Official Gazette for October 31, 1972: PRESIDENT MARCOS issued Presidential Decree No. 34 amending the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines. The code titled “Tariff and Customs Revision Act of 1972” passed by Congress during the last special session is expected to generate P400 million additional revenue a year. The new code which becomes part of the laws of the land, supplants the Tariff and Customs Code under Republic Act No. 1937. The present code is amended so as to:
Simplify the present complicated tariff structure and improve thereby the administration of customs;
Raise additional revenue;
Provide tariff protection to economically desirable and deserving local industries;
Serve as an instrument for bargaining vis-a-vis other countries;
Allocate properly available resources from investments in nonessentials to investments in essential and exportable goods; and
Prevent technical smuggling.
The President also issued Presidential Decree No. 33 “penalizing the printing, possession, distribution and circulation of certain leaflets, handbills and propaganda materials and the inscribing or designing of graffiti” on wails, fences, sidewalks or any visible public or private place. The penalty of “prision correccional” in its minimum period (six months and one day) shall be imposed upon any person who. “shall print or publish any handbill, leaflet, poster or other similar materials, or shall possess, distribute or circulate any such printed or published materials, or shall draw, write or sketch any immoral or indecent picture or word on any wall, fence, sidewalk or any other visible public or private place, which incites or tends to incite people to violence or disregard, ridicule, defy or ignore any lawful order or act of the government or any of its officers which, in any case, tends to undermine the integrity of the government or the stability of the State.”
A new system of processing import documents that will allow the release of shipments from the piers within 72 hours will be implemented beginning Nov. 6. The new procedure is an improvement of the present practice that requires no less than live days before any importation could be released from customs. The renovation cuts sharply on operational “red tape” by 90 per cent. With electronics data also incorporated in the procedure, other operational and management reforms to further simplify customs operations calculated to “sanitize” the entire customs system are presently being formulated.
The Secretary of Finance ordered the application of the full penalties under the law against the use of defective instruments of weights and measures in public markets and places of trade and commerce. The Secretary issued the order after receiving reports from seven provincial and 12 city treasurers who confirmed the rampant use of defective weighing instruments and measures in public markets and other places of trade and commerce in their respective provinces and cities.
A town mayor was convicted by the Rizal Court of First Instance for making unlawful appointment of unqualified policemen in his municipality. Mayor Demetrio Loresca of Muntinglupa, Rizal was sentenced to a prison term of one month and one day of arresto mayor and to pay a fine of P500 with accessory penalties of suspension of the right to hold office and the right of suffrage during the term of the sentence. The court which handed down the decision, noted that from January 1967 to May 1968, the mayor had appointed 14 policemen who were either high school undergraduates, overaged, or were underaged. “The fact that the appointments were approved by the Civil Service Commission notwithstanding the patent disqualification of the appointees did not in any way extinguish the criminal liability of the accused,” the court stated.
A military commission sentenced an enlisted man to a prison term of 20 years at hard labor. The commission found marine Corporal Baltazar Batugo guilty of the charge of illegal possession of firearms and ammunitions in violation of Presidential Decree No. 9. Batugo was ordered dishonorably discharged from the service and to forfeit his pay and allowances due. He was caught by military authorities last Oct. 18 with three M-14s and several rounds of ammunition and ammunition magazines. The firearms and ammunition were part of the firearms cache discovered last May at Digoyo Point, Isabela.
Our people will never know the gamble that I have taken when I proclaimed martial law.
For I deliberately diverted the possible enemy fire to myself so as to save our people.
Martial law is a limitation of freedom and, therefore, generally objectionable. There were too many factors that were imponderable. How would the people react? Would they take up arms against us? The number of firearms surrendered (Now about 280,000) indicate that if they did take up arms they would have overwhelmed us including the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
The international press and world public opinion would be against us. And I would be the principle target.
And the American government was probably going to be against it.
Even the military had not all committed themselves to the program.
The American attitude of sacrificing everybody else for their national interest as they did with Taiwan and now South Vietnam shows that if we had made just one mis-step, they would have turned against us.
But it seems to me that we have overcome all these difficulties—after one month eleven days.
In view of the probability that the Constitution will be finished by the Concon [Constitutional Convention] by the end of November and submitted to a plebiscite by January 15, 1973, I have decided to call the congressional leaders to a luncheon conference on Thursday.
Received Speaker [Cornelio] Villareal, Doroy [Teodoro] Valencia, Cong. Danding [Eduardo] Cojuangco [Jr.], Mike Stilianopoulus, Tony [Antonio] Madrigal (the last two for appointment to ambassador to the Quirinal and the Vatican.
And was interviewed by German correspondent Harry Hamm.
Imelda has not been feeling pain for the last three hours.
DIARY OF FERDINAND E. MARCOS
UNDATED NOTES, OCTOBER 1972.
Office of the President of the Philippines
Manila
PRC Japan treaty is a peace treaty—not a security or defense treaty—
US-Taiwan Defense Treaty—
US-Phil Defense Treaty—
The following are undated notes that were included in the October 1972 PCGG PDF.
Office of the President of the Philippines
Manila
Chou En Lai
More self confidence—
Taiwan—
Tanaka expected more problems.
China occupied with material maters and exportation of revolution not encouraged—
Office of the President of the Philippines
Manila
Normalization
Not directed at 3rd country—
Against hegemony—
Continue police—SE Asia—
Office of the President of the Philippines
Manila
Security—
The peculiar position of the Phil
Taiwan becomes a part of PRC
They will claim Spratley Islands—Itu Batu or Freedomland—
Tanaka-Nixon locks
Reaffirmed their previous position—
Japan-US security [conference?]—
Office of the President of the Philippines
Manila
Security of Far East including Taiwan—
US Forces stationed in Japan can [set?] even in Taiwan—
Maintenance of these security arrangements is a priority
Office of the President of the Philippines
Manila
Chou En Lai
Statement—For Japan
US Japan Security Treaty is because of ______—
We take this as an approval of the US-Japan security—
It is not possible for [Molad?] Chun to take over Taiwan—now 14 million
Different economic and monetary sytem—
Tanaka [said?] that Ex-Imp Bank of Japan should finance Taiwan projects—
Politics separated from economics—
Office of the President of the Philippines
Manila
Spratley—a Trust territory and should be treated as such of the Allies
Formerly Japanese
Office of the President of the Philippines
Manila
Trust Territory—
That Japan supports Phil. position—
That Japan clarifies the use of US Armed Forces to protect the Far East—
Office of the President of the Philippines
Manila
Japanese position delicate—
Far East in US Japan Security Treaty—includes Taiwan and the Phil—
Although there is no definition in the treaty—
In case US AF based in Japan should be deployed outside Japan in such event referred to as Japan it would be made with prior consultation with Japan—