Friday
Imelda left for Libya with an overnight stop-over at Rome. Her plane took off at 10:00 PM. It is a DC-8 PAL [Philippine Airlines] that carried about 60 members of her entourage including an economic mission headed by Sec. Vicente Paterno.
She goes to the lion’s den to charm Col. [Muammar] Kadaffi into finally terminating aid and support for Nur Misuari of the Moro National Liberation Front, establishing diplomatic relations between our two countries and and [sic] possibly channeling economic investment or economic aid to the Philippines specially for Muslims.
I attach a Sept. 21, 1973 backgrounder on the Kadaffi aid to rebels which lists Philippine rebels receiving 30 million Libyan pounds over a period of two years. Under the rate of exchange then, this would have been equivalent to about 100 million U.S. dollars, which is stupendous.
While I believe that Kadaffi has decided the investment is fruitless and the flow of arms into our southern backdoor through Sabah has stopped except in trickles, it is necessary to close the main source of funding and supply of the MNLF and formally end the fighting.
I also believe Col. Kadaffi is looking for a graceful way out of an untenable situation. So he invited Imelda and me. We must give him that graceful way out. So I sent Imelda.
Office of the President of the Philippines