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Give Passport to Marcos, Court Says

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<i> Reuters</i>

A Philippine court ruled Tuesday that exiled former First Lady Imelda Marcos is no longer a threat to national security and ordered the government to issue her a passport.

A lawyer for Marcos said she plans to return to her homeland Nov. 4, ending 5 1/2 years in exile in the United States that began when her late husband, Ferdinand E. Marcos, was overthrown in a popular revolt in 1986. He died in Hawaii in 1989.

On her return, Marcos faces trial on charges of tax evasion. No trial date has been set, and more charges could be filed.

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President Corazon Aquino had authorized only a one-way travel document for Marcos, barring her from leaving the country without official permission. The government said it will appeal.

Lawyer Antonio Coronel told reporters that Marcos could wind up as a neighbor of Aquino, since she plans to move into one of two old family houses outside the presidential palace.

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