Official Gazette for February 12, 1971: PRESIDENT MARCOS met his Cabinet primarily to discuss the government reorganization plan which he has to submit to Congress on March 5.
During the meeting, the President emphasized that he was more concerned with the idea of setting up an effective mechanism, which would be embodied in the reorganization plan, for the removal or punishment, of crooked, ineffective and discourteous government personnel, particularly in the Bureau of Customs and the Bureau of Internal Revenue. In advancing the idea, he noted the 60-day suspension required under the Civil Service Law proved too short or outright ineffective in disciplining erring civil servants. The President said that usually after 60 days the crook is back in the government and up to his old tricks,
The Chief Executive recommended that suspensions should be made executory pending the hearing of the administrative charges filed against the accused. However, in fairness of the accused, the President suggested that a period should be set for the final disposition of the administrative case.
On the other hand, the President added, the Commission should also give emphasis to rewarding or recognizing model public servant.
The President directed Secretary of Justice Vicente Abad Santos to make a study of these recommendations and to submit to him his report before the meeting of the Commission with congressional leaders.
Commission Chairman Armand Fabella informed the President that under the tentative plan, the Commission would favor a 10 per cent reduction of government personnel, or about 40,000 employes. Fabella said that the proposal would enable the government to realize an outright savings of about ₱200 million.
Fabella said that the scheme of the plan was actually to eliminate temporary and casual employment except on emergency and seasonal basis. Deserving and necessary casual should be converted to permanent, classified positions. In other words, Fabella said, there would be an eventual professionalism of government service.
Other problems discussed by the Cabinet included the regionalization of the power of department heads and the question of whether there should be only one or more undersecretaries and whether the position should be permanent or political.
The President also instructed members of the Cabinet concerned to attend the Monday meeting with specific schemes for incorporation into the reorganization plan, such as the machinery capable of carrying out more expeditiously the various priority development) programs of the administration, as outlined in his statet-of-the-nation message.
Present at the meeting were Secretary of Foreign Affairs Carlos P. Romulo, Secretary of Education Onofre D, Corpuz, Secretary of Commerce and Industry Ernesto Maceda, Secretary of National; Defense Juan Ponce Enrile, Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources Arturo R. Tanco, Jr., Secretary of Finance Cesar E. A. Virata, Secretary of Public Works and Communications Manuel B. Syquio, Secretary of Health Amadeo H. Cruz, Secretary of Labor Blas F. Ople, Secretary of General Services Constancio E. Castañeda, Secretary of Social Welfare Gregorio Feliciano, Executive Secretary Alejandro Melchor, Jr., Press Secretary Francisco S. Tatad;
Budget Commissioner Faustino Sy-Changco, Reorganization Commission Chairman Armand Fabella, NEC Chairman Gerardo Sicat, OEC Administrator Eduardo Rodriguez, Panamin Secretary Manuel Elizalde, Jr., Presidential Executive Assistant Jacobo C. Clave, Land Authority Governor Conrado Estrella, CNI Commissioner Mama Sinsuat, Central Bank Governor Gregorio S. Licaros, DBP Chairman Leonides S. Vrata, PNB President Eusebio Villatuya, GSIS General Manager Roman Cruz, Jr., BOI Chairman Vicente Paterno, PES Dlrector-GeneralApolinario Orosa, SSS Administrator Gilberto Teodoro, NHC Chairman Gaudencio Tobias, PHHC General Manager Sebastian Santiago, and NSDB Chairman Florencio Medina.
Before the President met with his Cabinet, he received a delegation from Sorsogon headed by Rep. Rafael Aquino; and Mayor Datu Balakat Sangki of Ampatuan, Gotabato. The callers discussed local problems with him.
Following a meeting with his official family, the President had a brief rest, and then received the three bar topnotchers from the Far Eastern University, namely, Romulo D. San Juan, Obed C. Cotaran and Jose Baisas.
Executive Secretary Alejandro Melchor, Jr., who accompanied the three topnotchers, said he invited them to join the government and would assign them to the management audit in order to get a good perspective of the work in the government.
Worked on the reorganization bill to be submitted to Congress not later than Mar. 5th from 10:30 AM to 4:00 PM.
Merienda with Mr. and Mrs. Ray Goodman of the World Bonk at 5:30 PM.
Then a speech at 7:30 PM at the SSS [Social Security System] before the Small and Medium Scale Industries Convention.
Everything has quieted down but the OPEC [Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries] has gotten the Western nations to agree to increase the price of crude oil and very soon the price of crude oil for the refineries here will go up and the prices of gasoline, kerosene, diesel fuel, textiles and others will go up.
Then we will be expecting trouble.
During the call, the President expressed the hope that the three new young lawyers would make their services and talents available to the administration.
Later in the afternoon, the President received Raymond Goodman, World Bank director for East Asia, and Mrs. Goodman. They were accompanied to Malacañang by DBP Chairman Leonides S. Virata, CB Governor Gregorio S. Licaros, Secretary Melchor and Secretary Virata.
In the evening, the President was guest of honor and speaker at the closing ceremonies of the 3rd National Convention of Small and Medium Scale Industries, held at the SSS auditorium in Quezon City.
In his speech, the Chief Executive urged the economic community to work hand in hand with government in opening up more opportunities for the poor so that they can “participate fully in the political life of the nation.”
He said that the government has been reorienting domestic policy in order to “redress the balance on the side of the people.”
In other words, he said, where before the emphasis was purely economic, the welfare of the working class must now be taken into account in any development scheme.
“I call on each one of you to join the nation in this effort, this democratic revolution; which should end once and for all the injustices, the abject poverty of the great masses of our people, and the over-reliance on external sources for the sustenance of our economy,” the President concluded.