I write this on board
the Ang Pangulo as we are
entering Manila Port on July 5, 1971
As the sea was rough and the ship was pitching, rolling and yawing when I went to bed at about 12:30 PM. I could not write my diary.
We left Ulot, Tolosa at 8:30 AM. The Pacific Ocean was still turgid and turbulent but the sun was out and there was no rain.
But we went to the memorial of my father-in-law to bid his bones goodbye. And this time there was a stillness in the atmosphere that was eerie even in the bright sunlight.
It is a corner of the town set against the river and the sea. Even without the wind, it still has a strange melancholy.
We dropped by the Tanauan market so Imelda could choose the fresh fish for sashimi [s]he wanted to prepare for me. This caused a small riot in the town as everybody wanted to see us.
Then off to the airport of Tacloban where most of the visitors would take the plane back to Manila. The Romualdezes would go by ship with us.
This is American Independence Day and our Phil. American friendship day.
We again saw the “bridge of love” which I had dedicated to Imelda on her birthday in 1969—the San Juanico Bridge, this time in the sunlight.
And the skillful piloting of the ship through the narrow channel of San Juanico Strait specially through Sta. Rita Puss.
OG July 4, 1971: President Marcos and the First Lady, Imelda R. Marcos, boarded the RPS 777 in clear weather at the Tacloban pier for their return trip to Manila after having been stranded in Leyte by typhoon Neneng. The First Couple boarded the ship at 10:00 a.m. following military honors rendered the President at the wharf by a contingent of the Philippine Constabulary. Shortly after the ship had gone underway, the President, the First Lady and the rest of the presidential party heard Mass celebrated before an improvised altar at the upper deck.
While sailing through San Juanico Strait, the First Couple officiated at the renaming in Pilipino of RPS 777. It was renamed “Ang Pangulo.” They unveiled the ship’s new nameplate and the presidential seal, which was also worded in Pilipino. Following the ceremony, the President buckled down to paper work in his cabin, in the process issuing an administrative order invalidating as of June 30 the authority granted to insurance and surety companies to become sureties “upon official recognizances, stipulations, bonds and undertakings” unless they have paid-up capital of ₱1 million. He issued the order upon recommendation of both the secretary of finance and the insurance commissioner not only to increase the underwriting capacity of domestic insurance companies but to enable them to absorb government securities.
Among other actions, the President conveyed the felicitations and best wishes of the Filipino people to the people of the United States, on the occasion of the celebration of their Independence Day. In his cable to President Richard M. Nixon in Washington, the President said: “On the occasion of the celebration of your Independence Day, the Filipino people join me in conveying sincere felicitations and best wishes. It is our hope that Philippine-American friendship in the years to come shall continue to grow ever stronger for the mutual benefit of our two countries.”
The sea was calm, the moon was out. I played at golf before the net, then exercised, showered and had a massage. Then dinner at 10:30 PM. By this time we were close to Marinduque and out in the open, so the sea was getting rough.
Reviewed my book again and I am sure it will be of impact as it explains my political philosophy.
Imelda has decided to bring the Romualdezes to Bataan—Talaga Bay and Dambana Ng Kagitingan. So we will arrive in Manila late in the evening.