Presented the reorganization plan to the members of Congress—12 senators and 54 congressmen.
Administered the oath to Col. Fabian Ver who is now a general in the presence of many
Official Gazette for March 11, 1971: PRESIDENT MARCOS again discussed the reorganization plan for the executive branch with various national leaders, including those in Congress, who were briefed on the overall proposals at Maharlika Hall in Malacañang starting at 3 PM
Present at the briefing were Senate President Protempore Jose J. Roy, Senators Alejandro D. Almendras, Gerardo M. Roxas, Dominador R. Aytona, Lorenzo M. Tañada, Rene Espina, Magnolia W. Antonino, Salvador H. Laurel, Leonardo B. Perez, Helena Z. Benitez, Mamintal A. Tamano, Wenceslao R. Lagumbay, and Ambrosio Padilla.
Reps. Aguedo F. Agbayani, Rodolfo B. Albano, Jr., Felipe B. Almazan, Indanan, M. Anni, Jose D. Aspiras, Gaudencio, Becluya, Emerito S. Calderon, Fermin Z. Caram, Jr., Natalio P. Castillo, Vicente M. Cerilles, James L. Chiongbian, Joaquin E. Chipeco, Eduardo M. Cojuangco, Jr., Amado D. Cope, Andres A. Cosalan, Antonio M. Diaz, Mohammad Ali Dimaporo, Roberto C. Diokno, Ramon M. Durano;
Emilio R. Espinosa, Jr., Cesar M. Fortich, Felix A. Fuentabella, Eduardo R. Gullas, Rafael B. Legaspi, Jose J. Leido, Jr., Leonides C. de Leon, Expedito M. Leviste, Artemio Al. Loyola, Esteban S. Madrona, Constancio B. Maglana, Pablo A. Malasarte, Artemio E. Mate, Pedro C. Medulla, Justiniano S. Montano, Roberto L. Montelibano, Teodulo C. Natividad, Constantino C. Navarro, Jose P. Neri, Mariano B. Peñaflorida;
Benjamin B. Perez, Democrito O. Plaza, Jose G. Puyat, Jr., Rodolfo M. Revilla, Pablo R. Roman, Roberto M. Sabido, Guillermo R. Sanchez, Frisco F. San Juan. Lorenzo S. Sarmiento, Celestino N. Sybico, Jr., Godofredo M. Tan, Herminio G. Teves, Fernando R. Veloso, Marcelino R. Veloso, Enrique A. Zaldivar, and Manuel A. Zosa;
Secretaries Cesar E. A. Virata of Finance, Ponciano G. A. Mathay of Justice, Manuel B. Syquio of Public Works and Communications, Onnfre D. Corpuz of Education, Bias F. Ople of Labor, Juan Ponce Enrile of National Defense, Amadeo H. Cruz of Health, Constancio E. Castañeda of General Services, Gregorio M. Feliciano of Social Welfare; Executive Secretary Alejandro Melchor, Jr., Budget Commissioner Faustino Sy-Changco:
National Economic Council Chairman Gerardo Sicat, Office of the Economic Coordination Administrator Eduardo Rodriguez, PES Director-General Apolinario Orosa, Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Jose D. Ingles, Undersecretaiy of Agriculture Jose Drilon, Jr., PANAMIN Secretary Manuel Elizalde, Jr., Land Authority Governor Conrado Estrella, and Board of Investments Chairman Vicente Paterno.
Earlier in the morning, the President worked at his desk, then began receiving visitors at 10:30 AM The first to see him was Don Vicente Garcia, who heads the Escano Shipping Lines, along with Antonio Florendo. Then he received Francisco Delgado, vice President of the Rotary International, who reiterated the invitation of Rotary International to the President, to be the keynoter at the organization’s convention in Sydney, Australia on May 16.
Also, the President inducted the new set of directors of the Philippine Veterans Bank. Those inducted were Generoso P. Salazar, Alfredo C. Gray, Moises A. Maramba, Jr., Agustin Marking, Alejo S. Santos, Jaime S. Mejia, Alfonso Arellano and Benjamin S. Florentino.
Another induction was that of Esteban A. de Ocampo who took over from Mrs. Carmen Guerrero Nakpil as chairman of the National Historical Commission.
Then PES Director-General Johnny Araneta paid a courtesy call, prior to leaving the government to return to private life. Other callers in the morning were Reps. Joaquin Chipeco and Leonides de Leon of Laguna.
Later in the afternoon, the Chief Executive swore in Col. Fabian C. Ver, director of the Presidential Security Agency and the commanding officer of the Presidential Guard Battalion, as brigadier general in the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
Ver’s nomination was confirmed by the Commission on Appointments.
Following the induction ceremony, the President received Tun Ismail bin Datu Abdul Rahman, Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, who paid a courtesy call.
officers and their ladies.
Then a conference with Sec. [Juan] Ponce Enrile, Gens. [Manuel] Yan, [Romeo] Espino, [Rafael] Ileto, [Eduardo] Garcia, [Mariano] Ordonez and [Fidel] Ramos and Col. Paz on the contingency plans. They are apparently all agreed that I declare martial law if there is an escalation of violence and rebellion.
Finally a conference with Ambassador [Henry] Byroade on the Clark Airforce Base strikes of Filipino workers.
Chino [Joaquin] Roces is still at it. He is distributing photostat copies of an article in the Boston Free Press dated Feb. 28, 1971 on the Dovie Boehms [Beams] case which includes a picture of me I am supposed to have dedicated to her with such words like “with all my love into eternity,” “Ferdinand (Fred).” This dedication again is a falsification and a forgery.
On the other hand Republic magazine continues the series of articles revealing her nude pictures, her insanity, her sex adventures with many men, her inclination to claim relationship (amorous) with the Kennedys, Trudeau, Wilson, Hearst, etc.
I may have to file an extortion case against her and the distributors of this coward.
Ex-Secretary Rafael Salas gave an interview to Nick Joaquin and although given allegedly as background for an article is being used by Nick Joaquin for the new magazine of the Jacintos, The Asian Leader.
In this article Salas claims that he left his position as Executive Sec. because he was asked to sign receipts for P2 million he had demanded from his cousin [Roberto] Bobby Benedicto for his candidacy as senator in 1969.
In short he admits that he made the demand for P2 million for his candidacy. I am afraid this will ruin him. Although he does call Bobby Benedicto a crook.
What happened was that he wanted to run as senator very badly. But he was, as we noted from the beginning, acting like a prima donna again.
He had helped in the campaign of 1965 although in a half-hearted manner so much so that when Imelda told him that we had only P2.5 million for the campaign (in September, about two months away from the elections) he seriously advised her to get me to withdraw, get the money and go on a round the world tour.
He begged me to be appointed Executive Secretary after I had won the elections of 1966.
And I did, because he was rated to be an efficient management man. But one year after my inauguration, he was more interested in sending scholars abroad than attending to his duties. So much so that there were log jams in the communications in the Executive Office and there was no system in handling problems. He was always buckpassing most every question to me, increasing my burdens, refusing to assume responsibility, always pessimistic about our chances to achieve (this was true even in the rice program and the propagation of the IR-8 variety where he maintained to the end that we could not become self-sufficient in rice until my second term if at all—when we did become self-sufficient in my first term [the third year]), complaining about everything else but his own inefficiency and attending more to the media than anything else.
Even with respect to his task as Executive Secretary where he was supposed to absorb some of the shocks of unpopular decisions, he always went out of his way to show that the decisions were made by me alone and by no one else. But if a decision turned out to be popular, he always managed to be identified with it. One of such programs was the conservation program. I almost lost my temper when he announced that this was his program. When I asked him about it, he pleaded that I should allow his men to build themselves up. I realized the man had no spine and would never be a leader but a passably good No. 2 man. He would never have the courage to assume direct responsibility, face up to a crisis or to go it alone.
There were several instances that I hinted that he leave the Executive Secretaryship. Thus I decided to push him to run for the Senate.
But even there, he was acting scared. And he was scared all the way.
He had gone to Bobby Benedicto and to [Alfredo] Piding Montelibano [Sr.] after he was sure of his nomination, to ask that they give him P2 million for his campaign expenses.
Of course they told him that they did not have that kind of money; that they were handling only contributions to the party and there were as yet no contributions but that if the party agreed to it they would start a finance committee campaign to raise funds for him but he would have to sign receipts for the funds as they were accountable to the party for them.
They also asked him if he had told me of his request for funds. And when he said that he had not, for he had not at all until later when he had already quarreled with Bobby and Piding and I intervened.
But my feeling was that when he realized that he could not get the funds which he may have seriously felt he needed (although with the strength of the party he did not need such a fantastic amount of money) he panicked and ran away as far as he could go and that was the United Nations.
He must be running scared still. His interview shows it