Delegate [Gabriel] Aying Yñiguez located the letter of Delegate [Eduardo] Quintero, the author of the expose. I attach the duplicate which is self-explanatory. It shows how he has been borrowing money because of “serious financial difficulties.”
At the same time I attach one of the copies of the tabloid that has been circulated in the Concon [Constitutional Convention].
Quintero arrived this afternoon. Ex-Pres. [Diosdado] Macapagal met him at the breakwater before anybody could talk to him. He then went to the Concon, delivered a speech blaming the Navy for demanding P2,000 to clear the ship he was riding in, for holding him from going to Leyte to visit his ailing brother. Then he was brought to San Juan de Dios Hospital and not Veterans Memorial Hospital and only Liberals allowed to see him. His blood pressure is supposed to have reached 210.
Attended the Memorial Day Ceremonies at 4:15 PM.
And met with Air Force officers led by Gen. [Jose] Rancudo on their contingency plan.
Official Gazette for May 29, 1972: THE PRESIDENT was closeted in his private study the whole morning attending to urgent state matters.
In the afternoon, the President attended the Memorial Day services held at the Manila American Cemetery in Fort Bonifacio.
In his speech, the President reasserted his policy of self-reliance, saying it would not only assure the nation’s preparedness but would also make the country more valuable to its allies “in the service of human freedom.”
The President spoke of a rising feeling of maturity among the Filipinos which is taking the form of a reexamination of their relations with the whole world.
“Nowhere in Asia, and perhaps in other parts of the world, did a nation rise up so spontaneously and so bravely—sustained not only by love of country but also by its faith in a friend and ally, the United States of America.”
The President was accorded full military honors upon his arrival in Fort Bonifacio at 4 p.m. He was welcomed at the memorial by U.S. Ambassador Henry Byroade and other ranking American civilian officials in the Philippines.