Dissident To Accept Post At CFIA

Noted Philippine dissident Benigno A. Aquino, who was one of the first jailed when President Fernand E. Marcos imposed martial law in 1972, said yesterday he would accept a fellowship at the Center for International Affairs (CFIA) instead of returning as promised to incarceration in Manila.

Aquino, a former senator and leader of moderate liberal opposition forces in the Philippines, was favored to win the presidential election had it been held in 1973. He called on Marcos yesterday to revoke his martial law rule, saying, "Eight years is a pretty long time for martial law. The sooner Marcos dismantles it, the better."

Samuel P. Huntington, professor of Government and director of the CFIA, yesterday confirmed that the Center had invited Aquino, saying he had the impression the Philippine dissident would come to Cambridge, although the CFIA had not yet received a formal acceptance.

Expectant

"We certainly expect him to be a full member of the center, and I think he will do some writing while he's with us," Huntington said. The fellowship offer lasts for one academic year.

Benjamin H. Brown, director of the fellows program at the CFIA, said that while he had received no formal reply from Aquino to the center's invitation, he heard indirectly that Acquino would come. "He's a distinguished man, and previous correspondence indicated he would accept if invited. We were happy to invite a man of his stature," Brown said.

The 47-year-old Aquino was in New York yesterday. He received medical treatment in Dallas, reportedly for a heart bypass operation, and then traveled to San Francisco. But Peter Stanley, dean of Carleton College and a leading expert on the Philippines, said yesterday that since Aquino was active for his age, "it is at least possible that the official medical reports should not be taken at face value."

Stanley said Aquino needed Marcos' permission to leave his jail cell in the Philippines and added that if Aquino had broken a deal, it would prove difficult for the dissident to re-enter the country.

Reverberations

"If Aquino goes to Harvard, it will have a substantial effect on the future of politics in the Philippines. He would either have to mount a successful operation in exile--which has never been done--or in effect rule himself out as a successor to Marcos," Stanley said.

The decision to spend time at the CFIA represents "a poignant choice" for Aquino, Stanley said. "While he increases his chances for personal safety, health, and freedom, he risks losing the immediate contact which he needs to gain power," he added.

Stanley explained that while most of the leaders incarcerated by Marcos in 1972 had been released by now, Aquino remained in jail with only occasional time off. Aquino was charged with involvement with communists and guerrillas, and because he was convicted by a military tribunal, "there was never really a test," Stanley said.

Stanley speculated that Marcos may have struck a deal with Aquino because he hoped the dissident would have a moderating influence among opposition groups in the United States. It is unclear whether Aquino can successfully maintain his political base in the Philippines, Stanley said