CIA'S MURDEROUS ROLE OUTRAGES THE FILIPINOS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-01601R001000140001-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 2, 2001
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: August 6, 1971
• Content Type: NSPR

DAILY STATOTHR
Approved For Release 2001/VI : ] -RDP80-01601 RO
. h
1 i __'11 - l..] -:
F,4 [I r."i 0 1-710 0
By \xlll,L.IAM J. I?fli:iEROV
Publication of the Pentagon Papers that has blasted a gaping hole in the credibil-
ity of a string of American administrations has set off a secondary explosion in the
Philippines, vzhere the role of the puppet Magsaysay administration in aiding the
American aggression in Vietnam has been exposed.
One of the main reports in the
Papers is that by Brig. Gen. Ed-
ward G. Lansdale, in which he
discusses in detail the actions
Laken by the CIA from before the
Geneva Agreement of 1954 on-
ward to promote suppressive
Counter-guerrilla warfare in Net
Darn and Laos and to biiild up
Ngo Dinh Diem as the American
instrument to frustrate the Agree-
.naent. Lansdale was well-known
before that in the Philippines,
Since he was the CIA agent who
masterminded many aspects of the
ante 110k suppression campaign in
lh country and who groomed
Ramon Magsaysay for the presi-
dency and ran his election cam-
paign. ]
In a number of the actions de-
tailed by Lansdale in his report
Fillipinos t ho were part of the
h1hgsaysay apparatus and with
whom Lansdale had worked in
the Philippines played a leading
part. Magsaysay himself as honor-
ary president,. backed the setting
up of an outfit initially called
the Freedom Company, "a .non-
profit Philippine corporatign,"
which had the assignment of re-
cruiting Filipinos who had parti-
cipated in the anti-Huk suppres-'
Mon for similar service in Viet:
nam and Laos.
After Freedom Company was or-
ganized in November 1994, it was
apparently felt that Rs same Ad
not sufficiently disguise its oper-
ations, so it was changed to East-
ern Constructipn Company.' (The
CIA has created a maze of such
"corporations" around the world,
.through which its espionage and
subversive activities are carried
on.) .
As the Lansdale report states,
A "The head of Eastern Construc-
tion is Frisco 'Johnny' San Juan,
former National Commander, Phi-
lippines Veterans Legion, and for-
t
rncr close staff assistant to Presi-
dent Magsaysay (servi ;g as Presi-
dential Complaints and Action
Commissioner directly .under the
President)" San Juan went on to
a political career and is how a
congressman from Rizal province.
Lansdale praised the almost un-
tapped potential of Eastern Con-
struction for unconventional war-
fare "which was its original mis-
sion.".lle wrote that this cadre
can be expanded into a wide
range of,counter-Communist acti-'
vities, having sufficient stature
in the Philippines to be able to
draw on a very large segment of
its trained-, experienced and well-
motivated manpower pool." After
a few years, "It now furnishes
about `.90 'trained, experienced
Filipino technicians to the Gov-
ernments of Vietnam and Laos,
under the auspices of MAAG
(MAP) and USOM (ICA) activi-
ties."
MAAG are the iitials for Mili-
tary Assistance Advisory Group,
and MAP for Military Assistance
Program in Vietnam USOMMI-
stands for United States Opera-
tion Afission, and ICA for Interna-
tiona] Cooperation Administration.
The Freedom-Eastern Construe-
- tion outfit was also assigned the
task of ruining a training camp
for anti--Communist Vietnamese
para-military units in a hidden
valley on the Clark Air Ease re-
servation in the Philippines.
In addition the Magsaysay gov-
ernment agreed to operate. a psy-
chological warfare counter-guci-
ri).l.a school called the Security
Training Center, located at Fort
Mcl(inley on the rim of Manila.
This, as the Pentagon Papers
mentions, v,as secretly sponsored
a,~cl financed by the CIA. 't'his
busied "aatr-subversion" person-
nel for all of Southeast Asia.
Another ,`.'?'ilipino-lin ked scheme
was the so-caked Operation Nro
'
tl.er!.cod, which came about fol-
lo =irg a visit in 1PM to see Lans-
dale in Saigon by Oscar Arellano,
a Filipino close to Magsaysay who
was then vice president for Asia
of the International Junior Cham-
ber of Commerce (Jaycees). Arel-
lano carne away from this visit
to advocate the setting up of Ope-.
ration Brotherhood, which was
played up in the Philippines at
the time as a semi-religious a]-
truistic medical mission.
However, as Lansdale explains
it, it was "capable of consider-
able expansion in soelo-economic
medical operations' to support
ceunter-guerrilla actions," and lie
says that "Washington responded
warmly to the idea." According
to Lansdale, the Saigon Military
Mission that he then headed
would "monitor the operation
quietly in the background" and
that "it has a measure of CIA
control."
Oscar Arellano, following the
publication of the Pentagon Papers
issued a defensive statement
claiming that "Oh has always
been a presidential program since
the administration of President
Ma gsaysay. 013's mission is the
propagation of the conviction that
all men are brothers, created by
a Supreme Divinity to whom lie
gave His image and likeness and
imbued with His spirit."
A third Filipino operation was
headed by Col. Napoleon Valeria-
no, who was given the job of
training.- a Presidential Guard
Battalion for- Ngo Dinh. Diem,
after having done the same for
yIagsaysay. Valcriano was select-
ad, says Lansdaio, for his "fine
record against the Communist
Urns." In the Philippines, Vale-
riano had cone landed the most
brutal and notorious of all anti-
Huk units, called the "Skull VOL"
-STATOTHR
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Approved For Release 2001/03/04: CIA-RDP80-01601 R001 00044000t-8