Free drinks, dancing to get over bomb blast

Press, 22 October 1980, Page 9

Free drinks, dancing to get over bomb blast

NZPA-Reuter Manila Image-conscious Philippine officials? gave away free drink arid entertainment, and even offered free island tours entertain American travel agents a day after a terrorist bomb scuttled their international tourism congress. At~a cocktail party soon after the Association of American Travel • Agents abruptly ended its Manila congress, the Philippines Tourism Minister (Mr Jose Aspiras) announced a Government offer of free plane trips for; delegates to any part of..the country’s 7100 islands as a token of Filipino hospitality. The scene of the party was the lobby pf the seaside International -Convention Centre where a borrib planted by urban terrorists fighting President Ferdinand Marcos’s martial law regime exploded on Sunday, wounding- 18 persons, including delegates. Gaiety and dancing marked the scene 24 hours after: the bombing as Philippine tourism officials .went to great lengths to entertain A.S.T.A. delegates, hundreds of whom earlier jammed an

airline counter to book early flights out of .the country. Bands and choral groups gave non-stop music, drinks flowed, and the convention floor rocked to disco music as men and women delegates, Philippine officials and lovely Filipino girls danced the night away. Some 2000 people filled the lobby, about half of them travel agent delegates, who cheered as Mr Aspiras announced free trips for everyone for the next few days to “the length and breadth of our land.” Meanwhile, Filipino security forces began issuing warrants for some of the 30 people whose arrest was ordered by President Marcos after the bomb attavk. The Defence Minister (Colonel Carmelo Barbero) said several warrants were expected to be issued yesterday. Plain-clothes men who said they were from the military went to the Manila home of the veteran opposition leader, Jovito Salonga, apparently to serve him with an arrest, search and seizure warrant, which permits detention without trial, Mr Salonga was not at

home but his son told Reuters that his father had not gone into hiding. . i

Also named in warrants were the self-exiled opposition leaders Benigno Aquino, who is in the United States, Raul Manglapus and Sergio Osmena. Colonel Barbero said the 30 were named by a Fili-pino-American, Victor Burns Lovely, who was critically injured when a bomb he was alleged to have been fixing exploded in his Manila room.

He was reported to have turned State witness at the week-end when President Marcos visited him after the bomb explosion.

President Marcos had addressed the group and was only yards away watching a film when the blast ripped through a row of empty seats in the conference hall.