MALACAÑAN PALACE
Manila
I write this at 10:45 PM at the State
Dining Room while watching
Mediterranean Holiday. Bongbong
on Flight No. 761 of Quantas left
Hongkong at 8:53 PM and will arrive at
New Delhi at 3:20 AM and all is well.
January 8, 1971
Friday
I have just talked to the same two groups of drivers who both claim to have the majority of drivers. But a great majority of the jeepneys and buses stayed out of the streets.
Still the same positions of the two groups. This time the delegation of Atty. Lupino Lazaro included not only the head of Mapalsat, another union, but also Atty. Angeles of the Consumers Union and Joey Lim. a student leader who criticized the inaction for a long time of the National Price Control Council.
They all demanded that the oil refineries be asked to suspend or cancel the increase of gasoline prices until the National Price Control Council has made a decision on the Villegas rates.
I called up Mr. Wallahan of Caltex and asked him why the prices were increased when we had agreed in Baguio on the 31st that there would be no such increase until we met again in Manila – and we had never met. The reason for my request had been the fact that the National Price Control Council had to approve the Villegas rates before they could be enforced nationally.
The oil refineries would not be able to bring down the prices even if they wanted to.
In the morning I met the Vice President, Sec. Enrile, Sec. Abad Santos, USec. Ingles and Dir. Bunsuego to give approval to their recommendation to approve the Pioneer Oil concession for the Nationalist China Oil their partner to drill and if oil is discovered to exploit the concession getting a 30% share of the oil provided that the safeguards that a foreign government like Nationalist China does not transfer its rights without the approval of our government; that it must register with SEC as a domestic corporation so it can be held liable in our courts; the entry of its technicians to be subject to the usual safeguards.
I am also working on the political philosophy that should be able to rally all the classes of our people in the event of a take-over.
And classifying the records that have to be duplicated and stored in a place other than Malacañang.