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MALACAÑAN PALACE
Manila
Sen. Aquino is, of course, playing a double game. He was in danger from the Maoists, as reported by him to Sec. Juan Ponce Enrile.
So I believe he negotiated in a meeting with Jose Maria Sison and is protected from that side.
But now he is convinced he is also in danger, from the government. So he goes through the motions of giving information to the Secretary of National Defense to get protection from government.
And I believe that he will, however, help the Moaists more than the government.
9:30 AM — Credentials presentation by the Dominican ambassador based in Japan.
10:00 — Seato Anniversary which was a presentation of awards to the model barrios of the Philippines, contest held under the auspices of PACD.
11:00 AM — Sugar conference —
Before that met Speaker Villareal and Sec. Romulo on the Moscow visit of the former. I directed that we maintain the present policy. But that we must encourage more intensified exchanges in culture and trade. We must push more sales of our mineral ore, coconut oil and abaca.
In the sugar conference we took up
- The Sugar Act which authorizes the suspension of the sugar quota in case of expropriations of pro-parity of American citizens.
- 2. Domestic sugar — raw sugar, including those coming from the Visayas will now be used to flood the market. We will not need to refine the sugar.
3. Quedans without sugar. The PNB should with the DBP guarranty $5 million loan to the Bueno and Pasuvil payable over ten years, and with sufficient collateral, so that Pasuvil can pay off the ₱25 million shortage of sugar in its warehouses.
Carebi is holding 130,000 piculs worth of gredans of the Pasuvil shortage of 190,000 piculs.
I told them that I did not feel like helping a scoundrel but that if it was necessary to do so, we would have to.
4. We will be able to fill up our quota in the U.S. of 1,401,000 tons. We now have a 200,000 ton shortage. And we can make it up by early milling which started Sept 1st.
Conferred with Sec. Ponce Enrile and Gen. Ver on the need to prepare for an early attempt of the Maoists to terrorize Manila.