MALACAÑAN PALACE
Manila
May 16, 1970
The Mansion, Baguio
10:50 PM, Sunday
May 17th
I write this only tonight as the trip by boat last night was rough and I went to sleep at 11:00 PM. We started from Pier 15 at 8:15 and arrived at the San Fernando pier at 9:45 AM today. Outside the breakwater we were on a SE course with the wind from the North so we were rolling a little. This stopped when we rounded Cochines point at the south of the Bataan Peninsula. But the swells in the China Sea made Bongbong sick, he had to be given half a bonamine. Stevie Cu Unjieng vomited twice and Tessie Yulo once. But the rest were all good sailors.
In the morning I left at 7:30 AM to Lipa City – Fernando Air Base to speak at the graduation of the Flying Cadets (19) and student officers (12 and PMA’ers). Had to travel by car and it took us one hour and a half because of the fact that the airplane crashes have made Meldy nervous everytime I fly. (We just received from PAL the picture of the AVRO plane that crashed at Pantabangan with its tail section blown off apparently by explosives, then the right wing disintegrating then turning upside down just before impact on the ground). The PAC plane of Boy Tuason, Andy Roxas and Peggy Lim had an engine burn on take-off, the pilot feathered it but banked steeply on the dead engine instead of the functioning one, so stalled and crashed on its nose. The PAL Fokker plane that crashed in Iligan took off below minimal requirements as it was raining heavily and visibility was 100 yards, hit a mound of dirt on the side, twisted around and burned after all the passengers had escaped the plane. The stewardess who was about to put on her belt was thrown off the door that flew open and died of a cracked skull (the only casualty).
Returned to Manila at 10:30 AM to arrive at the Escolta PNB building at 12:00 to address the Rice and Corn Federation convention.
Then went to Malacañang at 1:00 PM to meet Gen. Menzi on his Pulp and Paper project and the PHILCOX man, Tony Tiotko on the navigational aids valued at $12.5 million they are installing.
At 3:00 PM after some conferences and a 15 minute nap, I was at Del Monte to inaugurate the new 15,000 cavan a day rice polishing and processing plant of the Mindanao Progress Corporation of Roberto Tulio. Conference at Bonifacio 4:30 PM to 7:00. Malacañan to pick up some books, papers and clothes and was at the boat at 7:30 PM where I met Henry Martel on the Navotas reclamation project of Ramon Clinamco and Monching Cojuangco on the PLDT franchise which Maj. Fl. Leader Veloso badly mishandled. I had warned him that his asking ₱200,000 only for Montano the minority floor leader was going to lead to a scandal. Monching Cojuangco also went ahead and paid the grease money although I do not believe Lening when he says that he did not keep any part of it. The House on the motion of Maning Zosa and the promptings of Danding Cojuangco voted to recall of the franchise and now there is a serious move to change Veloso as majority floor leader.
I scolded Monching a little for the bungling.
Imelda is smarting from Nini Quezon Avanceña’s remarks to Fanny Aldaba Lim that we may be hardworking, intelligent and sincere but we are making too much money. She mentioned Al Yuchengco. We are also supposed to own Atlas, Dole, AG&P and other big corporations. If they only knew!!!!