7:30PM—while waiting
for the sas[h]imi dinner
for Valentine[‘s Day]
Played golf at 7:30AM at [Bahay] Pangarap with Ambassador [Toshio] Urabe of Japan, Gov. Greg [Gregorio] Licaros and Bobby [Roberto] Benedicto. Sec. [Arturo] Tanco [Jr.] came at 10:00 AM.
We asked Ambassador Urabe to look quietly into the possibility of a loan of 300,000 tons of Japanese rice payable in rice or cash in 30 years with a grace period of 10 years and at 3% interest. This would be similar to the Korean loan.
Apparently it is a concessional loan to developing countries. The Korean loan must be in accordance with the policy of Japan to strengthen the buffer states—buffer between Japan and Red China.
Ambassador Urabe reminded us that the Phil-Japan Treaty on Trade and Navigation has not yet been ratified and this makes it difficult for him to push through any requests for Japanese aid. And he also spoke of the Japanese War Memorial. Sec. [Manuel] Syquio apparently brought
Official Gazette for February 14, 1971: PRESIDENT MARCOS ordered all government departments, bureaus, offices, agencies and instrumentalities to adopt and implement a system of rotation in the assignment of personnel.
Adoption of the system of rotation is designed to improve the career civil service and gear it towards maximum national development.
The President noted that under the present career service, many talented and capable employees could not be fully utilized because of the rigid and constructing rules on such matters as tenure, seniority, length of service, next-in-rank, etc.
He said that a system of rotation would revitalize the public service and gear the bureaucracy, in harmony with the other sectors of society, towards the goal of national development.
By rotation in personnel assignment, he explained, the talents, training, capacities and abilities of civil service employees may be availed of and used in whichever position and whatever functions they are needed without directly violating, and within the bounds of, the existing laws and rules on civil service.
In this regard, the President directed that there should be close coordination among the departments and agencies as to their personnel needs or requirements.
In pursuance of this policy, the President set forth the following guidelines:
1. The actual rotation or assignment of the personnel concerned should be effected in the manner provided in a memorandum of agreement which should be entered into between and among departments, where the rotation or assignment involved is from one department to another.
2. The memorandum of agreement should be between and among bureaus and offices within a department where the rotation or assignment is within the said department, with the approval of the department head.
3. In preparing the memorandum of agreement, the parties to it should always remember that the same is entered into with the objective of removing roadblocks to the full utilization of the talent, training, capability or expertise of career service personnel in the interest of national government.
The President’s order was embodied in an Administrative Order issued by Executive Secretary Alejandro Melchor, Jr. The order required all concerned to submit as soon as possible a report on action taken, with copies of the memorandum of agreement.
The President spent part of the morning and most of the afternoon in his private study working on other urgent official papers.
him by helicopter to Camp Gen. Capinpin in Tanay near which a Japanese war memorial (which he hopes will be a joint war memorial for Japanese and Filipino was dead) will be built to dissipate the impression in Japan of our continuing antagonism towards them.
So I have directed Sec. [Carlos] Romulo to organize a task force to be headed by him to work for the ratification of the treaty.
The Board of Regents of the UP [University of the Philippines] passed a resolution to the effect that in the maintenance of peace and order in the UP campus, the QCPD [Quezon City Police District] can go to the campus only upon call by the UP Internal Security Force.
Mayor [Norberto] Amoranto told me over the telephone that he has written the Board protesting this as the UP authorities have no police authority, cannot make arrests, serve warrants etc.
The Board apparently is again showing an incapacity to meet the danger of communism in the university.
I attach a report of Ambassador [Luis] Gonzalez on the Spanish government’s action on strikes and violent demonstrations. Usually this was in the form of a decree of a state of emergency or a state of exception which is a state of emergency short of war. This involves arbitrary arrests, searches without warrant, detention for an indefinite period and banishment.
Imelda gave me a song she composed—”Ang Buhay Ko’y lyong-iyo Sa Araw Na Ito,” and a medicine container in a key chain. The two girls gave us sweat shirts, mine light blue with the words in the chest “No. 1 Erpat” and Imelda’s dark blue black with “Da BES ERMAT” in front.
I gave her some gold pearls and the girls small diamond rings (Imee a round one and a sunshine type and Irene a heart shaped one).