I suddenly felt very lonely when I stood at the verandah of the VIP room and watched the PAL [Philippine Air Lines] plane bearing Bongbong to Hongkong where he takes a BEA [British European Airways] plane to London.
All at once, the burdens of state that keep me chained to Philippine shores seem unbearable.
How I wish Imelda and I could have brought the children to England and personally seen to their schooling. But they have to learn to stand on their own feet earlier than most.
The Manila Times came out with a front page editorial “Statement of Purpose” which was a veiled charge that I had lost my appointment with destiny.
“Once every few generations, a man rises above the others by virtue of exceptional intellect, integrity and courage. There was such a man named Ferdinand, born to power, experienced in battle, whose qualities of leadership marked him for great deeds. Halfway to a secure place in history, he committed the classic mistake of leaders who become momentarily blinded by power. He lost scale and attempted to impose upon a little group of people conditions which they were not willing to accept.
Official Gazette for April 18, 1971: PRESIDENT MARCOS addressed the national convention of the Agricultural (cooperatives League of the Philippines, held at the DBP auditorium in Makati, Rizal.
In his speech, the President underscored the importance of the cooperative movement, winch lie described as the only salvation of the country and the Filipino people. He said that all the other programs of government depend on the success of the cooperative movement for their success.
The President cited the land reform program, which was given a new orientation with the introduction of farm cooperatives in the pilot projects in Magalang, Pampanga, and in Nueva Ecija.
The President said that a farmer should not only be given his own piece of land but should be taught how to utilize it along the system of cooperatives.
He explained that if a farmer is given five hectares under the land reform program but divides this land among his five children, giving each only one’ hectare, and these children in turn divide the one-hectare lot among their own children, the land is fragmentized into small unproductive lots. Thus, the problem of lack of land becomes recurrent generation after generation.
“Here is where the cooperative comes in,” the President emphasized. “If the farmers bond themselves together they can purchase a tractor which they cannot individually purchase and maintain.”
The President also urged the ACLP to move forward in order that ultimately it could supervise the Greater Manila Terminal Food Market and others programmed for construction in either parts of the country.
He said that food terminals are being established to provide a ready market for the producers and break up the monopolies that control the prices of commodities.
Among those present at the convention, besides the officers and members of the League, were DBP Chairman Leonides S. Virata and Governors Leon O. Ty and Jose R. Tengco, Jr.
The President had no other scheduled engagement. He devoted the rest of his working hours to desk work, in the process submitting to the Commission on Appointments for confirmation 31 nominations to Courts of First Instance and one to the Court of Agrarian Relations.
“A Classic Mistake”
“But it has been shown before that when you tamper with a people’s dignity by the ungallant use of power, or create despair through economic bondage and need, you will release in such people unsuspected strength, however gentle they may always have been.
“And so an appointment with destiny was never kept, and among history’s few concessions to Ferdinand Magellan are a wooden cross representing success in the beginning, and a concrete monument marking failure in the end.”
Then it goes on to litany the alleged misery of our people and the failures in both planning and implementation.
However, it calls for unity, reform and appeals for students and demonstrators not to use violence.
The Manila Times or for that matter the entire press and all of Manila is so far removed from reality.
Yes the prices are up but the farmers of which there are 18 million or more are happy because for once their incomes are increased.
Chino [Joaquin] Roces, as usual, is giving vent to his bitterness of a personal nature.
When I asked him why the antagonism, in a sudden spirit of candor he said we could not talk about it as it was personal.
So it must be his wife who is the mistress of many men like Maj. Martelino. And I get blamed for this! Heavens!
Chino Roces several times has angrily shouted at the top of his voice (once in a meeting with Liberal leaders at the house of Gerry [Gerardo] Roxas) that the only way to solve the problems of the country is to kill me!
How degenerate our press and media has become!
But I almost feel the tenor of the editorial that Chino Roces wants a dictatorship.
The story of the Golden Buddha in Baguio is attracting the first pages of the
Rogelio Roxas, a locksmith, allegedly found part of the legendary Yamashita Treasure while treasure hunting in Baguio that included a image of a Golden Buddha that contained jewels within. Roxas claims that agents of Marcos abducted him, took his loot, and tortured him to lead them to the rest of the treasure. He sold the rights to his claims to a group of American investors called the Golden Buddha Group Inc. that sued Marcos then in exile in Hawaii in 1988. Both Marcos, who died in 1989, and Roxas who died in 1993, did not live to see the outcome of the suit that ruled against Marcos in 1996 awarding USD 22 billion to Roxas that was later overturned on appeal by the
newspapers. As usual it has its distortions and speculations.
I spoke before the Agricultural Cooperatives league this morning at 11:30-12:30 in time to go back to the palace for lunch with Bongbong, Imelda and the Martels (including their children) of ulang [freshwater prawn] cooked by Imelda and bought by Alita at Guiguinto.
Then worked with Gen. [Eulogio] Balao on the (6th year reparations specially on the communications (Bu. Hq. to Co. Hq.) needed by the PC [Philippine Contabulary] specially the 1st and 2nd PC Zones which we should get before July 1st.
Imelda has gone to [Ramon] Monching Cojuangco’s [Sr.] house for the dinner given in honor of Tristan Beplat of Hanover’s Trust.
Hawaii Supreme Court due to the valuation of the treasure. Another lawsuit was filed in New York in 2019 by the Golden Buddha Corp against Imelda Marcos and the Marcos estate on the Roxas treasure.