Baring the Truth

Is President Ferdinand Marcos in control of his government? That question has dominated conversation in Manila since Nov. 14, when Marcos went into virtual seclusion. Speculation had him suffering from a number of illnesses, ranging from a degenerative kidney ailment to heart disease. Rumors swept the capital that the President had undergone major surgery, that he was dying or that he was dead.

Marcos himself brought a temporary halt to the rumors late last week when he appeared at a 1 3/4-hour Cabinet meeting in his study at Malacanang Palace. In a variation on a theme by the late Lyndon Johnson, who once publicly showed off his abdominal-surgery scars, Marcos raised his shirt to show a stomach and chest free of any signs of recent surgery. His audience laughed at the gesture, perhaps nervously; Marcos invited any Cabinet official who did not believe in his good health-and talked about itto resign.