Just finished the conference on the reorganization bill with the Reorganization Commission and the leaders of Congress before which I had a conference with the Senate President, Senate Pres. Pro Tempore, Speaker and House Majority Floor Leader.
We have decided to extend the period within which I can submit the reorganization bill to Congress set Mar. 6th by another sixty days within which I can work out the conflicts of position.
And instead of directly adopting the lay-off of 30,000 employees (12,000 regulars and 18,000 casuals) we ask the Budget Commissioner and the Reorganization Commission to work out the statistics of savings and employees affected if we instead freeze the level of employment
Official Gazette for February 24, 1971: PRESIDENT MARCOS received in the morning the board of directors of the Provincial, City and Municipal Treasurers and Assessors Association of the Philippines, who extended an invitation to the President to keynote their annual convention on March 15, 1971.
Afterwards, the President worked at his desk, but in-between, he also received callers, among whom, were Reps. Constantino Navarro of Surigao del Norte, James Chiongbian of South Cotabato, Roberto Sabido of Albay, Angel Concepcion of Nueva Ecija, Manuel Zosa of Cebu and municipal officials of Paranaque headed by Mayor Florencio Bernabe who discussed local problems with him.
In the afternoon, the President presided over a joint meeting of the leaders of both chambers of Congress and members of the Cabinet, during which Reorganization Commission Chairman Armand Fabella briefed them on the proposed reorganization bill to effect simplicity, efficiency and economy in the government service.
During the conference, the President was also assured by the leaders of Congress that the deadline for his submission of the National Government reorganization bill will be extended another 60 days up to May 5.
Under the law, the President has to submit the bill not later than 40 days after the start of the regular session of Congress or up to March 5.
The President then explained to the Congress leaders that he could use the time to review the report with them, since the bill has to be rejected or approved en toto.
It was later decided by the President and the legislative leaders that a series of meetings be held with all members of both Houses of Congress present, in order to thresh out points of possible disagreement and insure the swift passage of the bill.
Present at the meeting were Senate President Gil J. Puyat and President Protempore Jose J. Roy, Majority Floorleader Arturo M. Tolentino and Minority Floorleader Gerardo M. Roxas; Speaker Jose B. Laurel. Jr. and Speaker Protempore Jose Aldeguer, House Majority Floorleader Marcelino Veloso and Minority Floorleader Justiniano Montano; Senators Benigno Aquino, Jr. and Lorenzo Teves, and Reps. Rogaciano Mercado and Rafael Legaspi, representing the Senate and House panels in the Reorganization Commission; Reorganization Commissioners Cesar Zalamea and Roberto Ongpin, Executive Director Abelardo Samonte; Secretaries Cesar E. A. Virata of Finance, Manuel B. Syquio of Public-Works and Communications, Onofre D. Corpuz of Education and Blas F. Ople of Labor; Executive Secretary Alejandro Melchor, Jr., NEC Chairman Gerardo Sicat and Budget Commissioner Faustino Sy-Changco.
During the day, the Chief Executive submitted to the Commission on Appointments for confirmation the names of five nominees to various local posts.
Nominated were Gregorio Besinga, as city treasurer of Surigao City; Antolin J. Ouano, as register of deeds of Mandaue City; Saaduddin A. Alauya, Jose G. Genilo, Jr., and Santos Adiong as municipal judges of Bubong and Ditsaan, Lanao del Sur; Calapan, Mindoro Oriental; and Piagapo, Lanao del Sur, respectively.
for the next several years.
We have given the members of Congress the reorganization plan for more deliberate study and meet at the DBP [Development Bank of the Philippines] hall at 3:00 PM on Mar. 11th with all the members of both the Senate and the House.
This morning I met the proposed panel on the Conference in Geneva on the Law of the Sea which would put up an international regime that would control the use, exploitation and control of seas beyond the 12 mile limit from land.
This is going to affect the oil concessions we have given out on the Palawan shelf as well as the fishing grounds there which is one of the richest in Southeast Asia.
While we have occupied Nanshan Island and Flat Island, Itu A[b]a is occupied by the Nationalist Chinese.
We are going to occupy the other islands of the Spratley group.
We feel that the Nationalist Chinese with their problem of the Red Chinese entry into the United Nations will not make an issue out of it.
During the war, the Japanese used the big island Itu Ata [sic] as an air base for attacking the Philippines. And if the Communist Chinese should ever get Taiwan or Chiang Kai Shek dies and his son Chiang Ching Kuo joins hands with Mao [Zedong], then Itu Ata [sic] and the other islands fall into communist hands and will be a direct threat to the Philippines.
In the diary he wrote Itu Ata, the largest of the naturally occurring islands in the Spratlys.