Euphoria is the state everybody is in because of the impact of the call for free debate, release of the media men, Concon [Constitutional Convention] delegates and the call to a plebiscite.
So it is like fiesta time. But I run watchful because of the sudden disappearance of the well-known communist and NPA [New People’s Army] leaders, the sudden appearance of some of the released detainees and the sudden flare-up of fighting in Mindanao and Sulu.
Met the National Ratification Coordinating Committee this morning. Even Sen. Pres. Gil Puyat is enthusiastic although he inadvertently expressed his fence-sitting mentality when he said with respect to my instructions to Sec. Ponce Enrile to make several copies of the dossiers on the detainees as well as the morgue of the newspaper that were stopped that one never knows when the enemy should take over power and we will have ______.
Official Gazette for December 2, 1972: PRESIDENT MARCOS appealed to the electorate to get out and cast their votes, whether they are for or against the proposed Constitution, in the plebiscite to be held next January 15. The President reminded the electorate that it is the sacred duty of every citizen to cast his vote, regardless of whether he is for or against the proposed Constitution, because he has a stake in it.
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 23, is the last day for registration of new voters for the plebiscite. It is also the last day for any voter to transfer his registration record from one precinct to another within the same city, municipality or municipal district. Chairman Jaime N. Ferrer of the Commission on Elections said the term “new voters” who should register to be able to vote in the plebiscite are, 1) those who will be 21 years of age on or before January 15, 1973 and who possess the qualification of a voter and, 2) Those who were registered voters but whose names had been cancelled from the precinct book of voters due to their failure to vote in two consecutive regular elections.
“BAGONG ANYO ‘72” will be featured in the annual celebration of “Christmas Around the World” in Seattle, Washington on December 17. The celebration is one of the biggest cultural events in Seattle. Held at the Museum of History and Industry there, the affair is under the auspices of the Seattle Historical Association. It offers a potpourri of various Christmas holiday traditions and a display of international customs and music. This year’s 21st annual celebration will see 23 countries participating. The “Post Intelligencer,” a Seattle daily newspaper, featured a half-page, four-column color photo of Filipino dancers last November 19.
CUSTOMS REVENUE take at the Port of Manila for November 1972 soared to P128,189,737.29—considered the highest in its collection history for a single month. This is P16,611,450.45 or 14.89 per cent higher than the collection made for the same period last year. According to Customs Commissioner Rolando G. Geotina, last year’s collection was only P111,578,286.82. He attributed the increase to the fast processing of papers and the cooperation being extended by importers, brokers and banks to the new procedure introduced early this month by customs authorities.
PUBLIC INFORMATION Secretary Francisco S. Tatad allayed the fears of leaders of the electronics and telecommunications industry on the need for controls and supervision by the government, but rather emphasized the state’s policy of promoting the industry’s growth and development. “Government has always been alive to the good that the industry has brought in terms of modernizing our society, and to the unlimited prospects of growth that the industry uniquely affords us at this time,” Mr. Tatad said at the opening ceremonies of the Fifth National Electronics and Telecommunications Week at the Magsaysay Center
Text in Transcription cannot be verified with handwritten version, pp.2463-2472 ten manuscript pages missing.