MANILA, Philippines -- President Ferdinand Marcos, scoffing at speculation he is ill, Wednesday called on the opposition to join an executive committee that would take power in the event of his death.
It was the first time that Marcos, 64, has asked opponents to join the high-level committee, which according to the constitution, is to be composed of 14 members headed by a prime minister. Seven members have already been chosen.
'They (the members) must be willing to work and undergo this training for leadership by becoming members of the executive committee,' said Marcos, in power since 1965 and elected last year to a new six-year term after lifting eight years of martial law.
'They must be acquainted with the problems of internal security and must be able to control the armed forces. It is therefore crucial that those who aspire for leadership must become members of the Cabinet and the legislature.'
A spokesman for a newly-formed coalition of 12 opposition parties, the United Nationalist Democratic Organization, said the group had not received a formal invitation from Marcos to join the government and declined further comment.
Political observers said Marcos' invitation to the opposition would revive speculation about his health.
In the event the president dies, the committee is to take over the government and call for a presidential election within 60 days.
However, Marcos dismissed as 'a big laugh' rumors that he is suffering from a serious kidney ailment.
'I intend to stay alive long,' he said. 'What do I have to do to prove I am physically fit? Stand on my head?
'I can run probably farther than any incumbent president anywhere in the world.'
The pro-government media has recently tried to dispell speculation about Marcos' health. Television and newspaper reports have shown him golfing, jogging, riding horses and playing pelota, a form of racquet ball.
Marcos extended his invitation to opposition leaders to join the executive committee -- which his powerful wife, Imelda is expected to join -- following a consultative meeting on possible choices for the new supreme court.
The president is expected to announce a new court Thursday to replace 14 justices who resigned in the wake of a scandal involving the bar exam of the son of one justice.
