Went to Sierra Lakes (Caliraya) yesterday for a day of skiing. Slashed my right thigh with the tow rope grip while turning left. The Dutch and Australian champions demonstrated the jump, tricking and slalom. Amazing skiing on one foot (barefoot) and turning.
The Jeddah meeting of the Islamic Conference started today. I have sent the delegation of Gov. [Simeon] Datumanong, Gen. [Mamarinta] and Com. [Hashim] Abubakar to convey the resolution of the Muslim leaders in Zamboanga that they cannot accept the supposed agenda for the meeting of the MNLF [Moro National Liberation Front] with the Phil. government.
We are trying to obtain the open support of the Indonesians, Malaysia and Pakistan in the conference by playing on their inherent fear of Arab intervention in their own internal affairs.
For the act of the Islamic Conference of setting down the form of government in Southern Philippines is intervention in our internal affairs. The entire proposed agenda smacks of dictation and humiliation. So the Muslim leaders have rightly rejected the agenda.
However, I believe it is Libya who is leading the interventionists alone. The others seem to be merely following Libya’s lead.
In the meantime I have ordered the pressure to be kept on the rebels on all fronts. The rebels have suffered heavily from the fighting.
Official Gazette for July 11, 1975: THE PRESIDENT proposed a greater exchange of funds, goods and services between the Philippines and the Middle East countries. He voiced the proposal to Fawzi Sultan, managing director of the Bank of Kuwait, who paid his respects before departing, after attending the conference called by the Financial Times of London in Manila to assess the financial market in Southeast Asia. The Kuwaiti bank executive conveyed to the President his bank’s desire to participate actively in the economic development of the country. “There should be more contact between Middle East countries and the Philippines,” the President said, “especially as we move along in the exchange of funds and services. Some of our men and technologists are now working there and our new market is the Middle East.”
THE PRESIDENT welcomed the plan of the Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund of Japan to set up a liaison office in Manila early next year. “That would be a very wonderful idea,” the President said when informed of the plan by Saburo Okita, president of OECFJ, who was accompanied by Ambassador Masao Sawaki. The President conveyed the gratitude of the Filipino people “for all the help and accommodations that Japan extended to us, especially in loans, the latest of which was signed by Ambassador Roberto S. Benedicto.” Among the loans granted by Japan to the Philippines are those for the Export Processing Zone in Bataan, and the Manila Flood Control Program which will take years to complete.
THE PRESIDENT received John Fairfield Jr., vice president-international of the Stromberg-Carlson of New York, who submitted proposals of his company to put up a plant in this country for the manufacture of electronics telephone equipment for local and worldwide distribution. During his call, Fairfield reported that his company had started its Asian operations with Filipino engineers who help train Vietnamese, Thai and Laotian technicians in the installation of electronic telephone systems in their respective countries. A subsidiary of the General Dynamics Corp. of St. Louis, Missouri, one of the world’s biggest suppliers of military equipment, the Stromberg-Carlson hopes to put up its communications equipment factory at the Export Processing Zone in Mariveles, Bataan.
I attach the Field Inspection Report of the Chief of Staff.
In the meantime there is no report about the investigation by USee. [Jose] Ingles of the Primitivo Mijares and Jack Anderson column incident.
The prices of our exports are slowly improving—specially sugar which is now 18 cents a pound FOB [free on board].
We have sold some (50,000 tons) at 25 cents per pound refined or 20 cents raw or centrifugal to Sheik Abdullah Darwish Fokroh [sic] [Fakhroo] but he has not opened the Letter of Credit.
And we sold futures (end of September up to one year thereafter) at 18 cents a pound to Filsam which is probably the broker for Westzucker of Germany. They have up to Thursday to put in the advance for the first 100,000 of $118,000 in cash deposit.
On the July 6, 1975 South China Morning Post appears the story, “Indira [Gandhi] takes leaf out of Marcos’ book.” Flattering.