Jack Anderson, the muckracking columnist has come out with a third column alleging I have doubled the $50,000 offered bribe to Primitivo Mijares to stop him from testifying and to recant his testimony in the U.S. Congress.
I have had to dictate a personal cable to Jack Anderson to answer the libel, in between my visitors for the day which included Y. K. Pao, the ship owner (possibly the largest in the world.
I enclosed both the column and the cable as finally amended at 4:30 AM this morning when I woke up and called Ambassador Eduardo Romualdez over the telephone to see if my cable sent through him to Jack Anderson and to be hand carried by Al Valencia, had been received. It had.
Sec. Cesar Virata informs me we may have to allow the peso value to float down five percent as we cannot support it on its present level. We spent more than $150 million for support last month.
Official Gazette for July 15, 1975: THE PRESIDENT has approved a P22.399-billion national budget for fiscal year 1976 to back up a policy of dynamic flexibility and to serve as catalyst for the sustained growth and development of the economy. Bigger than the budget for the last fiscal year by P2.23 billion, the national budget, which was signed by the President last June 25, is designed to answer the need for intensified development efforts in the wake of a slowdown in economic activities and the recessionary pressures in developed countries.