9:45 PM
Beach House, Ulot
Tolosa, Leyte
Ex-Pres. [Diosdado] Macapagal has won the Presidency of the Cons. Con. [Constitutional Convention] on the first balloting this morning on a count of:
Macapagal — 169
Manglapus — 120
Barrera — 18
307
The word come in early in the afternoon (about 3:00 PM) that he had garnered the magic number of 157 which is more than ½ of the proclaimed delegates.
The union of the Liberals and the Nacionalistas against the independents won out. If the independents had not been so arrogant, they might have fared better. But they pushed the two parties into a modus vivendi.
Our men in the convention who organized the Reform Bloc headed by Delegate Gualberto (Bibit) Duavit counted 109 hard core Nacionalistas or sympathizers and members. Ex-Pres. Macapagal, when he met the panel of Bibit Duavit, Ramon Encarnacion (Ilocos Sur), Tony [Antonio] de Guzman (La Union), Delegate [Leocadio] Ignacio (Isabela), could count only
Official Gazette for June 29, 1971: President Marcos, together with the First Lady, Imelda R. Marcos, arrived in Ormoc City aboard the RPS 777 at 6 a.m. to inspect and inaugurate some public works projects.
A big crowd led by Mayor Iñaki Larrazabal was on hand to give the First Couple a warm welcome. From the pier they proceeded to the local parish church for Mass, and then went to the residence of Mayor Larrazabal for breakfast and a meeting with local officials. After the conference, the President and the First Lady inaugurated the ₱4 million Bao irrigation system, practically the biggest irrigation project in the entire Visayas that would provide irrigation to some 6,000 hectares, Another public works project inaugurated later by the First Couple was the Cantubo bridge.
From Cantubo, the President and his party proceeded to the OSPA-Farmers Medical Center for the inauguration rites. Built by the Ormoc sugarcane planters for the benefit of their laborers and their dependents, the President described the hospital as “a monument to compassion, to conscience and to courage.” He expressed gratification over the initiative taken by some sectors of society to help their fellowmen who are not as fortunately situated in life as they are.
Following the OSPA-Farmers Medical Center inaugural rites, the President and the First Lady reboarded RPS 777 for Tacloban City, arriving there early in the evening. Another enthusiastic crowd led by Gov. Benjamin Romualdez, met the First Couple at the pier. From the pier they dropped by the Nipa Hut, the governor’s official residence in Tacloban City, before proceeding to the family resthouse in Sitio Olot, in Tolosa, some 25 kilometers away.
Upon learning of the result of the election for the presidency of the Constitutional Convention earlier in the day, the President sent the following congratulatory wire to former President Diosdado Macapagal:
“Congratulations for your sound victory on the first balloting of the Constitutional Convention. I am certain your election augurs well for the unity of the convention. Regards.”
57 supporters. So he knew that most of those voting for him were my men in the convention.
Their totals of hardcore followers was 166. Since Macapagal got 169, they missed the count by only 3, which is accurate counting in an election.
I practically forced Delegate Carlos Ledesma to withdraw in the meeting at my library on the evening of Saturday, the 26th. There were some awkward moments.
But the decision turned out to be wise. Although some of our men sent a message to me at Ormoc this noon that they still do not trust Macapagal.
Some of the delegates are now insistent that the first question to be decided is the matter of the form of government—whether republican or parliamentary. From this decision would come the necessary details of the machinery of government.
The parliamentary form proposed would take the advantages of both forms of government. For the President would be chosen from the members of the House by the House members. He would organize a cabinet from members of the House. And he could appoint a member of the cabinet to perform the ceremonial functions of the Presidency. The President would have the power to sit in the House and lead the debates although he could delegate this to any of the cabinet members.
The San Juanico Bridge at Barrio Palawan, Tacloban is half finished. We passed it at 6:45 PM the 777 directed by the port pilot ______. We left Ormoc at 11:00 AM. We had docked at 6:00 AM, heard mass supposed to be only an ordinary mass but which as a pontifical mass by Bishop Salvador of Palo and ten priests—which took one hour and a half. Then we motored to Bao River for the P4 million irrigation project which is supposed to irrigate 6,000 hectares. It is a [sic] Kananga but the water goes to Ormoc. We inaugurated it (I opened the gates and delivered a short speech). We then inaugurated the Cantubo Bridge and the P3 million (it will ultimately be P4 million), 100-bed hospital overlooking the bay built by the Ormoc Sugar Planters Association out of 2% of their share in the sugar production (The millers get 38% and the planters 62%). This is in addition to the P1 per picul that I have asked the sugar planters to put into an amelioration fund to be given in cash to the sugar plantation and mill laborers. The Ormoc area produces 1,240,000 piculs of sugar this year (worth about $7.5 million) although it used to produce only 300,000 piculs,
“When the strong shall extend their hands to lift up the weak, the rich shall identify themselves with the poor, the powerful compassionate for the lowly and brotherhood reign over everyone, then we shall have built a nation.” These were my words in my speech at the hospital inauguration.
Imelda found them profound.
The hospital is something we should show off to other planters associations which are not “extending their hand to lift up the weak” in other areas.