I have suddenly become lonely and sad. After a long period of continuous work.
Imelda is in Honolulu.
Am now working on the briefing papers of the AFP [Armed Forces of the Philippines] for the Supreme Court next Thursday. Dry run tomorrow at [Bahay] Pangarap at 6:30 PM after the interview by Free Press.
We lost 3 officers and 14 EM KIA [Killed in Action], 6 and 4 EM WIA [Wounded in Action] at Bo. [Barrio] Magsaysay Lanao del Norte this morning. They were the total 3 officers and 18 EM reinforcing force since the platoon at Magsaysay was under attack by Moslems.
Have ordered that the PA [Philippine Army] now prepare to take the initiative against the attackers.
Official Gazette for October 25, 1971: President Marcos cleared the deck for formal inquiry into the subversion cases of persons detained under Proclamation No. 889, as amended. The inquiry was set to start Thursday.
The President transmitted to Secretary of Justice Vicente Abad Santos a letter dated October 24, 1971 of the acting secretary of national defense reporting that there was prima facie basis or prosecuting the persons listed therein for acts of subversion. In a memorandum to Secretary Abad Santos, the President said:
“You are to constitute a panel of investigators to be headed by Chief State Prosecutor Emilio A. Gancayco, to conduct an inquiry for the purpose of determining whether the persons listed should be brought to court or not on the basis of available evidence. The investigating panel should be guided as follows: 1. Notify the persons listed that they can be present and represented by counsel; 2. Such persons listed or their counsel shall have the right to cross-examine the witnesses against them and to adduce evidence in their defense; and 3. The hearing must be summary in nature and shall as far as practicable be terminated at the earliest possible time. “On the basis of the findings of the panel of investigators you shall submit appropriate recommendations.”
Later in the evening, the President contacted Muslim leaders of Lanao del Norte to get their views on the situation in the province, and to ask them to cooperate by exerting their influence in the maintenance of peace and order in that province. The President has been informed that a platoon of A Company of the 26th Infantry Battalion stationed at Magsaysay, Lanao del Norte was attacked by armed bands. It was also reported that a reenforcement sent to Magsaysay was ambushed four kilometers before reaching the town proper, resulting in the killing of three officers and 14 enlisted men.
The President focused on desk work the whole morning and part of the afternoon. In a message he issued earlier on the occasion of United Nations Day, the President said: “Today 131 member nations commemorate United Nations Day. “This is an affirmation of faith in the fact that while the United Nations may not have completely fulfilled all’ hopes for peace of our human community, majority of the world’s nations find in the United Nations a viable instrument for strengthening the foundation of international understanding, cooperation and security. “While the United Nations remains until now a forum where, one hears all expressions of disappointment about its supposed failure to enforce peace in many sensitive and troubled areas in the world, it; also remains the same forum where hopes for a better future for mankind continue to be raised and heard by all. “For all its deficiencies, the United Nations constitutes a sturdy framework in which international cooperation in all fields of human development may be pursued by nations large and small, with equal voice and opportunity. It is but fitting, therefore, that on this day, the Filipino people rededicate themselves to the ideals that have made the United Nations the last sanctuary of our hopes, particularly in times of instability, grave peril, or war itself.
But am trying to contact [Mohammad] Ali Dimaporo so that he may intervene.