Russ Volckman, Bob Blackburn and their wives arrived today for Bataan’s 30th anniversary.
Played golf with Russ and his wife, Helen at [Bahay] Pangarap at 5:00 PM.
[Benigno] Benny Toda [Jr.] asks for help. But Caltex has already taken over the 74% of the PAL [Philippine Airlines] shares as subrogee from FNCB.
Official Gazette for April 7, 1972: PRESIDENT MARCOS motored to the San Miguel auditorium at about midmorning to speak before the joint celebration of World Heart Month and the 20th anniversary of the Philippine Heart Association, which was co-sponsored by the Philippine College of Cardiology.
In his speech, the President warned against heart ailments becoming a major deterrent to progress and called on the private sector, particularly the medical profession, to help in combatting this dreaded disease.
The President pointed out that although heart ailments rank as the number four killer in the country, it is the most destructive because its victims are the executive and leader class, the idea men in the “think tanks,” the implementing groups who keep the nation on the move.
He said that unless utmost efforts are exerted to fight this disease, it will become “one of the principal deterrents to progress.”
The President deplored the uneven distribution of the benefits of medical research, pointing out that a Manila resident who has funds can get treatment in a first class hospital while a barrio councilman in Palanan, Isabela, for instance, where there is no doctor could never benefit from medicine.
The President recalled with gratitude the visit of 400 doctors, nurses and technicians from Makati to Tacloban where they rendered free medical assistance to the poor fishermen and farmers for two weeks.
The President said the country had entered the stage when “we have got to fall back on the dedication, benevolence, generosity and patriotism of the privileged who have much to share their countrymen.”
At mid-morning, the President started receiving callers, among whom were:
1) Spanish Ambassador Nicolas Martin Alonso who accompanied Captain Ricardo Vallespin Raurell, skipper of the Spanish training ship Juan Sebastian de Elcano which docked at South Harbor’s Pier 15. The President expressed the hope that Raurell and his crew will find their eight-day goodwill visit “as pleasant as the visit of the First Lady to Spain.”
2) Brigadier Generals Russel Volckmann and Donald Blackburn and their wives who paid a surprise courtesy call on the President and the First Lady. Volckmann was the commanding officer of the famed Northern Luzon guerillas, the so-called USAFIP-NL, with which President Marcos served. Blackburn also served with the USAFIP-NL as commanding officer of the 11th infantry.
3) Secretary Adrian Cristobal of the Department of Labor and members of the Labor Management Advisory Council who invited the President to speak on “labor-management relations in the 70’s” at the-Ramon Magsaysay building on April 21.
4) Executive Secretary Alejandro Melchor, Jr. and the officers of the Philippine Military Academy Alumni Association who were inducted by the President. Melchor, who heads the PMAAA, told the President that one of the objectives of the association is “the return of dignity to the soldiers,” The President said that “we should have a listing of what the soldiers want in the army and then listen to what they want.”
5) Governor Alfredo Montelibano, Jr., Rep. Agustin Gatuslao, and Mayor Pedro Yulo of Negros Occidental who invited the President to the fourth centennial anniversary of Binalbagan City on May 15.
6) Rep. Carmelo Barbero and members of the Abra provincial board who discussed with the President local problems. Those who conferred privately with the President were Senator Ernesto Maceda and Jovito Rivera.
He proposes to dispose of his half of it. I told him I could not help him and would wait for Caltex to act.
Met with the Lucmans tonight (Gov. Tarhata Alonto Lucman and Ex. Cong. Raschid Lucman). I asked them to help on the Muslim question and I would help them on the releases of funds for Lanao del Sur.
At 10:00 AM I opened the celebration of the World Heart Foundation under the Phil. Cardiological Society, Phil. Heart Asso. and WHO [World Health Organization].