Have just scolded Sen. [Leonardo] Leonie Perez, Sen. Pres. Gil Puyat and Sen. Pres. Pro Tempore Jose Roy for allowing or ordering Phil. Veterans’ Bank President Esteban Cabanos to be jailed for contempt for refusing to reveal the bank deposit balances in the American aid of about P15 million billed by the U.S. as for commercial consumables but used by us for intelligence purposes and national security which cannot be revealed.
Cabanos was right as the law does not allow a deposit to be revealed and no special committee has the power to punish for contempt. Nor does Cabanos have the authority to reveal expenses for national security passing through the bank.
Official Gazette for May 18, 1970: President Marcos ordered that an operational cash budget be instituted, to supplement the present budgeting system based on obligation. The move was aimed at ensuring the availability of cash resources for priority development projects and at the same time at establishing a better rationale for recommending the level, type and timing of public borrowing.
Earlier, the President created the Presidential Development Budget Committee, which committee he also ordered to study the computerization of budgetary and financial reports.
All these are directed at ensuring harmony and consistency in the objectives of the annual budget and the long-range development plans, and at establishing the level of annual government expenditures. In this regard, the President underscored the need for involving more fully all development planning agencies and other principal fiscal agencies of the government in basic budgetary decision-making. In order to ensure success in instituting the operational cash budget, the President promulgated the following rules and regulations:
1. The Treasurer of the Philippines shall prepare a monthly estimate of cash inflow into the Treasury indicating probable sources and funds to which they accrue and shall submit such estimates at least 20 days before the beginning of each quarter to the Budget Commission;
2. In submitting the financial work plan and request for allotment to the Budget Commission, every agency shall indicate therein the cash requirements of the agency during the corresponding quarter, broken down into weekly schedule of required cash disbursements;
3. The Budget Commission shall carefully review the monthly and weekly cash disbursement requirements of the agencies to properly relate such total cash disbursement requirements with the estimated total cash inflow in the Treasury. In the same manner and in the same document that the Budget Commission releases the advice of allotment to any agency for the purpose of establishing the obligational authority of the agency, the Budget Commission shall release to the same agency its authorized cash disbursement ceiling for the corresponding quarter, broken down into weekly basis, furnishing the resident representative of the Auditor General a copy of the advice of allotment which it has release to any agency to the Treasury. Cash disbursements of agencies shall be limited as to amount and shall be timed as prescribed in the cash disbursement ceiling authorized by the Budget Commission;
4. The representative of the Auditor General shall not countersign any treasury warrant, check of expense voucher if the disbursement contemplated therein will exceed the cash disbursement ceiling authorized and outside the time schedule for such disbursement ;
5. The Budget Commissioner shall submit to the Presidential Development Budget Committee the Cash Budget to enable the Committee to make adjustments therein if necessary and to recommend borrowings to cover projected cash deficiencies if such eventualities are expected to occur.
At first Sen. Pres. Gil Puyat claimed the entire senate had approved the resolution but the Times boys say that their desk tells them that there was no approval of the senate and that Sec. [Juan] Ponce Enrile is now testifying on the amounts given by the Americans and the expenditures and balances as I had directed him to.
But from now on I am going to do what is right no matter who gets hurt Liberals or Nacionalistas.
The International Press Institute in its General Assembly in Hongkong today “condemns the flagrant and high-handed action taken by the Philippine authorities in deporting, pending legal procedures” the two Chinese “in violation of the declaration of Human Rights and the Principle of Press Freedom.”
We must send them a wire on the facts of the case. But this is intervention in the internal affairs of the Philippines specially on security. This is the work of [Joaquin] Chino Roces of the Times.
Played golf at Camp John Hay at 8:15-12:00 AM with Ben Palispis, Nanoy and Nory. Then saw the workshop of Imee at 4:00 PM.