Am waiting for the family to arrive from dinner at the Tokyo Restaurant, a one-door affair but with good Japanese food. I was proceeding there at 10:00 PM when the radio said they were already bringing home Mrs. [Lulu] Tinio who is apparently giving the party for the children—at Forbes Park. So I returned to the Palace.
Ambassador de la Rosa wired before the Foreign Policy Council meeting that the US-South Vietnamese forces have captured a town which removes the threat against P[h]nom Penh.
Official Gazette for May 12, 1970: President Marcos met with the Foreign Policy Council to discuss a request for assistance from the Cambodian government of Premier Lon Nol. The Council met for one and a half hours.
The Council agreed that the government should await the results of the Asian conference scheduled in Jakarta, Indonesia on May 16 to 18 and wait for the Cambodian situation to clear up before any decision is taken on what aid, other than military, might be sent by the Philippines, if it becomes absolutely necessary for aid to be sent.
The Council unanimously agreed that the Philippines attend the Jakarta conference with the Secretary of Foreign Affairs as chairman of the delegation, and the chairmen of the foreign relations and foreign affairs committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives, respectively, as members; and with the following guidelines: 1. The government does not support the idea of military aid to Cambodia. 2. The government supports the idea of a civilian observers team being dispatched to Cambodia to assess the situation and to report its observations to the member-nations of the conference. 3. The government supports the maintenance of Cambodia’s neutrality. 4. The government is interested that the principles of the first Afro-Asian conference in Bandung be upheld at the Jakarta meeting. It was further agreed that should the question of Laos come up at the Jakarta meeting, the same position vis-a-vis Cambodia should apply.
The Liberal Party president, Senator Gerardo M. Roxas, was invited to designate a minority representative in the Jakarta delegation. The Senator however said he would hold judgment on that invitation until after consultation with party leaders. Present at the conference were Vice President Fernando Lopez, former President Carlos P. Garcia, Senate President Gil J. Puyat, Senate President Protempore Jose J. Roy, Speaker Jose B. Laurel, Jr., Speaker Protempore Jose Aldeguer, Secretaries. Carlos P. Romulo of Foreign Affairs, Juan Ponce Enrile of Defense, Felix Makasiar of Justice and Cesar E. A. Virata of Finance, Executive Secretary Alejandro Melchor, Jr.;
Senate Majority Floor Leader Arturo M. Tolentino, House Majority Floor Leader Marcelino Veloso, former Secretary of Foreign Affairs Narciso Ramos, Senators Lorenzo M. Tañada, Gerardo M. Roxas, Helena Z. Benitez and Wenceslao R. Lagumbay; Representatives Nicanor Yñiguez, Carmelo Barbero and Aguedo Agbayani; Joaquin P. Roces of the The Manila Times Publishing Co., Sebastian Ugarte of thePhilippines Herald, Hans Menzi of the Bulletin, Manolo Elizalde of the Evening News, Andres Velasco-Go of the Daily Star Rodolfo Reyes of the Manila Chronicle, D. H. Soriano of the Republic and Raul Locsin of Business Day. Baguio City Mayor Luis Lardizabal of the Rotary international, Leticia de Guzman of the Civic Assembly of the Women of the Philippines, Doroteo Martinez of the Manila Lions, Firmo Liwanag of the Philippine. Jaycees and Oscar Arellano of Operations Brotherhood.
The President spent the afternoon working on official papers, in the course of which he signed the designation papers of Juan S. Agcaoili as deputy commissioner of the Budget Commission.
Agcaoili takes over the post of Fernando Dizon, who retired last February. His nomination was submitted to the Commission on Appointments for confirmation.
Foreign Policy Council at my suggestion and supported by the recommendation of the Executive Committee of the National Security Council unanimously agreed:
- To send a delegation headed by Sec. [Carlos] Romulo to the Djakarta conference, with the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House and Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Senate as members, a membership being offered to the Liberal Party if they want it and Col. Fidel Ramos, AFP [Armed Forces of the Philippines] J-2 [Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence] as Sec. Romulo’s staff.
- That no military aid be given to the Lon Nol government which has requested arms and equipment.
- That humanitarian aid be considered people-to-people not through the Cambodian government after the Djakarta conference.
- That another meeting be called by me after Djakarta conference.
- That we support the sending by the Djakarta conference of an observation team of civilians to Cambodia to submit a report to the conference or the UN [United Nations] Sec. General’s conference of Asian Nations.
- That we support the position that Cambodia be kept and maintain its neutrality.
- That these guiding principles apply equally to Laos.