Typhoon Uring, hitting Isabela last night and leaving Vigan this morning, has cancelled all the proclamations and rallies in the north.
But the weather was good from Davao to Manila which we negotiated in the Fokker in 2 hours and twenty minutes.
Laoag and Tuguegarao have become calm and sunny. So we fly tomorrow for these two places one in the morning and the other in the evening.
In the Cotabato situation, Sens. [Mamintal] Tamano and [Leonardo] Perez with Cong. [Constantino] Navarro have gone to Parang and sought to use the same intermediaries to bring Mayor Bangon Aratuc of Buldon to me. But they have brought the media and politicians with them. I am worried they may undermine everything that we have done. I have asked them to desist from intervention.
Spent the time working on papers and guiding the media and propaganda campaign.
My impression coming out of the conversation of Com. Raul Beloso with Mayor Bangon Aratuc of Buldon is that there is a MIM or Moslem Independent Movement but that it fed on the “Ilaga” vicious attacks on Moslem villages, desecration of mosques and killing of Moslem civilians (cutting off their ears) which were in turn caused by the Moslem protection racket of collecting from Christian settlers part of harvest and cattle rustling.
But the previous unorganized depredations on both sides became united into systematic attacks-in-band by the organization of the “Ilagas” in which Mayor Doruelo of Pigkawayan and retired Capt. Tronco are involved—the first as arms supplier and general support men and the second as the brains; then of the MIM by both Ex-Gov. Udtog Matalan and Cong. Salipada Pendatun.
Mayor Aratuc is, I believe, preparing to tell me that these last two leaders, with whom he is disenchanted as they have not been able to help him, are partly to blame for the lawlessness going on in Cotabato.
Incidentally Mayor Aratuc had unintentionally revealed that the MIM had sent forces to Buldon but that “they had dispersed.”
Official Gazette for August 14, 1971: Immediately upon arriving at Malacañang at about 10:30 a.m. from his three-day trip to the South, the President focused on urgent state business, including important state papers.
He did not receive callers to be able to concentrate on desk work preparatory to another trip to the North, for proclamation rallies of the senatorial bets of the Nacionalista Party.
However, apparently the mayor feels that the PC [Philippine Constabulary] had sided with the Ilagas. My estimate was that these alleged “PC” are Ilagas using PC uniform.