Official Gazette for May 16, 1970: President Marcos had a series of speaking engagements which kept him out of Malacañang most of the day. In the morning the President left for Fernando Air Base in Lipa City, where he was guest of honor and speaker at the graduation exercises of the Philippine Air Force Flying School. He was afforded full military honors, including a 21-gun salute and a parade and review on his arrival at the airbase at past 9 a.m.
After trooping the line, the President delivered his address, presented the Presidential King Award to Cadet Diogenes J. Galindo for the highest overall rating in academic and flying training, and distributed the diplomas and wings to the graduates. Speaking at the graduation exercises, the President called for a national renascence of “social conscience” and “good manners” in the fulfillment of what he described as the true Filipino character, and in the making of a strong and proud Filipino nation. The President also paid tribute to the “long and noble tradition” of the Philippine Air Force of serving the distressed by the daily mercy flights carried out in the name of the sick and the injured, the rural and community work of airmen, and the exemplary conduct shown by the airmen during the recent civil disturbances. “All these,” the President said, “demonstrate the strength of social conscience in the air force,” a virtue which “forms a high integral part in the development of officers and gentlemen.”
From Lipa City, the President, motored direct to the PNB building on the Escolta to address another gathering, the 15th National Rice and Corn Convention. In his speech, he appealed to the agricultural sector to convert its products in export commodities, for increased dollar earnings.
The President also urged the conventionists to remove rice and corn, and the agricultural industry as a whole, from politics and to organize producer cooperatives. The President said that the reason for the failure of government programs in the past was that too often solutions to problems are nothing but political solutions which are never intended to last more than a few years. He assured the rice and corn producers that the solutions he is undertaking are lasting and permanent, and that he would continue his policy of supporting the rice and corn production program, which he initiated himself.
It was 1:30 p.m. when the President left the convention hall for Malacañang.
Proceeding direct to his study, the President conferred with CAA Administrator Federico Ablan, Jr., who informed him that the government’s two-year program for the modernization of navigational aids for civil aviation is being implemented on schedule. With the aid of charts, Ablan reported on the progress of the program which the President ordered started in 1969 following technical studies made by experts of the U.S. Federal Aviation Agency and the U.S. Civil Aeronautics Board.
Following his meeting with Ablan, the President again left the Palace at about 2:25 p.m. for Quezon City, this time to inaugurate multimillion dollar rice processing plant of the Mindanao Progress Corporation (MPC), the first in Southeast Asia. The vertical integral rice processing plant will not only process export rice but also will extract rice oil from rice bran. Roberto Tullo, MPC president, said that it would have been impossible to set up the plant without help from the government.
Before delivering his address, the President, assisted by Mr. and Mrs. Tullo, unveiled the marker inaugurating the processing plant.
The President had a brief rest at Malacañang late in the afternoon, and then tackled official papers in his private study till evening, in the course of which he: 1. Issued a memorandum circular creating a committee which will review and restudy all pending petitions from public agencies or private organizations for the grant or segregation of government lands. Numerous petitions had been received by the President for the grant of lands of the public or private domain of the government for certain public purposes, or for their disposition and alienation through sale or lease. 2. Signed the rules and regulations of the Price Control Council setting the maximum percentage limit for the prices of essential commodities and thereby launching into full operation the newly-created all-important Council.
The Council, which is empowered by law, under Republic Act No. 6124, to fix the maximum selling price of essential commodities, rules that essential commodities mentioned in R.A. 6124 are allowed the following maximum price limit: (a) Production costs plus a mark-up of 10 percent to the manufacturer or producer, five percent to the wholesaler and 10 percent to the retailer if the articles or commodities are