Written at 6:15 PM at the
Study of the 777 off the
of Ragay Gulf on June 24, 1972
I was starting a cold last night so I took a couple Decolgen tablets after merienda at 7:00 PM after conferring with Tano Ludo, Tura Veloso and Judge Francin ______ on the boat and a hot shower.
While having a massage at 9:00 PM, I fell asleep to wake up 2:00 AM when I dressed up to call Imelda who was still talking to the girls in the lounge and take dinner. Went back to sleep at 3:00 AM. Woke up at 9:00 AM completely refreshed.
The visit to Cebu was a complete success. Imelda was mobbed in the streets, in the market and in the conferences of mayors and the citizenry. “I thought the Marcoses were already unpopular,” remarked one newspaperman.
With the approval of Mayor Osmeña, Sen. [Rene] Espina, Cong. [Ramon] Durano and other Congressmen and Chief of Police [Abundio] Gultiano, all policemen who are, after investigation by the NBI [National Bureau of Investigation], found to be guilty of anomalies, will be removed or suspended. Mayor [Sergio] Osmeña [Jr.] charges Gultiano of heading a syndicate of crooks. Sen. Espina countered that Mayor Osmeña squad killed four men in a taxicab in front of the provincial jail in cold blood. And men like him are fearful of their lives.
Official Gazette for June 23, 1972: PRESIDENT MARCOS, while en route to Cebu City on the third leg of his inspection tour of the Visayas and Mindanao, gave a resume of his conferences with military and civilian officials of Cagayan de Oro and Zamboanga on the peace and order situation in the area.
The President told newsmen covering him that, among others, there was a widespread Ilaga movement in the region which had cause both related and unrelated violence in arson, pillage, murder and assassination.
He likewise explained that while it was possible there was no Ilaga syndicate, Ilaga organizers from Cotabato had spread the movement to Lanao in 1971 and to Zamboanga del Sur and Zamboanga del Norte.
The President, accompanied by the First Lady, Imelda R. Marcos, arrived in Cebu City at 1 p.m. aboard RPS Ang Pangulo and were given a tumultous welcome by some 20,000 people, complete with giant streamers, placards and brass bands. Heading the welcomers was Mayor Sergio Osmeña, Jr.
From the wharf the President motored to the III PC Zone headquarters for a four-hour military briefing, during which he directed the military intelligence to employ more aggressive efforts, particularly against subversion, communism and insurgency.
After the military briefing, the President proceeded to the social hall to confer with local executives and national, provincial, city and municipal officials on local problems.
He forged an agreement between Mayor Osmeña and his chief of police, Abundio Gultiano, by proposing that the police force of the city be cleaned of misfits and undesirables.
The President also warned the League of Municipal Mayors of Cebu against the inroads of communism and enjoined them to forget politics and work in unity for the welfare of the public.
Following his meeting with the local officials, the President boarded the presidential yacht for his return trip to Manila via Pasacao, Camarines Sur, where he was scheduled to be given a briefing also by the military on the peace and order situation in the Bicol region.