Com. Sychangco.
If at midnight, the end of the present fiscal year, the appropriation act for the next fiscal year is not approved into law, in accordance with practice and tradition which is practically a part of our constitution, you are directed to release such funds for the operation of the government as are within the limits of the present appropriation act.
Sincerely,
F. E. Marcos [Signed]
11:00 PM June 27, 1971[1]
Sunday
I write this on the 777 as we are shoving off. We will hug the coastline and it will probably take us 28 hours to Ormoc.
The dinner held last night at the house of Bert Teodoro’s mother-in-law in Balete for the delegates of the Cons. Con. [Constitutional Convention] of the north (Nos. 1, 2 and 3 aggregations) was supposed to be attended by Imelda and me but at the last hour we decided not to go to prevent any suspicion of our intervention in the internal matters of the convention.
But this morning many delegates came to [Bahay] Pangarap asking for guidance on the election for Convention president.
I asked the delegates to organize themselves so that they may be able to effectively fight for their principles.
There is a union of forces of the independents ([Teofisto] Guingona [Jr.] withdrew in favor of [Raul] Manglapus and the other independents, [Juan] Liwag and [Jesus] Barrera are going to do the same) So this has been met by the withdrawal of Delegate Carlos Ledesma and the union of the Liberals and Nacionalistas for ex-Pres. [Diosdado] Macapagal. Manglapus is financed by the Lopezes, ex-Pres. Macapagal could count only 57 delegates for him. The Nacionalistas which have organized into a Reform Bloc with Delegate Gualberto Duavit of the 2nd Dist. of Rizal as chairman and Delegate Antonio Tupas of Agusan del Norte as Vice Chairman. They have as Sec-Treasurer Ditas [Mercedes] Teodoro of the 1st District of Tarlac. And three coordinators for each of the 12 aggregations.
The Reformists count 109 hard core members und 55 possibles.
So Ex-Pres. Macapagal is dependent on the Nacionalistas for victory.
Incidentally [Antonio] Tony Tupas has gotten about 200 signatures on a resolution for synchronization of elections—in 1975. This actually means an extension of the terms of congressmen and even senators—as well as my term for two years.
It looks like it will be easier than we think to get this through the convention.
The Panorama, the Bulletin’s Sunday magazine, carries a feature on a supposed survey of Manila in which Imelda is 79.1 % popular but surprisingly makes out [Fernando] Lopez (the VP) as the most acceptable candidate for President. Apparently a Lopez advertisement.
But Lopez is not acceptable to the Nacionalistas as they are now collaborating with the Liberals. Nor is he acceptable to the Liberals because they already have their candidates, [Gerardo] Roxas and [Benigno] Aquino [Jr.].
Since he will not run as an independent then my estimate is that he will not run at all.
If the Cons. Con adopts the parliamentary system of government, this will settle the whole question. Everybody can run for the House and aspire for the top position.
Otherwise, Imelda will probably have to run in 1973, so that my program can go on for the next several years.
10:30 AM June 28, 1971[2]
Monday
We must find out the actual contributions to the Communist Party of the oligarchs like Iñing Lopez who has met with Commander Dante [Bernabe Buscayno] the NPA [New People’s Army] supremo thru the intercession of Rep. Ramon Mitra Jr. who was in turn introduced to Dante by Rep. [Jose] Aping Yap of Tarlac (2nd Dist.).
Since I have decided to turn the local elections this year into a referendum on my leadership and policies, we will have to prevent any outbreak of violence that may lead to repressive measures or even martial law before the November elections.
By that time I hope the Cons. Con [Constitutional Convention] shall have acted on the two basic questions of the form of government (whether presidential or parliamentary) and the extension of congressional terms so as to allow synchronization of elections in 1975.
The Republic magazine is presently publishing a series of articles on the Lopez economic empire and how it has grown through the use of political power and the media that they control.
It is an eye-opener to almost everybody. And since it is well documented and supported by incontrovertible facts, it is causing quite a stir.
Now most people know why I could not stomach them anymore.
I attach one of the original copies of the complete article (typewritten).
I have been able to work on my book, “The Democratic Revolution (of the Philippines)—My Fighting Faith.” Am now on Philippine Democracy.
As usual the Senate has been used by a Liberal Senator, Benigno Aquino, as a staging ground for scurrilous attacks against me—“I charge that there was an unholy conspiracy between Mr. Marcos and Ysmael in sordid transaction.” This is in relation to the consolidation of the debts of Felipe “Baby” Ysmael in the DBP [Development Bank of the Philippines] and alleged over valuation of his collateral which was given as a “dacion en pago” for the satisfaction of his debts of P74.7 million.
And to think that Ysmael had to take out a quarter page advertisement for an open letter to me identifying himself as a campaigner of 1965 and complaining that he could not get an appointment with me. The truth is I have refused to see him. He has turned out to be a pest.
It makes my blood boil that the senator whom I have called in the past a “congenital liar” and a “Huk coddler” can hide behind the protective screen of parliamentary immunity.
For this is indeed a false and vicious charge.
And the Senate, notwithstanding the serious problems that can be solved by legislation, wastes its time on petty politically oriented debate. It has not done any work at all and they are halfway on the 30 day special session.
One cannot but agree with some critics of democracy about its many weaknesses and failings.
But we have to be patient and withstand these unprovoked and malicious attacks.
As usual the newspapers find profitable material in this for their morbid and yellow journalism.
The elections for the officers of the Cons. Con take place tomorrow. And I am glad I am out of Manila. Speaker [Cornelio] Villareal I sent to Korea on the inauguration of President Park Chung Hee.
9:45 PM June 29, 1971[3]
Beach House, Ulot Tuesday
Tolosa, Leyte
Ex-Pres. [Diosdado] Macapagal has won the Presidency of the Cons. Con. [Constitutional Convention] on the first balloting this morning on a count of:
Macapagal — 169
Manglapus — 120
Barrera — 18
307
The word come in early in the afternoon (about 3:00 PM) that he had garnered the magic number of 157 which is more than ½ of the proclaimed delegates.
The union of the Liberals and the Nacionalistas against the independents won out. If the independents had not been so arrogant, they might have fared better. But they pushed the two parties into a modus vivendi.
Our men in the convention who organized the Reform Bloc headed by Delegate Gualberto (Bibit) Duavit counted 109 hard core Nacionalistas or sympathizers and members. Ex-Pres. Macapagal, when he met the panel of Bibit Duavit, Ramon Encarnacion (Ilocos Sur), Tony [Antonio] de Guzman (La Union), Delegate [Leocadio] Ignacio (Isabela), could count only 57 supporters. So he knew that most of those voting for him were my men in the convention.
Their totals of hardcore followers was 166. Since Macapagal got 169, they missed the count by only 3, which is accurate counting in an election.
I practically forced Delegate Carlos Ledesma to withdraw in the meeting at my library on the evening of Saturday, the 26th. There were some awkward moments.
But the decision turned out to be wise. Although some of our men sent a message to me at Ormoc this noon that they still do not trust Macapagal.
Some of the delegates are now insistent that the first question to be decided is the matter of the form of government—whether republican or parliamentary. From this decision would come the necessary details of the machinery of government.
The parliamentary form proposed would take the advantages of both forms of government. For the President would be chosen from the members of the House by the House members. He would organize a cabinet from members of the House. And he could appoint a member of the cabinet to perform the ceremonial functions of the Presidency. The President would have the power to sit in the House and lead the debates although he could delegate this to any of the cabinet members.
The San Juanico Bridge at Barrio Palawan, Tacloban is half finished. We passed it at 6:45 PM the 777 directed by the port pilot ______. We left Ormoc at 11:00 AM. We had docked at 6:00 AM, heard mass supposed to be only an ordinary mass but which as a pontifical mass by Bishop Salvador of Palo and ten priests—which took one hour and a half. Then we motored to Bao River for the P4 million irrigation project which is supposed to irrigate 6,000 hectares. It is a [sic] Kananga but the water goes to Ormoc. We inaugurated it (I opened the gates and delivered a short speech). We then inaugurated the Cantubo Bridge and the P3 million (it will ultimately be P4 million), 100-bed hospital overlooking the bay built by the Ormoc Sugar Planters Association out of 2% of their share in the sugar production (The millers get 38% and the planters 62%). This is in addition to the P1 per picul that I have asked the sugar planters to put into an amelioration fund to be given in cash to the sugar plantation and mill laborers. The Ormoc area produces 1,240,000 piculs of sugar this year (worth about $7.5 million) although it used to produce only 300,000 piculs,
“When the strong shall extend their hands to lift up the weak, the rich shall identify themselves with the poor, the powerful compassionate for the lowly and brotherhood reign over everyone, then we shall have built a nation.” These were my words in my speech at the hospital inauguration.
Imelda found them profound.
The hospital is something we should show off to other planters associations which are not “extending their hand to lift up the weak” in other areas.
10:00 PM June 30, 1971[4]
Wednesday
Fiesta of Tacloban. Patron saint—Sto. Niño de Tacloban of many legends and stories including shipwreck and miraculous recovery.
Mass at 6:00 AM. Had to wake up at 5:00 AM after sleeping at 1:00 AM.
Pontifical mass at the Tacloban Plaza that lasted to close to 8:00 AM. Then breakfast at the Nipa House of Gov. [Benjamin] Romualdez—the only nipa house with air-conditioning and [Fernando] Amorsolo paintings.
Then back to Ulot and water skiing up to 10:00 AM from 9:00 AM. Then archery in trunks under the coconuts up to 11:30 AM. Tried out the new 32 pd. bow. A little stiff but accurate. Taught others including Chiki, John John, Hartzell and Danielli how to shoot with the 20 pd. bow and arrow.
Early lunch still in trunks, massage at 1:00 PM and reading and writing as well as a nap in the afternoon before the procession at 4:00 PM.
Dinner at the Nipa House during which I met the public officials including mayors asking for releases.
Interview by the Malacañang Press Club. We agreed to space the news:
Price Control law extension
School teachers’ salary increases
The order to the military to go after the Christian armed elements also inasmuch as media reports indicate the targets of operations as the Muslims only.
The acceptance of the challenge of the Liberals to make the November 1971 elections as a referendum of the policies and implementation of the administration.
I intend to keep the matter of the filing of the libel case against Time Magazine for the Sunday papers.
So too with the Oil Commission.
Then a conference on forestry policies because of the complaint of Mayor Laura of Carigara against Leyte loggers.
At 8:30 PM we visited our house at Tacloban known as the White House. Then on the way back to Ulot we visited Bishop Salvador at Palo.
I have to sleep early as I open the PRO-AM golf tournament at Tacloban at 6:00 AM.
[1] Official Gazette for June 27, 1971: P resident Marcos continued to focus on desk work, but made himself available to some heads of department who took up important matters with him. During the day, the President, among others, directed Undersecretary of Finance and Acting Customs Commissioner Alfredo Pio de Roda to inform him of the “identity” of the high government official reportedly interested in the disposition of imported remnants seized at the B ureau of C ustoms. The official reportedly tried to pressure the Bureau of Customs into selling to his client more than 3,000 bales of remnants worth millions of pesos, and even threatened to take the customs bureau to court. The President also approved the promotion of 481 regular and reserve officers in the active service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines to the grades of 1st Lieutenant/Lieutenant (JG.) PN and Captain/Lieutenant (SG)/ PN, as well as the commission or appointment of 66 individuals in the reserve force of the AFP. Shortly before midnight, the President and the First Lady, Imelda Romualdez Marcos, boarded the RPS 777 at Pier 15 for the resumption of the President’s summer inspection trips to the provinces.
[2] Official Gazette for June 28, 1971: W hile enroute to Ormoc City, President Marcos confined himself to his cabin on board the RPS 777 the greater part of the d ay and disposed of piles of state papers he brought along with him in the trip. The President and the First Lady went out to the deck at about midmorning to view the coastline and see just how far the ship has sailed during the night. After conferring briefly with some Malacañang aides, the President returned to his cabin and started his paper work. In a speech read for him by Assistant Executive Secretary Roberto V. Reyes, at the opening of the 3rd National Representative Assembly of the Kapisanan ng mga Kawani ng Pamahalaan, held at the SSS building in Quezon City, the President said that the seeming national consensus for change is meaningless, and will remain no more than the “rhetoric of change,” if the people do not first of all change themselves. He said that those who call for sweeping change in disregard of the rights of the people in a democratic society do not seek democratic change. The Filipino people, he said, “are prepared for heroic measures, but they must not be deluded into believing that the sacrifice of their freedom is the best way to improve their economic and social conditions.”
[3] Official Gazette for June 29, 1971: P resident Marcos , together with the First Lady, Imelda R. Marcos, arrived in Ormoc City aboard the RPS 777 at 6 a.m. to inspect and inaugurate some public works projects. A big crowd led by Mayor Iñaki Larrazabal was on hand to give the First Couple a warm welcome. From the pier they proceeded to the local parish church for Mass, and then went to the residence of Mayor Larrazabal for breakfast and a meeting with local officials. After the conference, the President and the First Lady inaugurated the ₱4 million Bao irrigation system, practically the biggest irrigation project in the entire Visayas that would provide irrigation to some 6,000 hectares, Another public works project inaugurated later by the First Couple was the Cantubo bridge. From Cantubo, the President and his party proceeded to the OSPA-Farmers Medical Center for the inauguration rites. Built by the Ormoc sugarcane planters for the benefit of their laborers and their dependents, the President described the hospital as “a monument to compassion, to conscience and to courage.” He expressed gratification over the initiative taken by some sectors of society to help their fellowmen who are not as fortunately situated in life as they are. Following the OSPA-Farmers Medical Center inaugural rites, the President and the First Lady reboarded RPS 777 for Tacloban City, arriving there early in the evening. Another enthusiastic crowd led by Gov. Benjamin Romualdez, met the First Couple at the pier. From the pier they dropped by the Nipa Hut, the governor’s official residence in Tacloban City, before proceeding to the family resthouse in Sitio Olot, in Tolosa, some 25 kilometers away. Upon learning of the result of the election for the presidency of the Constitutional Convention earlier in the day, the President sent the following congratulatory wire to former President Diosdado Macapagal: “Congratulations for your sound victory on the first balloting of the Constitutional Convention. I am certain your election augurs well for the unity of the convention. Regards.”
[4] Official Gazette for June 30, 1971: P resident Marcos and the First Lady, Imelda R. Marcos, led the faithful in celebration of the Tacloban City fiesta in honor of the Sto. Niño. Early in the morning, the First Couple attended a Pontifical Mass officiated by Leyte Bishop Manuel Salvador, at the public plaza fronting the city cathedral. Later in the afternoon, the President and the First Lady, joined, the procession which started from the pier and wended through the city streets to the city cathedral. The President and. the First Lady motored to Tacloban city early in the morning from Olot for the Mass. After the Mass they proceeded to the Nipa Hut, Gov. Benjamin Romualdez’s official residence, for breakfast and a meeting with provincial and municipal officials. Then they again drove back to Olot, returning to the city early in the afternoon for the procession. In the course of his work on urgent state matters at the resthouse, in Olot, the President took steps to avert possible disruption of essential government services due to the failure of Congress to enact the general appropriations act for the incoming fiscal year, starting July 1. In a directive to Commissioner Faustino Sy-Changco, the President said that “if at midnight (June 30), the end of the present fiscal year the appropriations act for the next fiscal year is not approved into law, you are directed to release such funds for the operation of the government as are within the limits of the present appropriations act.” Among other actions, the President issued the following message on the death in space of three Russian Cosmonauts: The death of the Soviet cosmonauts is a great loss to all men and nations of the world. Their historic voyage had brought all of us closer to our highest dreams in space exploration, and we can only grieve this terrible tragedy at the moment of their greatest triumph. The Filipino nation joins all of mankind in expressing its highest admiration for their courage and example, and its deepest sympathies to the Russian people.