Late lunch—2:30 PM after working out the campaign of information on the new threats from the subversives and the rightists—with Secs. [Juan] Ponce Enrile and [Vicente] Abad Santos—and Tibo [Primitivo] Mijares. I also called Gen. Tomas Diaz and Danding [Eduardo] Cojuangco [Jr.].
Played chess with Bongbong—then after a short nap badmington [sic] with Irene as Bongbong and his guests were playing pelota.
Then Irene drove us (the three girls and me) around the Pangarap park in the golf cart. Then back to the palace for the movie “Valley of the Dolls” a late diner and just the family.
Official Gazette for December 25, 1972: PRESIDENT MARCOS on Christmas Day issued Decree No. 85 creating the Agrarian Reform Fund to support the financing requirements of agrarian reform provided for in Presidential Decree No. 27 and for other purposes.
THREE HUNDRED TWENTY-SEVEN prisoners were granted executive clemency by President Marcos on Christmas Day. Assistant Executive Secretary Ronaldo B. Zamora submitted the list in three batches: First batch—absolute pardon, 14; conditional pardon with parole conditions, 124; commutation of sentence, 68; or a total of 206. Second batch—absolute pardon, 6; special absolute pardon, 2; conditional pardon with parole conditions, 63; commutation of sentence, 14; or a total of 85. Third batch—absolute pardon, 2 special absolute pardon, 4; conditional pardon with parole conditions, 27 commutation of sentence, 3; or a total of 36.
ALL PERSONS AND GROUPS were warned against exerting any undue influence or employing threats or other forms of coercion so that voters would vote for or against the proposed Constitution. The warning was sounded by the Comelec which ruled that these acts prohibited by Secs. 53 and 59 of the 1971 Election Code are also banned in the coming plebiscite. In support of their ruling, the Comelec commissioners said the aim of these provisions is “to secure to the voters maximum freedom in voting, uninfluenced by any threat, coercion or fraud or by any consideration other than the voters’ own judgment” so that any election or plebiscite would reflect their intelligent and unbiased decision.