1:30 AM
May 21st
Slept only four hours because Imelda was suffering from stomach colic. Severe pains and in the morning at 6:00 AM watery discharge from bowels.
But left at 8:15 AM for Nichols Airbase for flight to Fort Magsaysay for demonstration of fire power, river crossing by pontoon bridge, rope bridge, rope line, swimming, banca etc.; coordination between the pathfinders and the paratroopers, air support, artillery and mortar support and a rifle company; a raid deep into enemy territory by ground troops recovered by helicopter.
Graduation of 257 6 month trainees. 2,000 graduate this year all over the Philippines. Next year it will be 10,000 and we hope to increase this to 30,000 a year later on.
Lunch, then take off at 12:45 AM [sic] and landed at Nichols at 1:10 PM. Back at the boat at 1:30 PM.
Official Gazette for May 20, 1972: THE President flew to Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija in the morning to address the 257 military trainees who completed their six-month basic training.
In his address, the President expressed the belief that there would be external threats to the Philippines within the next 10 years.
“There is none now but it is possible that if we are weak, and if we are not capable of defending ourselves, and we keep on depending on other nations. . .we will end up like the other countries who depended on other countries so much so that they lost the will to fight,” he said.
The President emphasized that “now is the time to prepare” for any eventuality. He added that it is necessary that “we establish a self-reliant defense posture, whatever may be the policies of other powerful nations.”
This, he said, is the policy of most small countries, and for which reason the present decade is called the “decade of flexibility.”
The President expressed confidence that the officers and men of the Armed Forces would continue in their mission not only to prepare for any eventuality and to protect the security of the country, but also to participate in economic development.
The President arrived at 9:10 a.m. at Fort Magsaysay aboard the presidential plane and was met by Fort personnel headed by Brig. Gen. Rafael Zagala, commanding general of the First Infantry (Tabak) Division; Palayan City Mayor Elpidio Cucio, Reps. Roque Ablan, Jr. of Ilocos Norte, Lucas Cauton of Ilocos Sur, Eduardo Cojuangco of Tarlac and Leopoldo Diaz and Angel Conception of Nueva Ecija.
En route back to Manila aboard the presidential plane, the President directed PC Chief Brig. Gen. Fidel V. Ramos to provide adequate security for Constitutional Convention Delegate Quintero who said that he had been receiving money from unnamed lobbyists over the passed few months.
The President said security for Quintero would be provided for as long as necessary. Later in the afternoon, the President ordered that four more towns in Bulacan and Rizal be included within the area of operations of the Metropolitan Area Command.
At the same time, the President directed Brig. Gen. Fabian Ver, chief of the presidential security force, to study the feasibility of appointing a qualified member of the Metropolitan Police Association as a member of the Police Commission.
The expansion of the Metropolitan Area Command has brought within its scope of responsibility the towns of Pateros, Taguig, and Muntinglupa, all in Rizal; and Valenzuela in Bulacan.
More violence at 5:45 PM at Roxas Blvd. and T. Kalaw when demos [demonstrators] threw pillboxes at the Metrocom [Metropolitan Command] wounding an officer and some men. Four demos in the hospital.
The Taliba and Mirror, of course, connects Malacañang to the alleged “payola” of Concon [Constitutional Convention] delegates. Larry Cruz suggests we use the Philippine Press Council to protest the story that is the exact opposite of the stories of the other papers and the speech of Delegate [Eduardo] Quintero.
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Delegates Domingo Velasco, [Ramon] Monching Salazar and [Gabriel] Aying Yñiguez are decided to reveal the truth of Delegate Quintero begging money from them.
Dinner in the boat with some of our friends. We go to Talaga Bay early in the morning.