Met the congressional leaders after the routinary visitors. Senate Pres. [Gil] Puyat, Senate Pres. Pro Tempore Jose Roy, Maj. Floor Leader (Senate) Arturo Tolentino, Sens. [Dominador] Aytona, [Lorenzo] Teves and [Magnolia] Antonio as well as [Wenceslao] Lagumbay; Acting Speaker Jose Aldeguer, Cong. [Natalio] Castillo were present. Aytona was outspoken against almost all the bills—a complete change from the position he adopted when I had not acted against the IISMI [Iligan Integrated Steel Mills, Inc.] management. It reached a point where he even attacked the land reform program and
Official Gazette for August 24, 1970: President Marcos signed the Constitutional Convention Bill at high noon, with Congress leaders present, thus ending the speculation on whether he would or would not give due course to the law.
Earlier, the President threshed out the pending urgent bills in Congress with the same legislative leaders, during which he urged that a caucus of legislators determine the order of priorities for acting on measures which will be placed before a third special session of Congress.
Present at the meeting and at the signing of the charter bill were Senate President Gil J. Puyat, acting Speaker Jose M. Aldeguer, Senate President Protempore Jose J. Roy, Senators Arturo M. Tolentino, Dominador. Aytona, Wenceslao R. Lagumbay and Lorenzo Teves; Reps. Natalio P. Castillo of Bohol and Aguedo Agbayani of Pangasinan.
In a day heavy with callers, the President received:
1. The Philippine Swimming team which participated in the Pesta Sukaa (first anniversary fete of Singapore) program, who paid a courtesy call. The team came home with 53 medals—16 gold, 24 silver and 13 bronze, winning an overall second place in the swimming events. Those who called were Edwin Borja, Doe Mlari, Mazir Mikara, Mustan Radji, Paulo Pabalan, Noel Lozada, Carlos Brosas, Edgar Borja, Grace Luna, Susan Pajar, Luz Arzaga, Christine Velarte, and Greg Colmenares. They were accompanied by Jes Borja, coach; Norma Villarete, Lorenzo Guarin and Philip Monserrat.
2. Officers of the Fulbright Scholars Association, whom the President inducted. The group pledged to help bring to the people salient issues involved in the charter convention. Those who called were Dr. Gabriel Carreon, president; Antonio Arizabal, Jr., vice president; Minda Luz Loredo, secretary; Edna Montano de la Cruz, treasurer; Prof. Redentor Romero, Paulo Campos, Eva R. Gonzales, Dolores F. Hernandez, Serafin Quiason, Silvestre Sarmiento, Raul de Guzman and Artemio D. Dolor.
3. C. J. Leedham, Far East representative of Leigh Instruments, who presented the President with a downed plane location indicator. He was accompanied by Canadian Consul General J. L. Mutter, Consul B. A. Gagosz and Mike Campos, president of the Liberty Aviation Corporation.
In the afternoon, the President worked mostly on state papers. He also received Mrs. Gerry Coffey, women’s editor of the Bangkok World, who interview him; and the Crispa-Floro team which won the Presidential Cup basketball tournament.
Before receiving the Crispa-Floro team, the President received a group of 27 American students who had been living with foster parents all ever the Philippines in the last two months and a half.
On the young high school students, Debi Wise, surprised the President when she greeted him in fluent Ilocano and carried on the conversation in the President’s tongue for some time. Debi, who is from Laurel, Maryland, had lived in Laoag City and had visited Batac, the President’s hometown, and the neighboring town of Sarrat. Another, Joel Lees, played the nose flute before the President, while others spoke to him in the dialect of the region he or she had stayed. The American students said they were leaving with regrets because they had learned to appreciate and like the Filipino way of life, their educational system and culture. Filipino students, on the other hand, go to the United States and live with American foster parents for one year at a time.
opposed the $75 million loan from the World Bank when credit is so difficult to obtain from anyone. The World Bank borrows the money at 9% and lends it to us for 7¼% when the going rate is 12%. I pointedly told him that he was adopting the Liberal Party line when he said that the government has no organization to implement the land reform program or extend credit to the farmers. I called attention to the agricultural credit organization we had to organize for the rice and corn program and the training of the ACA [Agricultural Credit Administration] and APC [Agricultural Productivity Commission] men as well as the rural banks and other agencies.
When I asked him to help, he was evasive and he said, “I am doing my best.” I do not believe he will be of much help to us in the Senate. [Roberto] Bert Sabido had said to me that he (Aytona) had said in derision that Bert was “tuta nang Malacañang.” I expect trouble from him.
Sen. Pres. Puyat promised to call a caucus on Thursday and then I will call a caucus of all senators and congressmen. I may be able to call the caucus of all members of Congress by Sept. 4th.
But as of now, I believe we are not ready for a special session. Sen. Tolentino was of the same belief.
However, I did sign the constitutional convention bill at 12:00 AM sharp. I called the Secretary of Justice who had filed his observations that the law skirted the area of constitutionality because the prohibition against the participation of political parties, civic organizations, associations and other groups violated the principle of freedom of speech and of assembly; the provision compelling media to give the Commission on Elections free time and space infringed upon the inhibition against the deprivation of private property without due process; and the provision that the filing of a public official of his certificate of candidacy for delegate to the convention meant his resignation from public office was in conflict with the resolution approved with a two-thirds vote which provides that the office of delegates is honorific and is compatible with any other public office.
I also notified Sen. [Lorenzo] Tañada (who with Sen. Pres. Pro Tempore Jose Roy and Sen. [Jose] Diokno had voted against the bill as unconstitutional) of my decision to sign the bill and to leave to the Supreme Court the opportunity to rule on the constitutionality of the provisions in question.
On the funding that has been the subject of much publicity, I issued a directive to Com. [Faustino] Sychangco to cut down on expenses first of the Executive Office and second the Dept. of National Defense to raise the needed P29 million (P17 million for the elections and P12 million for the convention proper).
We finished the conference at 2:00 PM beginning 11:30 AM.
Sens. Roy, Teves and even Antonio were helpful.
I have directed this afternoon a new set of Bureau of Forestry regulations to be issued by the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources. This cuts the power of the Secretary but implements the Administrative Code which provides that forestry licenses should be issued by the Bureau of Forestry.
Then I directed the 15th year reparations schedule to be submitted to the National Economic Council.
I also have directed the SSS [Social Security System] and GSIS [Government Social Insurance System] to stop issuing housing loans except upon the condition that the borrower will buy his house form the National Housing Corporation. SSS lends about P40 million annually and the GSIS P80 million annually. This is the only way I can see to raise funds for the housing project.