Marcos Group’s Passports Canceled; 12 May Go Back

HONOLULU —  As legal maneuvering continued Thursday over 22 boxes of Philippine currency brought to Hawaii with the baggage of former Philippine President Ferdinand E. Marcos, the Philippine consul general in Honolulu said that his nation’s new government has canceled the passports of all 90 members of the Marcos party.

Consul General Raul Rabe also said he has been informed through an intermediary that 12 low-ranking members of the Marcos group “might be interested in going back to the Philippines if it could be clarified that there will be no repercussions against them for accompanying Mr. Marcos to Hawaii.”

At least some of those interested in returning are military men, Rabe said. The consulate has passed on a request to Manila for a response, and “this might involve clarifying whether they have been or will be declared AWOL,” Rabe said.

Thursday afternoon, attorneys representing Marcos and 19 members of his family or entourage filed motions seeking to block release to the new Philippine government of a U.S. Customs inventory of the boxes of currency and requesting a hearing today on the issue.

The motions ask that U.S. District Judge Harold M. Fong bar implementation of an agreement between U.S. Customs and representatives of President Corazon Aquino’s government that calls for U.S. officials to turn over the inventory today. That pact was part of action in a lawsuit filed here Monday that seeks to prevent release of the currency, reportedly worth about $1.2 million, to Marcos and obtain its return to the Philippines.

The motion states that Marcos and the other defendants “will vigorously oppose on both jurisdictional and, if necessary, substantive grounds,” any claim by the Philippine government to the currency. It is signed by Bert T. Kobayashi Jr., a Honolulu lawyer retained by Washington attorney Richard A. Hibey, who represents Marcos in the case.

May Not Affect U.S. Stay

Consul General Rabe, one of the first members of the Philippine diplomatic corps to throw his support to Aquino, said he does not believe cancellation of the passports will affect the ability of Marcos and his entourage to stay in the United States. He said that the passports were canceled “pending a review of whether they should be issued new passports.”

But he added that “if they want to travel to other countries, the lack of a passport will be a hindrance.”

Rabe said the Philippine government still has only an incomplete list of the members of the Marcos entourage. “We have reiterated our request for a complete list,” Rabe said.