MALACAÑAN PALACE
Manila
10:05
April 12, 1970
Pangarap
An earthquake of Intensity V has forced us to transfer quarters temporarily to Pangarap, our one strong clubhouse or resthouse at the Malacañang Park at the other side of the Pasig. Papers in possession of the Romualdezes indicate that Malacañang Park used to belong to the Romualdezes.
Have just introduced Sec. Juan Ponce Enrile to Ex-Col. Jose Maristela in the Osmeña-Adevoso plot to assassinate me and take over the government. Cut-off will be Eric Nubla between them and with Col. Ver.
We have just apprehended another of Commander Dante’s killers in the suburbs. But the priests and nuns keep inciting the people of Tondo to demonstrate and the jeepney drivers to strike. Some nuns have even coerced the jeepney drivers threatening bodily harm, according to Atty. Lazaro and Pelagio Villegas, their leaders. A little unbelievable but they swear it is true as now the priests and nuns are using goons. Where has our pious church come to!
I have ordered Sec. O.D. Corpus of Education to terminate classes after Tuesday because of the possible tragedies that may come out of a recurrence of earthquakes with the children in such school buildings like Pedro Guevara School that collapsed. The roof of the Manila High School collapsed today.
Imelda cooked some ginataan na langka and ginataan na manok and curry for dinner. We asked Father Bautista the PG chaplain, Sec. Ponce Enrile and Neling Nieto to stay for dinner.
The children seem to like it better in this small house – better than the palace anyway.
If the Osmeña-Adevoso plot (although now Adevoso who is supposed to have said that I seem to be doing alright and “perhaps we should join him” meaning me, according to Ex-Col. Jose Maristela, is being pushed out of leadership by Ex-Gen. George Sanchez) continues, I may be compelled to suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus. Their plan apparently is to burn Manila on Independence Day, loot and kill in a big (100,000 according to Osmeña) demonstration on Independence Day, June 12, 1970. Although according to Joe Maristela there was a disagreement between Col. Faustino David (Ex-Nica) and Osmeña as to the date, Osmeña saying it was supposed to be on July and David correcting him saying it was supposed to be June.
There were also more Lyceum students among the student demonstrators in UP than UP students, on graduation day (yesterday when U Thant was supposed to address them).
Our people are beginning to feel restive and suggestions keep pouring in that we should do something about communism in the U.P.
But we should not stampede into drastic repression. We must still wait for any massive destruction or violence.
As the situation is today:
- A New Communist Party (this are the Maoists) chairman of whom is an Amado Guerrero, the alleged nom de guerre of Jose Maria Sison, Arthur Garcia (reported by Gen. Tanabe killed sometime on the 7th by men of Commander Dante) and the leaders of Kabataang Makabayan. Military head is of course Commander Dante with about 300 armed men.
2. The Old Communist Party Politburo known as the Traditionalists, inactive but now pressed into organizing their own armed bands with Commander Sumulong as the nucleus. He has about 150 armed men. But he is more Mafia than ideologue and has refused to follow their leadership.
3. The front organizations for the communists:
- Kabataan Makabayan and its own front organizations SDK
2. The Masaka with Felixberto Olalia as leader although he lost to in an election.
3. The Socialist Party in the Philippines under Lacsina
4. The fellow travelers:
a. The Media people
b. The faculty and studentry of some universities
5. The worst groups are the political adventurers:
- Osmeña and Adevoso
2. Manglapus and the Christian Socialist Movement. To this group may belong such ambivalent do gooders like Fathers Ortiz and Blanco.
The evidence of the plots to overthrow the government indicate:
- A full-blown communist plot with various liquidation squads active in Central Luzon and Manila and backed by an organized dedicated armed force.
2. The plot in the planning stage to take over the government by Osmeña. This includes the taking alive of Sec. Maceda and Ex-Gen. Raval supposedly to testify in and substantiate the protest of Osmeña after I have been assassinated with Congressman Ablan (Col. Faustino David assigned as team leader), Congressman Crisologo (assigned is Jimmy Piopongco now on a mission to the U.S. either to get financial or armament backing), Cong. Durano (Mayor Bores, Bacals, Nic Tumulak and brother assigned), Cong. Alberto (Col. Juan Daza assigned), Congressman Ali Dimaporo (Rascid Lucman assigned) and others.
In the last meeting at the VIP office of Osmeña where he was briefed, he spoke of a plan to burn Manila on June or July, Terry Adevoso was absent.
This group has put up a training ground in Samar and Iloilo for 300 men each. They claim to have 12,000 firearms not yet smuggled into the country.
They are apparently in touch with the communists as in the establishment of the training grounds they have been using and dropping the name of Commander Dante freely. And they have been seen in touch with both communist and student activists.
But as Adevoso explained in one of their meetings, they must take over the government ahead of the communists or if later they must be able to dislodge such communists without too much trouble.
They have done away with the original plan of a bloody revolution as messy in favor of a neat semi-legal coup d’etat.
Col. Jose Maristela who has sat in all their meetings confirm these facts. So does de Leon, our asset who has infiltrated the Samar Training Camp and Father Laua, the rector of San Agustin University (Iloilo) and his men, as well as Valdellon who insists the Liberal leaders including Salonga and Lucman plotted in the house of Gerry Roxas sometime on February 5, 1970.
Now comes the plan to burn Manila in a big demonstration in June or July,
3. The Manglapus-clerico plot to bring about a revolutionary situation which will force the government to capitulate to his Christian Socialist Movement in the coming elections for the Constitutional Convention and in the subsequent national elections of 1973.
Any kind of deterioration of the economy or erosion of the people’s faith in the government and its leaders is supposed to help their plan. So they finance, support and encourage demonstrations, strikes, violence, anarchy and even assassination.
It is their feeling that the Maoists and radicals or even the communists like Dante and Sumulong are paving the way for them.
Some well-to-do families and oligarchs like the Lopezes and the Zobels may be partially financing them as insurance or for any of their known or unknown reasons.
The various plotters and groups are trying to use each other for their own selfish purposes resulting in a kaleidoscope of plot and counter-plot that defied clarification but is just now beginning to fuse into one grand design.
When the government takes action, it must be able to liquidate not only one or several of the plots but ALL of them with one clean blow.
For the danger or crisis may not come during my administration but may explode in the face of a newly-inducted and therefore disoriented and unprepared neophyte in the Presidency who may stampede and run leaving our country and people to their devices. Then there will be anarchy. And the Armed Forces would take over.
Before the government moves on this front, it must settle the problems in the economic front, in the meantime reorienting its intelligence organization and activities. will now put up an integrated intelligence set-up.
It must exert the utmost pressure on the armed elements in Central Luzon preventing them from supporting the activities of the plotters in Manila. The communists (Maoists and Traditionalists) should be encouraged to fight each other. Sumulong should be further motivated to go after Dante and his men.
We must sow dissension among the activists.
We must move faster on reforms – economic, social and political – specially.
- Graft and corruption
- Land Reform
- Reorganization