I ordered the payment of the Virginia tobacco bought in 1969 early this month. Today I had all the farmers representatives at the palace to receive from Phil-Asia all checks for the unpaid balance of 40%.
Also received the executive committee of the Anti-Communist League that is meeting in
PRESIDENT MARCOS said that the tobacco industry of Northern Luzon is actually a healthy, self-sufficient industry which helps finance some of the priority projects of the government.
In brief remarks before representatives of some 200 tobacco farmer’s cooperatives who were at Malacañang, the President pointed out that the government derives some P90 million to P100 million in taxes from the industry annually.
He said that while the amount is utilized principally to finance the tobacco-buying program of the government, commonly regarded as a subsidy, some of it are channeled to such priority projects as education and public works.
During the call of the tobacco farmers, the Phil-Asia released the checks paying its unpaid balance of tobacco purchases.
Among those who were with the group were PVTA officials headed by General Manager Federico B. Moreno and representatives of the Phil-Asia led by its president, Vicente Velasco.
At breakfast in Malacañang, the President and the First Lady, Mrs. Imelda R. Marcos, were hosts to the officers of the Press Photographers of the Philippines. He also inducted the officers, who were elected to their posts.
Inducted were Jolly Riofrir, president; Rogelio Carpio, vice president; Eduardo Martinez, secretary; Rodolfo Sakdalan, treasurer; Vernie Razon, Ricardo Vida, Conrado de Lumen Ching, Go Chue King, Felix Lloren, Angel Guillas, and Gaudencio Sillona, Jr. directors.
Starting his workday in earnest, the President first did a spell of work at his desk. Then he began receiving callers. First to see him were Senators Ambrosio Padilla and Mamintal Tamano and Rep. Teodulo Natividad, with whom he conferred on the solon’s fact-finding survey of Mindanao.
Another group that called on the President was composed of 23 members of the executive board of the joint international conference of Anti-Communist Leagues, who had gathered in Manila to prepare the groundwork for the joint meeting here of representatives of some 90, countries throughout the world.
Other callers included Agnette Blaistrup, president of the International Planned Parenthood Federation; Gohkok Kee, regional patron; Raymond Guarttet, regional secretary; and Dr. Rube Opelo, chairman of the Southeast Asia and Oceanic regions; all of the same organization, who paid their respects on the President, following their arrival to attend the regional conference of the IPPF in Baguio City.
In the afternoon, the President confined himself, to office work, in the course of which he issued an executive order reconstituting the Presidential Action Committee on Land Problems and coordinating the activities of different agencies involved in the administration of land and forestry laws.
The President emphasized the urgent need of coordinating the activities of many different agencies and committees involved in the administration of land and forestry laws, as well as agencies, committees or bodies attending to the needs of small farmers and the cultural minorities in order to protect the rights of small settlers, small landholders and members of the cultural minorities and assure speedy justice in resolving their land conflicts and problems.
Named to compose the reconstituted committee were the secretary of agriculture and natural resources, as chairman; the governor of land authority, as vice chairman; and Raoul Beloso, chairman of the defunct Small Farmers Commission; PANAMIN Chairman Manuel Elizalde, Jr., the Chief of Constabulary, the commissioner of national integration, the directors of lands, forestry, and mines; and the president of the Federation of Free Farmers, as members.
In his order, the President abolished the Small Farmers Commission, the Committee to study Priorities in the Distribution of the Public Lands and the Committee on Social Justice and Agrarian Reforms.
convention next July. The Nationalist Chinese representative transmitted the greetings of the Generalissimo (Chang Kai-shek and his hope that we would continue opposing the entry of Red China into the United Nations. I reminded him that we have been always anti-Red China but that several nations in Asia including Malaysia and Singapore have changed their vote from against to in favor.
I can understand the concern of the Nationalist Chinese for the possibility of the entry of Red China into the UN which may mean their exclusion—at least from the Security Council.
We are actually studying the developments and have recommended to the United States that she achieve a coup by proposing that all the divided countries like North and South Korea, North and South Vietnam, Red and Nationalist China and East and West Germany be admitted to the UN. The US has not reacted to this suggestion.
I have signed the Executive Order for release next Saturday which prohibits trawlers (the big ones: more than 50 tons) from fishing in Manila Bay and limiting the baby trawlers to a certain area in the bay. This will start a furor in the fishing circles.
We have decided to go to Limasawa in Southern Leyte to participate in the ceremonies on Mar. 31st, to celebrate the 450th year of the First Mass said in the Philippines upon the landing of my name-sake, Ferdinand Magellan, at the island of Limasawa.
So I have asked for the postponement of my spiritual retreat originally set for Mar. 28th to the 30th as well as the Philippine Military Academy graduation set on the 28th—all to the 2nd.
This will give us time to go to Limasawa by boat and return to Manila or San Fernando, La Union also by boat.
Then I can attend the opening day of the Seato [Southeast Asia Treaty Organization] exercise which will be the day of the amphibious landings and the parachute drop.
Had a conference on tourism with the businessmen at the house of [Antonio] Tony Delgado with Tony doing the briefing.
What we all agreed upon was that the tourists are not coming to the Philippines because of the news of crime in the Philippines carried by our newspapers. As well as the fact that Manila is a dead-end and has no through trips to Bali and only a few trips to Singapore or to Hongkong and Tokyo.
But we have to change the attitude of our newspapers and our media.
Our crime rate is not any higher than the other countries like Japan or for that matter the United States.