Aquino boycott begins to bite

Press, 19 February 1986, Page 10

Aquino boycott begins to bite

NZPA-Reuter-AP Manila Corazon Aquino’s call to boycott seven Philippines banks, a giant brewery, and pro-Government newspapers as a protest against election frauds had begun to bite, business sources said yesterday.

About 2000 students burnt newspapers and picketed the Governmentowned Channel 4 television station, which is accused of one-sided election coverage in favour of the President, Mr Ferdinand Marcos.

Mrs Aquino issued the call on Sunday, saying she had won the Presidential election but Mr Marcos had cheated her of victory by fraud and intimidation.

Central Bank sources said banks owned or controlled by Marcos friends or associates had become extremely vulnerable and were certain to be hit by huge withdrawals. There appeared to be no big run on the banks but shares .of San Miguel Corporation, the country’s biggest food and beverage conglomerate, dipped to 11.50 pesos on Monday from Friday’s closing of 14 pesos. It recovered marginally and closed at 12 pesos yesterday. The company is headed by Eduardo Cojuangco, a close friend of Mr Marcos and a cousin of Mrs Aquino. “Business Day” news-

paper said the drop was the single biggest one-day fall in the company’s history. It quoted a broker as saying, “I have never seen aything like this and I never dreamt this could happen to San Miguel.” Militant opposition groups also planned demonstrations outside the United States Embassy in Manila. AntiAmerican feeling has been running high in the Marcos and Aquino camps. The President of the United States, Mr Ronald Reagan, who initially said both sides might have cheated in the election, later said that fraud and violence had been con-

ducted mainly by Marcos supporters. He has sent a diplomatic trouble-shooter, Philip Habib, to Manila to assess the situation. Mr Habib has already met Mr Marcos, Mrs Aquino, and Cardinal Jaime Sin, the Archbishop of Manila and a persistent Marcos critic. He held talks with the Prime Minister, Mr Cesar Virata, yesterday. The Central Bank Governor, Mr Jose Fernandez, said that the money supply, partially fuelled by election spending, had gone up during the campaign and raised interest rates on Treasury bills to mop up excess money. Bank sources said there

appeared to be no enthusiasm to buy the bills, even at rates as high as 30 per cent.

The interest rates were raised from 19 to 21 per cent.

Mrs Aquino called for a boycott of what she called the "crony media.” “Bulletin Today” and “Daily Express,” owned by Marcos associates, protested their innnocence yesterday. “Bulletin,” in a frontage editorial, said, "In advocating, the boycott of this newspaper, Mrs Aquino or some of the people around her, we hope, are not motivated by the desire to favour their own ‘crony’ newspapers.”

"Express” said, “... thank God‘we have been spared the nightmare of a Government under her administration.” A "Bulletin” columnist, Jesus Bigomia, said that if Mrs Aquino’s call was heeded even by a small fraction of voters it “could inflict more than a dent on the businesses of those against whom the boycott is directed.” San Miguel, which makes beer, soft-drinks, dairy, and other food products, is considered one of the country's most stable companies.

Officers of the Security Bank and the Commercial Bank of Manila, two of the seven banks Mrs Aquino said on Sunday

should be boycotted, confirmed yesterday that many of their clients were taking their money elsewhere in answer to her call. An officer of Security Bank said the withdrawals had actually begun last week and incrased substantially on Monday. The bank would not know exactly how much it was

An officer of Security Bank said the withdrawals had actually begun last week and incrased substantially on Monday. The bank would not know exactly how much it was hurting until today, when it expected to have reports from its branches throughout the country. The “Manila Times” reported an executive of Commercial Bank as saying its tellers had had to ask on Monday for double the usual allocation for withdrawals to meet Monday’s rash of pull-outs.