A rather happy day.
Delivered what could be one of my best speeches over TV—the State of the Nation on year after [Proclamation No.] 1081. I attach copies of the speech without the ad libs and inserts which will be set in the printed copy.
This is the first Philippine Thanksgiving Day.
And I invited the Originals to a mass and luncheon. The mass was solemn and a soulful rededication while the luncheon was a light recounting of the “kasalan” and “handa na ang aking barong Tagalog”—“wala pa ba—atras, sulong, urong!”
Video taping at 4:30-5:30 PM of the speech.
Had to forego pelota but jogged and exercised at the gym.
Official Gazette for September 21, 1973: THE PRESIDENT reported that the reform program under Martial Law has established a pattern of social, political and economic stability, even as he urged Filipinos to aspire to new heights of national development. Speaking in a nationwide radio-tv broadcast on the occasion of the first anniversary of the signing of the declaration of Martial Law, the Chief Executive outlined the achievements effected under the New Society and called for hard work among the citizens to consolidate the gains earned so far. “Hard work awaits us,” the President said, “but the future we face is bright, for national development is within our grasp.”
THE PRESIDENT has ordered three government agencies and the private banking institutions to set up the machinery for the effective implementation of the Government’s cereal procurement programs for Masagana 99 rice harvests and future crops. To effect a smooth procurement program, NGA Administrator Jesus Tanchanco has outlined a series of conferences with the DANR, Philippine National Bank and a consortium of private banking institutions to prepare the most feasible buying scheme of grains.
DEPARTMENT of Foreign Affairs, to further encourage investments in the Philippines, adopted guidelines on the issuance of multiple exit permits to Filipino personnel of regional or area headquarters of multinational companies established in the Philippines. Acting Foreign Affairs Secretary Manuel Collantes said the guidelines were issued in implementation of the President’s instructions to insure mobility of those engaged in business or industry.
LABOR Secretary Blas F. Ople said that 12 months of Martial Law had brought stability to employment and business in Greater Manila. Secretary Ople indicated that the much improved economic conditions had enabled manufacturers and service industries to cut down on lay-offs or hold on to their work force to keep up with the demands of customers. Based on an employment figure of 833,940 workers in Greater Manila, the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Employment Service said an average of 10,000 workers were separated from their jobs in 1972 or 1.25 per cent, compared to only 4,158 monthly in the first six months of 1973 or 0.48 per cent. He saw the stable employment figure of workers as a sign that industries were maintaining their present forces with a tendency to increase them to cope with expansion.
THE PRESIDENT appointed former Education Secretary Onofre D. Corpuz as chairman of the newly-created Task Force on Human Settlement. Simultaneously, the President earmarked P0.5 million for the operations of the task force. The task force will prepare a study on the nature, policy issue, and strategies for an over-all framework plan for the country which would pinpoint priority areas for human settlement projects to serve as a general scheme for development.
Imee is happy in Princeton. She called me up this morning. Wants to stay in campus as she has no friends yet living as she is outside the dorms.
The London Sunday Times of Sept. 2, 1973 carries the story of the would-be assassin of Pope Paul VI Mendoza, saying I stopped him when he pulled the knife. “I was amazed when he hit me with his hand. It was a karate blow and terribly painful. The President was so strong, so powerful. I couldn’t believe the pain.
I attach the magazine pages.
I may yet be remembered as the man who elbowed the Pope (rather sharply he almost fell—“kulla” is a more accurate term—and kicked his secretary Mons. Machi on the left side of his left knee—actually intended for the assassin).