Met with the publishers of Manila dailies who also run the TV and Radio stations for breakfast from 8:00 AM to 11:30 AM. This included Chino [Joaquin] Roces of Manila Times. He seemed conciliatory although he pointedly asked if I was not pressurizing the press because the movie advertisers led by his cousin Marcos Roces of Ideal Theater have notified him that they are cutting out advertising from the Times beginning tomorrow. Markitos had told me that they were doing so because the Manila Times was encouraging demonstrations which have driven away customers.
Even Chino admitted that a revolution would fail but he claimed that I was underestimating the Communists and he maintained they were 20,000 strong in the Manila area alone and that they would try a revolt in 1970 and 1971 to early 1972 and if they failed then they would fail completely.
They agreed that any overt act of rebellion or sabotage would justify my suspending the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus. Chino, claiming to know their plans, said that they plan to blast and burn the gasoline stations, 30 men to each station and destroy the public utilities including the Meralco [Manila Electric Company], Nawasa [National Water and Sewage Authority] and telephone.
Even Heny Lopez and Andy Soriano asked why the leaders could not be arrested before they tried this and Chino hastened to add that the evidence would not support a case in court.
Official Gazette for March 21, 1970: President Marcos spent the day mostly at his desk working on state papers, among others firing off a directive to Secretary of Justice Felix V. Makasiar to wind up the probe of alleged irregularities in the San Pedro Tunasan Resettlement Site operations in three days, and through Executive Secretary Alejandro Melchor, Jr. calling on the Manila mayor to prevent violence during transportation strikes.
The President broke off from his desk work only to swear in newly designated Secretary of Commerce and Industry Ernesto Maceda, vice Leonides S. Virata, now the chairman of the Development Bank of the Philippines. The President also approved the promotion of 95 regular Philippine Army majors to lieutenant colonel and 321 reserve officers in the inactive status to their next higher grades.The President likewise approved the commission of 65 graduates of the Philippine Military Academy, Class 1970, in the regular force for assignment in the major branches and 145 individuals in the reserve force of the Armed Forces.
Through the day the President concentrated on desk work, and did not receive callers. He worked through the evening to clear his desk of all urgent state business before trekking to Baguio City where he is slated to go into his annual spiritual retreat in connection with the Holy Week observance
Entry is mislabeled as Saturday.
Chino was apparently trying to frighten the others who asked me about my assessment. I assured them no revolt would not [sic] succeed but that the military felt that if there was going to be a military confrontation anyway, it should be triggered as soon as possible so that there may be less casualties.
Andy Soriano said that one of his own men had suggested that San Miguel Brewery cut down on its advertising in Manila Times because of its leftist tendencies. This was to support my position that I had nothing whatsoever to do in suggesting the cut of advertisement although I did say that if this were so it would be a legitimate act against a paper that was becoming uncomfortably leftist. I then recounted how there had been a fight in the printing section of the Manila Times when Kabataang Makabayan changed the stories without the knowledge of the desk.
I took the opportunity to tell them that the Manila Times was netting P400,000 a month and that it was true that we were checking on its income but that the routinary investigations of the business transactions of its shareholders was exactly that—routinary and of no concern of mine.
They agreed to print an article under my by-line—A Primer on Communism. I asked them to meet without me to agree on how they can help our democracy which they pledge to protect, then to come to see me with the plan.