinations aside from Fort Knox. This
was covered by a prescription period (November 1945 to
November 1985) in accordance with international law. After
this 40-year period, it was to be declared 'finders
keepers.' Some countries who felt conned by these agreements
pursued their claim at the International Court of Justice,
to mature in 2005.
Had Marcos chosen to sign the document, he would have
remained President for life. In the process, he would have
received the distinction of being 'the best President we
ever had.' In addition, the Philippines' share could have
paid our external debt of, at that time, $24 Billion, plus a
comprehensive Marshall Plan for industrialization. (To date,
our external debt has zoomed up to $47 Billion, according to
the latest BSFI figures.) Instead, he chose the hard way,
and very badly miscalculated. He wanted to regroup his
forces in the North, but was flown to Hawaii instead.
Q. Were there contacts between the Military camps and the
embassy and/or Washington during the four days at EDSA?
A. Definitely. It has always been standard operating
procedure for our military officials to 'keep the line open'
between them and the defense attaches of the U.S. Embassy.
Most of out top ranking officers have been nurtured in U.S.
military schools. Some were even granted immigrant status in
the U.S. while serving the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
Their families were granted entry to the exclusive clubs of
the American government such as JUSMAG, Seafront, Clark Air
Base, Subic Base, Camp John Hay, etc. There they could avail
of clubhouse facilities, golf courses and other amenities.
After EDSA, most of the renegade Marcos generals migrated to
the U.S. These are the ones who never resisted the
Aquino-Ramos-Enrile-Sin forces.
Q. Why didn't Marcos move during the first hours of the
mutiny when there were very few people around the camps?
A. Marcos was sternly warned not to harm the people at EDSA,
Otherwise, Malacanang would be targeted by the U.S. military
sources. Thus, Marcos took the backseat and relied on the
group of then Col. Rolando Abadilla to finish the job for
him. You see, Abadilla's elite force from the MISG (Military
Intelligence and Security Group), together with a SWAT team,
successfully penetrated Camp Crame, disguised as Ramos
supporters. As soon as Marcos was confronted about this by
his Chief-of-Staff, General Fabian Ver, the president simply
advised the latter to relax, as Abadilla was in the process
of arresting Defense Secretary Juan Ponce Enrile and his
cousin, Fidel Ramos, whom the president underestimated as a
gutless individual. Marcos never imagined that Abadilla
would have a change of heart. Abadilla was the prime suspect
as the chief operator of Ninoy's death at the tarmac.
Q. How do you connect Cardinal Sin with the American plan?
A. Cory Aquino was instructed by Cardinal Sin to seek refuge
in a Cebu convent. As the fireworks were about to start,
Cory was to install her revolutionary government in Davao
with the assistance of the RAM forces and her NFIA
sympathizers. This alternate plan vas likewise designed by
the CIA, with Col. Voltaire Gazmin given the role of
securing Cory in Cebu.
This plan was totally discarded when Marcos peacefully left
the Philippines, due to the insistence of Cardinal Sin, who
was backed up all the way by the Vatican and the U.S. State
Department. Cory ended up being the sole titular head.