Bongbong has just arrived. His plane a [Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij]-PAL [Philippine Air Lines] DC-8 on direct flight from Amsterdam touched down at about 3:00 PM. A sizeable crowd with the usual palace friends and their children were there to greet him. The people up in the visitors terrace shouted “Bongbong” and waved to him happily. You could see they were as glad as we were to see him home for the holidays.
And we have been excitedly preparing for his arrival. His room has been refurnished and redone by [Fernando] Pandot Ocampo. We have put in our share.
The girls fixed up his and their rooms to look lived in and cozy. I put in there the stamps we struck for the Pope on his visit and the knives given me by Mayor [Vicente] Hernando of San Nicolas.
And we had the horses waiting for him at the aviary. His horse Argentina was there and at first he shied away from him. Button and Kitten were also there.
Official Gazette for December 13, 1970: President and Mrs. Marcos drove to the Manila International Airport to meet their son Ferdinand, Jr., who arrived early this afternoon from his school in Sussex United Kingdom to spend the Christmas holidays here.Accompanied by their daughters Imee and Irene, the President and the First Lady left Malacañang 2:10 p.m. While at the airport, the President had occasion to exchange amenities with former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi of Japan who was transiting through Manila. The First Family was back at Malacañang at 3:40 p.m.
Later, in a memorandum circular issued through Executive Secretary Alejandro Melchor, Jr., the President urged all local officials in the typhoon-devastated, areas to give priority to the hospitals and school buildings in the rehabilitation and repair of damaged public properties in their respective localities. The President said that the continued maintenance of public educational and health services demand early rehabilitation and repair of damaged public school and hospital buildings.
He pointed out that this could be achieved only with the coordinated efforts of all agencies concerned in all levels of the government.
The pressure of desk work prevented the President from attending the award ceremonies for the Ten Outstanding Policemen of the Philippines, held at the Quirino grandstand in the afternoon. He asked Secretary of National Defense Juan Ponce Enrile to read for him his prepared speech for the occasion. In his speech, the President congratulated the exemplary policemen even as he asked the nation’s citizenry to “pursue their work in. a more meaningful manner.” He also hailed the Philippine Jaycees, who sponsored the TOPP and other project which “aim to extol the quality of excellence.” Only six cops were chosen to be given the TOPP award, namely:
1. Captain David Laquian, executive officer of the Manila Police Department, Precinct 5. 2. Cpl. Jose Laureate of MPD Precinct No. 2. 3. Det. Nicasio Beltran of MPD Precinct No. 8. 4. Sgt. Francisco Baguio of the Maigo Police Department in Lanao del Norte. 5. Pat. Wilfredo Cayena of the Cotabalo City Police Department. While only six outstanding policemen were honored, the President said he was sure there are plenty of outstanding members of the police corps, and that the awardees now are the “finest” among the elite.
The dogs were inside because it was showering as it has been the whole day. His favorite, Sandy, of course was there. And so was Achilles the Dalmatian and the two chows, Butterball and Alaska.
After the hurry and scurry to look into his room and the peremptory demands for kuwento, we heard mass then merienda when he told us a lot of stories.
He had come to the landing ramp when we were out of the VIP reception room and he apparently had cut his hair short but it still looked long and was way down to his collar.
But the first impact was a pleasant shock. He had lost his darkness and he looked unbelievably handsome. I could see and hear that this was also the effect on his mother and the Ilocano mayors who were there.
He had acquired some kind of an English accent and the peculiarly English terms like “frightful,” “dreadful,” “chap.”
But he was changed much deeper than mere accent or adeptness in the English language.
He now placed greater importance on his academics than on sports. He casually announced that he would have to give up his judo as it cuts into his study and work on physics. And he bragged of his being told by his master that they would recommend his elevation or acceleration in physics. He also bragged that he was third in mathematics in a class of 120. Although we did hear of rugby or “rugger.”
Imelda and I are agreed that we made the right decision in sending him to England. And we remembered our fears of friends as well as enemies spoiling him, of drug-addiction, of leftists, threats of kidnapping and the fate of Presidents’ sons in the Philippine society that gave them no incentive for excellence.
Imelda and I were both in tears (of happiness of course) when we met him and talked to him. I noticed that Imelda hugged him longer than usual as I did. And she whispered to me, “You were right, we have lost a child. He is now turning into a man. We can no longer baby him.” I answered, “We will just have to have another child to baby!”
This has been a happy day!