MALACAÑAN PALACE
Manila
10:00 PM
January 4, 1971
Monday
I write this at our living room while Imelda is giving a small quiet dinner at the State Dining Room for Offie (Ofelia) Recto, wife of Vincent Recto, recently elected delegate to the Constitutional Convention and friend.
Today (this morning, 11:00 AM up to lunch at 2:00 PM) in a conference with Sec Juan Ponce Enrile, Sec. Alex Melchor and Gen. Yan, I ordered the setting up of a Special War Center, an Internal Security Agency, a Psy-war Branch all under the DND as well as the creation of a new command, the Metropolitan Command that will cover the provinces of Cavite, Rizal, Bulacan, Bataan, the Pasig Task Force and the PGB under Col. Ver.
I ordered the transfer of Gen. Fidel Ramos from the 3rd Brigade to the 2nd PC Zone vice Gen. Zosimo Paredes whom I am retiring. Col. Palacios, the CO of the Ist Brigade, goes to the 3rd Brigade vice Gen. Ramos.
The Special War Center personnel may also be placed as a component unit of the command of Col. Ver’s as Metropolitan Command CO. It integrates all the special forces of the major services, the special forces and rangers of the Army and Constabulary, the air commandos of the Air Force and the Navy’s marines and underwater teams. They will be retrained under chosen officers for special missions.
As I plan it, in the event of violence in the city, the Metrocom under Gen. Ordoñez will seek to hold back the mass of rioters with his 1,400 men. If they are unequal to the task or special task forces are necessary, the Metropolitan Command comes in. If still unable to contain the violence, then the entire Internal Security Forces under Maj. Gen. Romeo Espino, Vice-Chief of Staff under whom both Gen. Ordoñez and Col. Ver would be subordinated comes into the metropolitan area.
In the meantime outside of the NBI-Metrocom teams that will be fielded, Col. Ver will have special teams to arrest target personnel or take target areas. This will assure performance in the event that BI and Metrocom are committed prematurely to the routine of maintaining order.
I have ordered the PC and 1st Infantry Division at Fort Magsaysay as well as the 51st Engineer Brigade brought up to full strength.
The P3 million needed for the procurement of 3,000 armalites for the PC, I have ordered to be released and the guns delivered not later than the end of February.
The engineers should be ready to take over the public utilities like Nawasa, Meralco, Butel, PNR, PAL, Air Manila, Fairways, land transport as well as shipping.
But the media which according to Sec. Melchor Ambassador Byroade calls a serious threat to security, calls for a separate operation. We have to take them over immediately.
The Psy-War Branch should use them for the purposes of the military administration.
The framework of government and present government officials should be kept and all laws except those I suspend kept in force unless changed by edict by me.
But a new plan of government and society must be worked out.
The lower classes of our people should have a greater share in the profits of both agriculture and industry.
While private property will be recognized and respected, they should be run for the state. Their profits should go to a fund for investment and development.
Or big landed estates should be confiscated by the state and cooperatives established in them in the same manner as the Moshav of Israel.
The crooks of government should be eliminated. There are now so many employees in government we spend ₱1,600 million (one billion six hundred million for our payroll annually). We should cut the expenses for the payroll by ₱600 million which we could use for development.
The Customs and BIR specially should be cleaned up.
Taxes should be increased. The highway and gasoline tax should be increased from 8 centavos a liter to 12 centavos or even 15 centavos. Foreign exchange purchases should be taxed a development tax of 5% at least. Luxuries should not be imported. Inheritance and estate taxes should be increased.
Import and exchange controls should be imposed.
All able-bodied men must be put to work. There must be total exploitation of natural resources.
This must be a complete revolution.