MALACAÑAN PALACE
Manila
11:10 PM
March 11, 1970
Wednesday
Gen. Tanabe has reported that a liquidation squad of three were sent to Manila Monday evening headed by a certain Ben Mallari, not the Ben Mallari ambushed with Max Llorente but one from Candaba, Pampanga. Commander Madrigal confirmed it to our asset at Tarlac.
The KM boys, Barrican, Nelson Navarro and Nilo Tayag are in Bulacan and other provinces drumming up interest in their People’s Congress on the 17th of March. But the interest in the demonstrations is waning and the fever is dying down.
So at the rate we are moving the old schedule of April or June may be kept and not any earlier. This will give us time to prepare even the evidences against the subversives.
We are trying to scrounge for weapons specially M-16’s and ammunition in Vietnam. There are officers there who are willing to give them free to us even at the risk of violating regulations. And sad to state beggars we are and choosers we cannot be. So I have directed 500 M-16’s to be bought at cut rate prices if necessary. I would like at least a million rounds of 223 ammo to go with them.
The ambushes of the Maoists are by M-16’s and M-79’s while most of our boys are still using M-I’s. Dante barely escaped by motorcycle the other day that his nephew who was killed was handcarrying some ammo to him. We have only about 400 M-16’s in the entire AFP.
Have rested today. No exercise and golf because of the teeth extraction. Asked Joe Guevara to include the results of the survey in his column.