Foreign Relations of the United States, 1977–1980, Volume XXII, Southeast Asia and the Pacific

302. Letter From Philippine President Marcos to President Carter¹

Manila, September 24, 1977

Dear Mr. President,

Allow me first of all to apologize for the faux pas that seems to have been committed by the unexplained non-delivery to you of my reply to your kind letter of April 1977 hand-carried by Assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke.²

I have taken the welcome opportunity of the second visit to us of Assistant Secretary Holbrooke to send you my hand-written letter.

Allow me to express my appreciation as well as that of the Filipino people for the sentiments of friendship you conveyed in your letter of April 1977 as well as in your verbal messages through Assistant Secretary Holbrooke and Assistant Secretary James Cooper who was with us on the U.S.-ASEAN dialogue in Manila.³

I reiterate my strong and unabashed support for your human rights policy and have demonstrated such support not only in the conduct of Philippine domestic policy but also in international affairs. It is my hope that Assistant Secretary Holbrooke will be able to talk to you in more detail about this.

We are gratified by your message to me that you would like to see the issues pending between our two countries resolved as soon as possible on the basis of mutual respect and mutual benefit. Accordingly, in the consultations with Assistant Secretary Holbrooke, I have gone out of my way to bring about a resolution of the issues pertaining to the military agreements between our two countries with the active and brilliant cooperation of Assistant Secretary Holbrooke.

Rest assured, Mr. President, that it shall be my pleasant task to demonstrate that you and the American people continue to enjoy a reservoir of good will in the Philippines.

Allow me again to assure you of my continued respect and goodwill.

Sincerely yours,

Ferdinand Marcos

1. Source: Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Brzezinski Material, President’s Correspondence with Foreign Leaders File, Box 16, Philippines: President Ferdinand E. Marcos, 4/77–4/80. No classification marking. The letter is handwritten. In a September 30 covering memorandum to Aaron, Armacost wrote, “This is a copy of the Marcos letter which Dick brought back with him. I thought you might find it amusing. Were it not for the fact that Marcos’ handwriting is superior, you might think Dick drafted the letter himself!” (Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Brzezinski Material, Brzezinski Office File, Country Chron Files, Box 39, Philippines: 1977)
2. See Document 295.
3. Reference is to Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Richard Cooper, who addressed the first U.S.-ASEAN Dialogue. See footnote 5, Document 196.