February 24, 1986

Companies The largest union at Eastern Airlines would prefer a takeover of the company by Texas Air rather than consider contract concessions, the union's president said. A Texas Air bid was being weighed by Eastern's board. Meanwhile, it was reported that Eastern and its pilots had reached an agreement, thus averting a strike. [ Page D1. ]

New Jersey lottery numbers in some copies yesterday were reported incorrectly. The Pick-It number drawn Saturday was 774; the Pick 4 number was 2496.

With the Philippines caught up in a military and political crisis, the Communist New People's Army in the countryside and their radical allies in the cities have remained largely on the sidelines, putting many of their followers in an uncomfortable position. As the confusion and uncertainty continued today, Bayan, an umbrella organization of leftist political groups and unions, called for a general strike to begin immediately. Leaders of the left say their decision to boycott the election Feb. 7 between President Ferdinand E. Marcos and Corazon C. Aquino has been proved correct, since Mr. Marcos has remained in office despite widespread signs of fraud and voter intimidation. But a number of moderate Filipinos and diplomats here believe the boycott cost the Communists a chance to increase their power by linking themselves to the popular Mrs. Aquino.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 1986 International Marcos troops attacked the garrison in Manila held by two former Government officials, but the assault ended quickly amid evidence that some of the attackers and a growing numbver of military officials had joined the rebels. The attack followed a tense night of threats and counter threats between the two sides. The fast-moving events left the ultimate outcome of three-day standoff unclear. [ Page A1, Column 6. ] A cutoff of Manila's U.S. military aid was threatened by President Reagan unless President Marcos avoided the use of force against those calling for his resignation. The White House spokesman, Larry Speakes, said Mr. Reagan had sent a message urging Mr. Marcos ''to avoid an attack against other elements of the Philippine armed forces.'' [ A1:4. ] Philippine leftists remain inactive during the military and political crisis, putting many of their followers in an uncomfortable position. Leaders of the left contend that their decision to boycott the election on Feb. 7 has been proved correct, since President Marcos has stayed in office despite widespread indicaitons of fraud and voter intimidation. But a number of political moderates and diplomats believe the boycott cost the Communists a chance to increase their power by linking up to the enormously popular Corazon C. Aquino. [ A1:5. ] The Jews of Lebanon face imminent danger from extremist Islamic groups and should leave the country, leading French Jews said. The appeal at a conference in Paris followed the announced executions of four Jews in Lebanon and the abduction of three Jews by an Islamic group in West Beirut.

Because of an editing error, an article on the Washington Talk page Feb. 6 about Presidential speechwriters left an incorrect impression concerning the authorship of a line in a speech by President Reagan about the space shuttle disaster. The words ''slipped the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God,'' are from the sonnet ''High Flight,'' by James Gillespie Magee Jr.