Category: Diary of Fidel Segundo

Tuesday, July 16, 1940

Long and tiresome lecture of Bachus on the Schlieffen Plan.

News in Daily Bulletin re abolition of Army —

Lim calls Gen Staff to discuss this rumor. He says he knows more than was published. Unofficially the President’s stand is —

a. In view of the defeat of France he does not consider the Nat Def. of P.I. possible.

b. He wants the status quo in the Phil Army (What this means I do not know)

c. He wants to use the money for economic development.

d. He wants to build an army to prevent internal revolution and keep peace & order.

Lim wants to know our reaction. As usual he does not state exactly what he wants for lack of command of the language. So I say that the abolition of the Army is in order if the premises given above are true. The Constabulary is enough for the purposes desired by Pres Q.

Lim then says that he has asked Gen V. to find out thru the Sec what the Pres. really wants. This evasion on the lack of future of the Army, the Army being a football of politics, the Gen Staff not having any value, no prestige. I mentioned that everything is being done ass end backwards. The Pres. commits himself ahead of time to a military policy and then the Gen. Staff is consulted later. The Gen. Staff is used in repairing fences damaged by advanced commitments.

Wednesday, April 3, 1940

Segundo-Daily Reminder - 1940_Page_082

Meeting at Malacanang w Pres Q. Mac, Sutherland, Sec Sison and Gen. Staff re site Mil. Acad.

Meeting opens up with Pres Q & MacA talking informally as if we were not present. We were being used as background only. MacA proposes site to be Quezon City. They discuss advantages of Quezon City. Lim talks and says there is a board charged with the location and that the board has started its work. More discussion of Quezon City. I open up and tell them of our board work. I open up a map and show them where we are working. I explain the requirements of a Mil. Acad. site. MacA says something in rebuttal. P. Quezon mentions about cost of water & sewer system if we go to the mountains, and the cost of the road. Pres Q. talks about going Ipo. We will reconnoiter this place too.

Comments: Pres Q. wants the Acad. to be in Quezon City and he uses MacA to be tool for the proposition.  Mil. expert style. The plan is this. The three million pesos must go to Quezon City by hook or by crook. To justify reduction of Mil. budget

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it must appear that no such reduction is being made as the supposed reduction is going to the building of a Mil. Acad. But that academy must be built in Q.C. Thus two purposes are accomplished. After this money is already spent in Q.C. it will be found without doubt that the selection was poor so that the Mil. Acad. will be moved somewhere again but the Quezon City shall have been built up. MacA is surely acting as a tool and nothing else.

Tuesday, March 26, 1940

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Pres Q[uezon] explodes a bombshell in graduation exercises of [Philippine] Normal School. He now says that he does not believe any longer in the MacA[rthur] theory of defensibility of the islands against a major power.

MacA[rthur] should pack up and go home.

This move of Pres Q.[uezon] is interpreted by me as the first concrete move to have reexamination of independence question.

What he means by his statement is by 1946 the country will not be able to defend itself. This will then mean that we must be given more time to train an army. This could mean only one thing — extension of Commonwealth period. The confusion of thought caused by his insistent desire for independence nevertheless points to one thing — he wants others to go after the reexamination. He wants the people to lead in the reexamination problem.

The bad thing however is that the people may question the necessity & prudence of further expenditure for national defense if such is not sufficient to defend the country. As he makes or unmakes public opinion however the effect may not be so bad.

Wednesday, March 13, 1940

Segundo-Daily Reminder - 1940_Page_067

At Baguio.

Review for the President.

Incident Marching Valdes coming to the stands. Also the idiot Roxas and two others.

After review we went to the reception & tea.

Pres Q in speaking of MacA said “I have been fooled. I am sorry I did not consult you at the beginning. MacA has been bluffing all along. About his interview w Romulo on his birthday. That may be alright w Romulo but I wonder MacA ever thought that there are officers in our own army and in his who could criticize that interview.” I laughed and said the interview was all propaganda and had no value.

Pres Q said that MacA talks about great things but in reality they do not provide the defense we are looking for.

He spoke about building a real mil. academy and that we must definitely get the site now. He will give 3 million pesos to start with.

My estimate is as follows: When the army budget was reduced nothing was said of the use of the money saved. The mil. academy was not mentioned. Everybody in the Gen. Staff and Sec. S. thought the money would go to the development of Quezon City. Then the papers broadcasted criticism of the use of the excise tax for which Vargas made a weak explanation. The US Congress criticized also and Mike E had to defend the expenditure.

Pres. R probably raised hell for this extravaganza & for the neglect of the national defense and now Pres Q

Tuesday, February 20, 1940

Conference of GS w Sec Sison at Mal–

Subject — Economy. Sison made inferences about MacA relief. Did not Pres Q ask the GS whether it could handle the job by itself. Sison then extemporized on military justice. Case of Lt. Valparaiso. Very bad decision of Capt Torres. Lim took responsibility.

Spoke at National U. on National Def.

Friday, Jan. 26, 1940

Segundo-Daily Reminder - 1940_Page_027

Went to Malacanang for PAAF Ex. Council meeting.

Went to McA and wished him many happy returns. Picture in Herald omits my name as usual due to that SOB Amado Araneta.

Went to San Lazaro and measured horses. Had quite a time in Dr Lorenzo Reyes re his horse.

Tony Araneta came to see the house in Paranaque —

Worked on rules & rep. re admission of cadets to W.P.

To Malacanang tonight for reception Admiral Hart.

Tuesday, Jan. 23, 1940

Segundo-Daily Reminder - 1940_Page_024

Had several conferences w Carag, Cunanan, [illegible] Richards.

Had hot words w Col Garcia whom I accused w high handedness re report of board. He submitted report without my signature, Valdes approved report without seeing my minority report. Garcia is determined to railroad selection of Laconico who is son in law Mrs. Alano, who is wife Rep. Alano, who is husband of Mrs. Alano who is the cousin to Sec Vargas, who is husband of Mrs. Vargas who is supposed to be aunt of Mrs. Garcia who is the wife of Col Garcia.

After these hot words I went to see Lim who went with me to Valdes. Valdes too is in this deal. No reason why V can not change his approval.

The way Garcia handles this business make him unfit for any position of responsibility in this army.

Reception at Mal. for Consular Corps. A very beautiful park across Mal. Why should [illegible] be a guest at Mal.

Friday, Jan. 19, 1940

Segundo-Daily Reminder - 1940_Page_020

Went to Murphy and inspected M.G. crew in order to equip M.G. units.

Lim called me up early to tell me of his estimate of the situation re McArthur. He told me he had conversations with him wherein he told McA that he was willing to step out of the Army to give way to me to become C of S. He told McA that I am strong, honest, aggressive, full of initiative and a keen mind.

All our troubles re basic policies which have to be changed are the product of one man’s McA without the leveling influence of another. Had the C of S (Santos & V) any idea of their own in military matters these things would not have happened. As it is McA chose dummies in order to have things his own way. But unfortunately the Gen. Staff was not such a dummy and with the fact that this Gen. Staff is very well thought of by the Pres. MacArthur’s had to lose prestige. Mc dug his own grave when he chose dummies for his C of S.

Went to the Augusta flagship.

Met Cole PW. Capt Miller’s re [illegible]