Marcos must go!
THE EVENTS of the last two days has demonstrated with brutal reality that Mr. Ferdinand E. Marcos has neither the support of his people nor control of his government.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines, transforming itself into the Armed Forces of the People have marched out from under his leadership and repudiated his being their Commander-in-Chief with their boots and their decision.
In two day’s of tactical maneuvering, the forces still loyal to him have been stopped in their tracks by the Filipino people, armed only with their bodies and their new-found dedication to the rebirth of freedom from his tyranny.
In what may be called an unfortunate sequence of events, even some of his outstanding election manipulators and corrupt officials have found it expeditious to follow the example of rats deserting a sinking ship.
Perhaps, the most embarrassing thing of all was for Filipinos to see the most powerful President the country has ever had the misfortune to elect, calling for his loyalists to bring their guns to Malacanang to keep him in power.
Mr. Marcos has invoked his emergency powers. Perhaps too embarrassed by a lack of martial aides to declare a clearly unimplementable Martial Law. He has declared a twelve-hour curfew with which, like King Canute ordering the waves, he seeks to order the crowds defending Camp Crame to go home.
It is high drama that is totally unnecessary.
Having no mandate to rule and no reason to die, Mr. Marcos should take advantage of American hospitality and take one more demonstration of support from Mr. Reagan by resigning and leaving for the country whose foreign policy has enabled him to rule these last 14 years.
It would be despicable to think that Mr. Marcos would close his regime by as much bloodshed as has so far characterized it.
