The Philippines: Farewell to the Peace Corps

In its 29-year history, the Peace Corps has sent more workers to the Philippines, some 7,500, than to any other country. So it was more than a routine change last week when Washington suspended the program and flew all 261 current volunteers home. The reason: “very reliable” U.S. intelligence reports that insurgents of the communist New People’s Army had targeted Peace Corps volunteers for attack.

^ Over the years, Peace Corps workers have been withdrawn from a handful of countries because of political unrest, but never before in the face of direct threats. Philippine officials said they knew of no specific dangers for the volunteers and suggested that Washington had acted hastily. But concern for the safety of U.S. personnel in the Philippines has reached a critical stage. The N.P.A. is thought to have murdered eight Americans since April 1989.