Surveyed Central Luzon and the floods. Sullipan Central Dike, Apalit, Candaba and Arayat, Calumpit and Malolos by helicopter. Used both the twin engined Huey and the Bolkan-105. Rained out in Calumpit and Malolos so I had to return at about 1:30 PM.
At Arayat I was met by Vitaliana Galang, the wife ofHuk Commander Guing who had surrendered to Col. Edon Yap but had not been released.
She had a quiet dignity about her. She offered me some fresh corn she had harvested. Gave her some money instead (P200.00) as she was left alone with her family.
Congratulated me in fluent Tagalog—ang lahat nang [sic] amin [sic] pinanindigan sa Huk kagaya ng lupa (land reform) ay naisagawa mo na pangulo.” “Ngunit,” she quietly added, “hindi tinupad ng pamahalaan ang usapan na palalayain ang akin [sic] asawa pagkatapos magsurrender.”
So I ordered Gen. Antonio Diaz to release him the following day.
“Salamat, hindi kami makagaganti sa iyo, pangulo. Ang Dios na ang sia’y gaganti sayo,” she intoned like some oracle.
Dr. Mohamad Hassan El Tohamay, the Secretary General of the Islamic Conference, arrived this afternoon and we met before dinner (7:00-8:30 PM). He wants to put up a Muslim Welfare and Relief Agency similar to the Ford Foundation. I agreed to it.
On the negotiations with the leaders of the Moro National Liberation Front, I made it clear to him I do not wish to give that organization a status of belligerency but that we would be willing to receive them in Malacañang Palace like all the other leaders.
He is some kind of a character—an egoistic braggart.
He claims to have fought in the October 1974 war but the second ranking man in the Egyptian Embassy says he did not. He claims to be a doctor but he is not.
He claims to have disciplined himself as he can even stop his heart from beating and denies that yogis can do this.
Amb. [Modesto] Farolan—Wired him to obtain the reaction of Pres. Soeharto and MGen. Yoga Sugamo on the visit and purpose of Sec. Gen. Tohamy to bring the rebel leaders of the
No Official Gazette entry for this day.
south to meet me and negotiate inasmuch as Pres. Soeharto had initiated the original steps for this.
Amb. Arsetedjo—asked him to officially inform Pres. Soeharto of the developments.