Met the Executive Committee of the National Security Council at 11:00 AM on the agenda for the Friday National Security Council meeting.
Worked on the papers in my study.
Talked to Sen. Jose Roy on party matters. We now must choose the man to develop for national leadership. I mentioned the names of Sens. [Arturo] Tolentino, [Ambrosio] Padilla, [Emmanuel] Pelaez, [Lorenzo] Sumulong, [Gil] Puyat, [Leonardo] Perez, [Rene] Espina etc.
Met Sen. Tolentino for dinner. I asked him to hold himself available without declaring his candidacy. And he must strengthen himself within the party. So that we can assess the situation by December.
For I feel that with the money of Sen. Pres. Gil Puyat and Vice Pres. Fernando Lopez, they may win the convention of the Nacionalista Party. But they have no chance in the elections of 1973.
Since the proposals of the Constitutional Convention, no matter what it is, will probably be rejected by the people in a plebiscite, then the dominance of the two parties, NP and LP [Liberal Party], will continue. Each of the two parties will have an inspector.
So the official candidacy of each party will be important.
I will now meet with the various leaders of the party so that we can get them to unite and support our programs.
Entry is misdated as June 7.
Official Gazette for June 6, 1972: THE PRESIDENT presided at a meeting in the morning of the executive committee of the National Security Council, which was called to finalized preparations for the meeting of the National Security Council.
Present at the meeting were Secretary of Foreign Affairs Carlos P. Romulo, Defense Secretary Juan Ponce Enrile, Finance Secretary Cesar E. A. Virata, Justice Secretary Vicente Abad Santos, and Executive Secretary Alejandro Melchor, Jr., members; and Isabelo Castro, secretary of the committee; Senator Jose J. Roy, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; Defense Undersecretary Jose M. Crisol, General Romeo Espino, chief of staff, AFP; Director Jolly Bugarin of the National Bureau of Investigation; Brig. Gen. Jonas Victoria, chief of the National Civil Defense Administration; Brig. Gen. Ismael Lapuz, chief of the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency; and Brig. Gen. Ignacio Paz, chief of the Intelligence Service of the AFP.
The President devoted the whole afternoon and early evening to paper work.