Imee and Irene left for Hongkong by Cathay Pacific and then to Rome by Quantas; from Rome to London next Sunday by Alitalia.
Imelda cried a little but the children were dry-eyed although long faced.
Irene goes to St. Leonard School at Hastings while Imee goes to Mayfield which is in between Hastings at the southern coast of England and Worth, Bongbong’s school.
It will be lonely and quiet here in the palace when Bongbong leaves for London next Sunday. Imelda may go with him to see to the proper accommodations of the girls.
In the meantime, Gov. [Benjamin] Romualdez and Dra. [Paciencia] Inday Disini accompany them on their trip.
Official Gazette for April 14, 1971: PRESIDENT MARCOS limited his schedule to only one engagement—the proclamation of five more provinces as land reform areas in ceremonies held at the Maharlika Hall. The whole morning and early evening were devoted to paper work.
Proclaimed were eight towns of Isabela, nine towns in the fourth congressional district of Pangasinan, eight municipalities of Quezon, 13 in Iloilo province, including Iloilo City; and the entire province of Camarines Sur.
In his speech at the proclamation ceremonies, the President underscored the need for eliminating the oppressive features of the nation’s outmoded land tenure system before “a meaningful level of economic development” can take place in the country’s essentially agrarian economy.
“We know that if we fail to bring about land reform through peaceful and democratic means, attempts will be made to carry it out by force and violence,” the President said.
He pointed out that despite the odds the administration has to contend with, its achievements in the area of land reform had been very substantial.
As of December 1970, he said, the land reform program had spread to 16 provinces, involving some 161 municipalities with a total of 222,021 rice and corn farmers working on an area of about 544,789.82 hectares.
Undertaken by the government under the land reform program were the acquisition of private agricultural lands, the opening of public lands or settlement projects, and manpower and clientele development programs, the President said.
He disclosed that as of December 1970, 99 estates had been acquired, covering an area of 68,974 hectares with 51,339 farmer beneficiaries.
Aside from this, the President said, 35 estates had been acquired by the Land Bank with a total area of 4,009 hectares, costing some P16,893,800, and with 2,316 farmers directly benefiting from the acquisitions. He also mentioned the acquisition of 30 settlement reservations and EDCOR farms with an area of 527,033 hectares, on which some 24,509 families had been settled under the government settlement scheme.
“The process of land reform will go on until it is completed,” the President said. “Before the end of 1973, before I step down from the Presidency, the whole Republic of the Philippines shall have been declared a land reform area,” he said.
The President was introduced by Conrado F. Estrella, Land Authority governor and chairman of the Land Reform Council, who formally read the proclamation declaring an additional five provinces, as land reform areas.
Present at the proclamation were former President Diosdado Macapagal under whose administration the Land Reform Code was enacted; senators, representatives, governors, city and municipal mayors; and a large delegation of farmers from the newly proclaimed localities.
The President was back to his desk work later in the afternoon, in the course of which he submitted to the Commission on Appointments for confirmation the nomination of a career minister, Monico Vicente, as Chief of Mission, Class III.
But it is best that the children now go out of the Philippines in view of the expected outbreak of hostilities in the country and their growing precociousness.
Last night we slept in our bedroom, the children having their mattresses carried and put on the floor beside our bed.
We slept late. At 9:05 AM Irene woke up and called the time to Imee. We asked the two girls to come and lay in bed beside Imelda and I. We embraced them and kidded Irene about her sharp memory but lazy study habits. We reminded her of her continuous eating.
But finally we had to get up. We asked Imee to promise to take care of Irene and not to order her around too much.
The old friends were there to see them off at the airport at 1:30 PM.
We had brought Pugger (Snow-white) and he was actually whining and crying as if he knew they were going away for some time.
Before we went down the Palace we had family pictures, solos and pictures with the favorite dogs (Imee with Snow White, Irene with Cuddles, Bongbong with Sandy or later with Achilles the Dalmatian whom I later took over).
Then we all prayed before the Infant Jesus on the southern side of the Ceremonial Hall.
I cancelled all my appointments in the past three days except for the important ones so I could spend as much time as I could with my children.
We romped around the park across the river, played with the dogs, visited the horses and made out jokes on each other.
We invented games and puzzles. And worked out puns.
I have never been as close to my family as I was the past few days.
Of course the invasion of my golf course by the Green Revolution (home gardens of the PSU [Presidential Security Unit] and PGB [Presidential Guard Battalion]) is a favorite subject of jokes.
And Irene’s growing tummy and buldit which makes her the symbol of the Double “C” (“C” stands for curves) while Imee’s long eyelashes and called “pilikis” as well as her beautiful teeth after her braces looking like false teeth because they are so regular and lined up.
I declared 175 more municipalities (5 provinces Pangasinan, Isabela, Quezon, Camarines Sur and Iloilo) as land reform area at 3:00 PM at Maharlika Hall through the Land Reform
Kapampangan word for “buttocks.”
The fourth page of this entry is missing.
Council headed by Gov. Conrado Estrella.
Pres. [Diosdado] Macapagal and former Huk Supremo Luis Taruc were present. So was Gerry Montemayor of the FFF [Federation of Free Farmers].
I intend to declare the entire Philippines as a land reform area before the end of 1973.
When I asked Pres. Macapagal what he thought of the Huk Supremo, he said “Magingat-ingat tayo. When he delivers speeches in the provinces, he always says that communism is better than democracy.”