MALACAÑAN PALACE
Manila
8:15 PM
After dinner and meditation
on board the 777 at
Talaga Bay
April 16, 1973
Monday
While the meditations and prayers seem routine and a poor concession to religion or the church I find them conducive to the humility that gives a new – ever new perspective.
For my part while in everyday life I do seek the Godly point of view, the perspective is all the more refreshing.
And the over view of life as well as the conversations with God set a firmer guidelines that may have escaped attention.
Solutions of intractable problems seem simple.
One of my advisers wrote to me of spiritual retreats that I should not be in the company of my subordinates. I must tell him when I see him that one cannot call God a subordinate! For that is the company I keep.
Cyrus L. Sulzberger in the New York Times and the International Herald Tribune writes in his column about “Another Strong Man in Asia”. For once we are reported about our reforms — “he has hauled the Philippines out of stagnation”. Quite favorable. More than any I have read so far.
I attach the April 11th edition of the Herald Tribune in which the writing appears.
Some of the advisers of Pres. Nixon who have talked to Gov. Benjamin Romualdez have reported that Pres. Nixon has wryly commented that if martial law could bring about the laudable effects seen in the Philippines, then it is needed in the U.S.
The military report favorable results of clearing operations in Cotabato and Basilan although there is no report on the threat to Jolo by an enemy concentration 2 kilometers from that town.
The Goodrich plantation in Basilan has been recovered.
I attach reports.
Anaconda Co. has a new non-pollution chemical process of drawing out copper from the ore. Many U.S. copper producers including Anaconda Co. itself (in Montana) are faced with stiff pollution laws in Western mining states to control the heavy sulfur dioxide emissions from heat-process smelters. The Anaconda process uses an ammonia- based “leach” that does not produce any air pollution emissions.
Before I allow the establishment of any copper smelter by Lepanto or Atlas, must look into the Anaconda process and the problem of pollution.
Then, I must look into the possibility of making the Philippines a tax haven for foreign corporation like Luxembourg.