The budget was approved last night.
The Progressive Car Manufacturing Program should be decided soon. We stick to five but quietly give Universal a chance to prove itself by a Central Bank allocation to see if it can comply with its offer. We retain the option to cancel all privileges of those who do not.
I have told [Vicente] Ting Paterno and [Angel] Angie Limjoco [Jr.] this.
We must push through the Greater Manila Food Terminal Market.
In the meeting with Sugar man Fred Elizade and Adi Sison as well as [Roberto] Bobby Benedicto I told them I was sad about the fact that the sugar people still demand P68 per picul when all they were demanding through [Alfredo] Piding Montelibano [Sr.] was P58 from P49 of the PCC [Price Control Council]. Tony [Antonio] Roxas Chua wants a 25% increase from the 90 centavos price for brown sugar set by PCC. I am studying this.
There is a cry for sugar everywhere. Imelda who has just come from Laguna de Bay (including Rizal, Pasig and Pateros) says this is also the cry of the people there.
And we must decide if we will renounce part (150,000 tons?) of our quota. If we will have a shortage next year, this year would be the time to renounce it as we have a valid reason—the floods.
I also reminded Adi Sison and Bobby Benedicto of the promise of the Fertilizer Institute that it would lower the fertilizer prices if the PNB [Philippine National Bank] restructured its loans which the PNB did.
Official Gazette for August 11, 1972: PRESIDENT MARCOS had a two-hour conference in the afternoon with financial and technical advisers to explore possible sources of funds for rehabilitation and revise the infrastructure program of the government so as to give emphasis on rehabilitation projects.
Among those present at the conference were Budget Commissioner Faustino Sy-Changco, Executive Secretary Alejandro Melchor, Jr., PES Director-General Apolinario Orosa, CB Governor Gregorio Licaros, Highways Commissioner Baltazar Aquino, Assistant Executive Secretary Roberto V. Reyes, Public Works Secretary David M. Consunji, and Finance Secretary Cesar E. A. Virata.
Also present at the conference were Agriculture Secretary Arturo R. Tanco, Ambassador Roberto Benedicto, Public Works Director Alejandro Deleña and Irrigation Administrator Alfredo Juinio.
The President continued focusing on the progress of relief and rehabilitation work as he spent the whole morning going over reports from-government agencies involved in the program.
Following his afternoon conference, the President directed the use of Philippine Navy boats in the distribution of relief aid in the bayshore towns of Laguna de Bay.
Then the President had an interview with Malacañang newsmen early in the evening.
Tonight at 6:15 PM, we were able to list down about a billion pesos of local and foreign sources for our rehabilitation program.
I have ordered the release of the funds needed for August.
I told Bongbong and Irene the situation in which we are—the fact that we are now fighting for survival; that whether I retire or not our family is in danger of liquidation from either the communists or our political enemies; that if I retire I would be forced to fight for our lives because the communists are growing stronger and would be much stronger without me as President; rather than fight a defensive or losing battle later, I would rather fight now by taking over the government by a proclamation of Martial Law; but that such a proclamation would succeed if the people are with us and the people will be with us if the new government is a reform government and we are all exemplars of the new society; so they, the children, must so conduct themselves that they will not antagonize the people.
The arrests in Angeles City farther confirm the support of the local Communists by the Red Chinese government.
The literature discovered could have been printed only in the mainland.