THE PHILIPPINES: Welcome Aboard

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The sleek, 2,200-ton yacht Lapu Lapu knifed across Tokyo Bay on a trial run at 17 knots, and in her wake eddied a succession of troubles for Carlos Garcia, President of the Philippine Republic. One of 15 ocean-going vessels to be built by the Japanese as war reparations to the Philippines, the Lapu Lapu* cost $2,500,000, is 275 feet long and powered by diesel engines. She will carry a crew of 92, and has room for 48 passengers.

In Manila the magazine Philippines Free Press questioned Garcia's need of a presidential yacht at a time when he is urging austerity on his fellow countrymen. Diosdado Macapagal, Garcia's Vice President and political enemy, promised that if he won the next presidential election he would sell the yacht, because she "is a symbol of extravagance at the height of the people's economic suffering."

In Tokyo the clamor had its effect. Newsmen were at first curtly refused permission to go aboard the yacht while Filipino officers and men were being trained to handle her. Then newsmen were suddenly invited to explore the Lapu Lapu "from end to end." Explained a Filipino official to reporters: "The Lapu Lapu is not a presidential yacht. It is a navy ship." An aide tried to warn him: "If you do not give the press the entire truth, they will ferret it out." "But," replied the first official, "if I give the wrong facts who will be blamed?" At that point a reporter interrupted them: "If this is a navy ship, why are the chairs marked 'President's chairs?' " Said the second official to the first: "There, you see? I told you!"

President Garcia himself seemed to be almost as wavering as his Tokyo officials. He first declared that the presidential yacht was necessary for "safety, prestige and speed'' in his island-hopping tours, and added that, anyway, the Lapu Lapu was not costing the nation scarce dollars, and could be used by his presidential successors as well as himself. As criticism mounted, Garcia designated the Lapu Lapu as "flagship" of the Philippine navy (making her. apparently, the only unarmed fleet flagship in the world). He promised that she would be available for "mercy missions" in case of typhoons, tidal waves and such.