I have had to postpone the proclamation of ownership of the land they till by the tenants because of my desire to prevent any dislocation of production if small farmers owning only 6 hectares are dispossessed by their land and merely transferred to what may be a less efficient tenant.
So I have asked for more statistics on how many landowners there are owning five hectares or less.
I was interviewed by Tony Clifton of Newsweek and H. Okada of the Japan Economics Review.
Official Gazette for October 17, 1972: PRESIDENT MARCOS directed 62 teams of the National Food and Agriculture Council to supervise the application of an P11 million fertilizer distribution program. Fieldmen of the Agricultural Productivity Commission and of the Bureau of Plant Industry will augment the teams. The administration’s fertilizer program is intended to benefit farmers through increased rice harvests. It differs from the previous fertilizer projects as the objective of the present program is to insure the fertility of rice fields and not merely to assist the farmers.
The President directed the Secretary of National Defense to take over management, control and operation of the Iligan Integrated Steel Mills, Inc. and the Elizalde Rolling Mills, Inc., in a Letter of Instruction issued recently. Among the compelling reasons which prompted the government’s action were:
(1) Steel sheets and tinplates are critically essential for infrastructure projects, housing and the manufacture of food and other products necessary for the people’s daily existence;
(2) The Iligan Steel Mills has stopped operating since August 1972 despite the fact that it was designed to supply the bulk of the nation’s steel sheets and tin-plates;
(3) Even though the Elizalde steel firm and its rolling mills are in operation, they are unable to meet the country’s demand for steel due to the limited capacity of the mills; and
(4) That the foregoing situation will gravely disrupt the much-needed supply of steel products, if allowed to continue.
Meanwhile, the President issued a decree (No. 23) proclaiming a tax amnesty, subject to certain conditions. The aim of the Presidential Decree is to give tax evaders a chance to reform and be a part of the New Society with a clean slate. The decree provides that in all cases of voluntary disclosures of previously untaxed income realized here and abroad by any taxpayer, natural or juridical, the collection of the income tax and penalties incident to non-payment, as well as all criminal and civil liabilities under the National Internal Revenue Code, the Revised Penal Code, the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act or any other applicable law, is condoned.
In lieu thereof, the decree stated, a tax of 10 per cent on such previously untaxed income is imposed, subject to the following conditions: (1) Such previously untaxed income must have been earned or realized prior to 1972; (2) The taxpayer must file a notice and return with the Commissioner of Internal Revenue on or before March 31, 1973 showing such previously untaxed income; and (3) If such previously untaxed income, or a part thereof, consists of cash hoarded abroad, such cash must be repatriated and deposited with any bank in the Philippines, or invested in any of the following within six months from the time of such disclosure: government bonds government securities, government debentures of any productive enterprises.
Before lunch I listened to the Philharmonic and the governments choral group rendition of the Bagong Pagsilang (A Rebirth), a march, and Bagong Lipunan, (New Society) a hymn. Inspiring and moving.
Imelda, who asked composer Felipe de Leon to compose them, is also thinking of plays in the Cultural Center and a movie on the New Society.
Internet sources date the composition of Bagong Pagsilang (Renaissance) to 1973 but this diary entry dates it to October 1972. Music by Felipe Padilla de Leon (National Artist for Music 1991), lyrics by Levi Celero (National Artist for Music, 1997). Historian Fe Mangahas says that when De Leon was asked why he collaborated with the Marcos, explained that the tune is actually an inverted version of a German drinking song popular in Hitler’s time. The tune can be heard on https://archive.org/details/bagong-pagsilang