Met the Libyan and Egyptian delegations which went to Mindanao to look into the situation of the Muslims upon my invitation.
Minister Aly Trekki [Ali Treki] (Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs of Libya and Mahmoud Hassan el Aprousy [sic] [Arrousy], Egypt’s Undersecretary of state for foreign affairs arrived yesterday from the south.
Both Manila Times and The Daily Mirror claim that they said that they found the minority Muslims engaged in a religious war against the Christian majority.
But the truth is they said that the conflict was not due to religion but to many causes like land controversies; that the Muslims trust the national government but distrust some local government officials.
The victory of the parliamentary form of government is being interpreted as a Marcos draft.
The Isabela situation has not cleared. The NPA [New People’s Army] are apparently protecting an ammo dump or supply depot in Dicuyog. The troops are due to strike at the area
Official Gazette for July 8, 1972: THE PRESIDENT received the members of the four-man Libyan-Egyptian fact-finding team who made a courtesy call prior to their departure after a week-long visit to the Muslim south.
The delegation informed the President that the conflict in Mindanao was not between Christian and Muslim as reported because even the Christians were afraid of the so-called Ilagas.
The President expressed the belief that some elements, communist and others, were trying to inflame and foment disorder and had infiltrated the Ilagas.
“I can speculate and say that the Ilagas are too widespread to belong to small parochial or village groups. They are being guided by a group that wants to agitate and inflame the Muslims against the government and the Christians in general,” the President said.
When informed by the delegation that one of the main reasons for their visit here was to strengthen relations between their countries and the Philippines, the President suggested that more cultural exchanges be held.
The delegation, which was accompanied to Malacañang by Ambassador Vicente Singian and Ambassador Abdel Abdelhamid Fadel of the United Arab Republic, included Egyptian Foreign Undersecretary Hassan Arrousy, Chief Ali Treki of the Political Administration of the Libyan Foreign Ministry, Moustafa Abdul Hamid of the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, and Aly Mahmoud Salem of the Libyan Ministry of Unity and Foreign Affairs.
In the evening, the President received General Romeo Espino, AFP chief of staff; Brig. Gen. Jose Rancudo, PAF commanding general; and Brig. Gen. Tomas Diaz, 1st PC Zone commander; who reported on the situation in Digoyo, Palanan, Isabela following the discovery and capture by elements of the Philippine Constabulary of a vessel named Karagatan off Digoyo Point, from which firearms and ammunition reportedly were unloaded.
The President ordered the military authorities to counter-attack and recapture Digoyo at all cost upon being informed by the military top brass that outnumbered government troopers battling New People’s Army regulars in the area had been forced to withdraw.
tomorrow. Weather today is still bad. The Air Force may give support. I place records in No. XXXJ-B.