Aquino Makes Brief but Lively L.A. Visit

Philippine President Corazon Aquino ended her two-nation tour Saturday with a brief stopover in Los Angeles, but it was long enough for her to bask in the praise of local politicians, celebrate Mass with supporters and endure a boisterous street demonstration by Marcos loyalists.

Aquino spent only a few hours in the city on the final leg of her seven-day visit to the United States and Canada, but her arrival was met with lavish attention from a community that includes the largest concentration of Filipinos outside the island nation, estimated at 350,000 countywide.

Aquino spoke briefly to 150 supporters at Los Angeles International Airport before dashing off to attend evening Mass at St. Basil’s Cathedral in the mid-Wilshire District.

“It is a great delight to see so many of my fellow countrymen,” she said. “Let us continue to tell the world what we have done in the Philippines and what we have done to restore democracy.”

At St. Basil’s, more than a thousand people swarmed the sidewalks and partly spilled into the street as Aquino arrived under heavy security. Shouting matches broke out between Aquino supporters and opponents, who jostled on the sidewalks and had to be separated by police officers in riot gear. Police reported no arrests or violence.

Archbishop Roger M. Mahony welcomed Aquino and the 700 parishioners in both Tagalog and English. He praised Aquino for leading “a revolution of God’s power and grace.”

Aquino, who sat in the first pew, said she was overwhelmed by the “warmth and kindness” afforded her during her visit. She said her administration has made progress in reviving the economy of the Philippines and she called on Filipinos overseas to continue their support.

Aquino’s visit here was her first since she replaced the late Ferdinand Marcos in 1986. And her aides acknowledged Saturday that the Philippine president was making amends to local Filipinos who were outraged that year when Aquino bypassed Los Angeles on her initial U.S. tour.

Those ruffled feelings appeared largely forgotten by the hundreds of supporters who filled the pews of St. Basil’s or stood outside the church hoping to catch a glimpse of the former housewife, whose “people power” revolution toppled the Marcos government.

Aquino was catapulted into politics after her husband--Marcos opposition leader Benigno S. Aquino Jr.--was assassinated.

As Aquino spoke Saturday, pro-Marcos activists and some of her former supporters demonstrated in front of the church calling for the resignation of the 56-year-old president.

Eli Swing, a spokesman for the Filipino American Movement for a Better Philippines, claimed Aquino has failed to control government corruption and has allowed a leftist insurgency to go largely unchecked. “She is destroying the very aspirations and visions of her late husband,” said Swing, who described himself as a former confidante of Benigno Aquino.

Marcos loyalists also paraded outside the church with portraits of the former president and signs condemning Aquino’s decision not to allow Marcos’ body to be returned to the Philippines. After Marcos died Sept. 28 in Honolulu, Aquino rejected his family’s request to bury him in his native country, citing security reasons.

“We just want to have the body of Marcos brought home,” said Connie Vercales. “It’s so heartless that she won’t bring a Philippine citizen home. That was his final wish.”

Aquino, however, appeared unperturbed by the protests. Accompanied by members of her Cabinet and aides, she said Saturday that her trip to meet with top government and business leaders to encourage investment in the Philippines “went very well.”

During stops in Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa, New York, Washington and Dallas, Aquino had stressed the need for more economic aid for a country that has 7,000 islands, 61 million people and a per capita income of $550.

Times staff writers Clay Evans and Ashley Dunn contributed to this story.