
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, June 28, 1990                   TAG: 9006280045
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

VOLUNTEERS LEAVING PHILIPPINES

The Peace Corps is pulling its volunteers out of the Philippines to make sure they are not killed or kidnapped by Communist rebels, the agency said Wednesday.

"All of the volunteers are safe, and this is strictly a precautionary measure," Peace Corps Director Paul Coverdell said in a statement.

The agency suspended its program after learning that "Peace Corps volunteers may be among those targeted by the armed wing of the Communist Party," Coverdell said.

He said the White House and the State Department were involved in the decision to recall the 261 volunteers, most of whom were working in remote rural areas with poor security.

For a month, Americans have been cautioned by the State Department to be careful traveling in the Philippines. But they have not been told to stay away, or to leave.

The travel advisory, posted May 28 with the onset of negotiations over the use of the U.S.-run Clark Air Base and naval facilities at Subic Bay, specified that "serious problems" exist in urban areas.

The Peace Corps volunteers are scheduled to leave today after a special send-off from Philippine President Corazon Aquino. They will fly to Hawaii to finish their service or discuss other assignments.

The State Department made clear that none of the present volunteers are likely to be returning to their posts in the Philippines.

Spokeswoman Margaret Tutwiler said that after they arrive in Hawaii, the volunteers will attend a "close-of-service conference" at the University of Hawaii.

"Some of the volunteers will go on to work in other countries," she said. "Others will be ending their Peace Corps service early."

A senior U.S. official in Manila said the move does not imply a lack of support for the Aquino government. Concern that it might be viewed that way "has to be balanced against the greater downside of having a Peace Corps volunteer kidnapped or killed," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Philippine military said last week that rebels in Manila planned to target Americans and other foreigners for assassination and kidnapping in the next six months. The U.S. Embassy recalled all Peace Corps volunteers to Manila over the weekend after receiving a report that they had been added to the target list.

The rebels have made no specific public threats against the volunteers but have charged that U.S. and Japanese aid workers secretly assist the Philippine government in its counterinsurgency operations. Both the U.S. and Japanese governments deny the charges.

Peace Corps volunteers had been involved in education, environment, agriculture and community development projects throughout the main Philippine island, Luzon, and the central Visayas chain.

by CNB