We are now proceeding towards Cagayan de Oro City which should be reached by five o’clock following morning. We may be able to proceed from there to Malaybalay, Bukidnon which I have not visited for sometime since I became President. Incidentally, Cagayan de Oro City is within the Province of Misamis Oriental, the home province of Senator Emmanuel Palaez, former Vice-President of President Diosdado Macapagal. He was my principal opponent in the convention of November, 1964 for Presidential nomination in the Nacionalista Party. I campaigned for my nomination from the date I joined the Nacionalista Party in April, 1964 up to the convention time, except the period when I was ill from an infection of the gold [sic] bladder in me for about one month. I was told by my doctors it was necessary to be operated on and the alternative was anti biotics but the second attack should probably be dextrosed if I were not operated immediately. Imelda said I should not be operated as this would adversely affect my nomination in the coming convention of 1964. This was a chance that had to be taken and had to limit my diet to almost no meat and oil whatsoever. I had the gall bladder removed in January, 1967 immediately after my State of the Nation Address on January 23, 1967 when I suffered pains and several attacks before the Joint Session of Congress. Dr. Sison, my attending physician, at the time thought that the campaign was …..
The Presidential Yacht is No. 777, the number of votes that made me win the convention of 1964 as against Emmanuel Pelaez who received 444 votes in the second balloting in the convention.
Senator Pelaez campaigned for President Macapagal bitterly attacking me on any pretext and ground whatsoever to run for a seat in the House of Representatives in that election of 1965. In 1967 when I noticed that he was beginning to come along to my point of view on any issues where he claims he thought I was right, he decided to re-join the Nacionalista Party and run for the Senate. Most of the Party leaders objected to his candidacy for the Senate. We were however able to push his nomination and he came out No. 5 in the election.