Skip to content

July 18, 1972 Tuesday

:45 PM

July 18, 1972

Tuesday

Malacañan Palace

Manila

Raining since yesterday and Luzon including Manila is flooded all over again. The Tarlac dike in San Miguel has been washed away. Even the children are (not readable) at Gov. Romualdeze’s house.

Lt de Leon reports that the troops in Diguyo have found a field switchboard and twelve field telephones.

The NPA’s certainly have been training and equipping themselves well for revolution.

They are better trained and equipped than expected. This makes the situation more serious than even I expected.

Lunched with Sen. Arturo Tolentino. He himself believes as he reiterated that during this period a dictatorship is necessary in the Philippines.

I asked him whom he would recommend for a Revolutionary Council. And we could not find any in any of the contemporary leaders.

I informed him of the seriousness of the situation.

Sen. Teves told us tonight that even Sen. Ninoy Aquino observed in confidence that the discovery in Palanan shows the NPA’s pose a threat more serious than we think.

Everyone seems to be wondering whether I will declare martial law.

A time bomb was discovered in the Senate. It was napalm in an attache’ case set in the publications divisions and loaded with napalm, set to explode 9:00 PM tonight.