ON May 1, the President delegated Secretary, of Labor Jose Figueras to read his speech before the NACTU National Convention held in Tloilo, in which he cautioned Labor not to be “deceived by promises of Utopia by the Messiahs of the so-called new faith,” pointing out that “there is no greater democracy than that which assures for every man his right to self-development and self-expression.” (See HISTORICAL PAPERS, page 2275.)
On the same day, it was announced at the Guest House, Baguio, that the President the previous evening signed H.B. No. 1569 extending for another year ending June 30, 1952, the law on price control. The old price control law expired on April 30, 1951. The act provides several amendments to the old price control law.
IN an informal address, delivered on May 2 before the delegates and officials of the 44th annual convention of the Philippine Medical Association and the first South East Asia Medical Conference, the President appealed to the physicians to help disseminate the rules of health in order to make all the peoples of East Asia strong and sturdy and thus efficiently contribute their share in the building of a new world. In a brief talk with newsmen at cocktails given at Malacañan in honor of delegates to the 44th annual medical convention, the President said the Philippine government would press its reparations claim against Japan, adding that the reparations payments were not being asked from American taxpayers but from the fast-rising Japanese nation. The President recalled that the U. S. had promised to pay all war damages in the Philippines, but that America had appropriated only $400 million for the purpose out of a total of $2 billion claims filed by Filipinos.
THE next day, May 5, the President signed Republic Act No. 611, permitting Armed Forces of the Philippines and members of the Cabinet and top brass of the Armed Forces the death and disability gratuity bill. Addressing the military personnel representing different units of the AFP after the signing of the bill; the President paid tribute to the soldiers of the country, pointing out to them that they are not fighting for the preservation of peace of our country alone, but for world peace. The President also signed a proclamation reserving a certain portion of land in La Paz, Iloilo City, as “Barrio Obrero” on the request of the municipal council of Iloilo and Vice President Fernando Lopez.
THE next day, May 5, the President signed Republic Act No. 611, permitting the cumulation of the annual vacation and sick leaves of government employees to not more than five months arid the commutation of all accumulated leaves in case an employee is separated from the service.
IN the evening of May 6, the President gave an informal dinner in honor of former Justice and Mrs. George A. Malcolm, to which about 40 prominent former students of the eminent jurist were invited.
THE President told a delegation of wives of Filipino soldiers and officers in Korea who presented a petition to the Chief Executive on May 7, to speed up the replacement for the entire 10th BCT in Korea, that replacements are being sent to Korea as fast as availability of transportation warrants.
ON May 8, the President directed Justice Secretary Jose P. Bengzon to speed up the court cases involving, officials charged with graft and corruption. Most of the cases involve officials of the Surplus Commission. Foreign Secretary Carlos P. Romulo was directed by the President to negotiate with the United States government so that title to sunken ships in Philippine waters would be vested in the Philippine government in accordance with the decision of the Cabinet to press for Philippine ownership of the said vessels.
THE President created on May 10 an eleven-man body to study the United States draft of the proposed treaty for Japan. The body will study the different aspects of the proposed treaty for Japan in order to crystallize Philippine views when, consulted on the peace treaty. The body, headed by Senator Vicente Francisco, is composed of Representative Diosdado Macapagal, Senator Tomas Cabili, Senator Carlos F. Garcia, Foreign Affairs Secretary Carlos P: Romulo, Finance Secretary Pio Pedrosa, Justice Secretary Jose P. Bengzon, Defense Secretary Ramon Magsaysay, Judge Guillermo Guevara and Gil Puyat. The President took up in a conference with Vice-President Fernando Lopez, Justice Secretary Jose P. Bengzon, Economic Coordination Administrator Salvador Araneta, and Assistant Executive Secretary Marciano Roque the general provisions of the contract to be entered into between the Government and Col. Andres Soriano on the management of the Philippine Airlines. After the conference, the draft of the contract was referred to the Secretary of Justice for a more thorough study before it is put into final form. Administrative Order No. 155 creating a national committee to take charge of the 5th anniversary celebration of the Republic on July 4th was signed by the President on the same day.
THE President in a letter to PRISCO on May 11 accelerated the government’s drive to insure an adequate supply of commodities and to arrest the rising trend of prices and discourage speculations and hoarding” by placing in the lists of decontrolled goods 19 groups of essential commodities heretofore under restriction.
BEFORE leaving for Capiz on May 12, the President signed Republic Act No. 613 prohibiting the exportation of machinery and their spare parts, scrap metals, medicine, foodstuffs, abaca seedlings, gasoline, oil lubricants and military equipment or supplies suitable for military use.
The President arrived in Capiz aboard the Presidential plane Laong Loan about 10 o’clock a.m. on May 12. Addressing at noon a huge crowd at the town plaza gathered to witness the inauguration of Roxas City, the President paid glowing tribute to the late President Roxas and told the people of Capiz that with the renaming and conversion of their town into a city in memory of the great leader, they had the responsibility to live up to the Roxas ideals.
IN May 13, the President directed Foreign Secretary Carlos P. Romulo to initiate action with the U. S. embassy for the setting up of a joint commission on claims that the Philippines and the U. S. Governments have against each other as recommended in the Bell report. The Philippines has a total of P828,000,000 pending claims against the United States, as compared with the U. S. government claim of P70,000,000 against the Philippine Army. The President returned to Manila shortly after 11 o’clock that day from his one-day visit to Capiz to inaugurate Roxas City.
DIVISION superintendent of schools pledge their loyalty to and faith in President Quirino and his administration when they called at Malacañan on the afternoon of May 14. In response, the President thanked the school heads and emphasized to them the need of stressing vocational and adult education in the schools as a means of accelerating the total economic mobilization program of the Government.
DURING the Cabinet meeting on May 15, the President signed seven bills passed by Congress; namely, H. B. Nos. 88, 266, 288, 380, 484, 764, and 1255. On the same day, the President appointed’ Drs. Santiago Y. Rotea, Anacleto Coronel; and Faustino Turla as examiners of the Veterinary Examining Board.
IN his 31st monthly radio chat in the evening of the same day, the President declared that the Government has started a new program of wealth distribution in connection with its intensified campaign to fight communism. (See HISTORICAL PAPERS, page 2281.)
IN a special message to Congress on May 16, the President urged the inclusion of an appropriation of Pl,500,000 for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the old University of the Philippines buildings on Padre Faura for the use and accommodation of the various collections and offices of the Bureau of Public Libraries. He also certified to the urgency of a total of 38 bills pending in Congress.
MALACAÑAN announced on May 17 that the President had so far approved 29 bills and vetoed one passed by Congress in its fourth special session and in its last regular session. The vetoed bill sought to grant Jesus Arroyo, Jr., a franchise to operate an electric light and power system in Virac, Catanduanes. On the same day, the President designated Justice Secretary Jose P. Bengzon as his representative to look into alleged trafficking of dollars in the Central Bank.
ON May 18, the President entertained members of the Senate and the House of Representatives at a traditional luncheon held in their honor at the Malacañan social hall. Speaking during the luncheon, the President declared that the last congressional session had been fruitful of fundamental legislation, and expressed gratitude to Senators and Representatives for their cooperation in the government’s program of economic development and military security.
THE President left for Zamboanga on the first leg of his trip to Mindanao and Palawan on May 19, at 7:10 a.m., on board the presidential plane Laong Laan. The aim of the trip was to secure firsthand knowledge of the problems and difficulties of the people in those regions. Speaking at an informal conference with local officials at the city hall, shortly after his arrival at noon in Zamboanga, the President bared plans for utilization of Mindanao’s untapped resources as a means of bettering the nation’s standard of living.
THE President spoke on May 20 before a big crowd at the plaza of Basilan City on the second day of his fact-finding tour of Western Mindanao. He said that he was highly impressed by the peace and order-prevailing in Zamboanga and by the readiness of the people there to contribute their share to the country’s economic development. The President visited in the afternoon the extensive holdings of the University of the Philippines in Basilan Island and discussed plans for speeding up production on the 10,000 hectares of land grant to the State University. The University’s’ rubber plantation has now 400,000 trees. The President also went through vast rubber plantation of the American Rubber Co. and the Basilan Plantation and the Basilan Lumber Co. holdings. The steamer Apo left Basilan City at midnight of May 20 and arrived at Jolo at about 9 a.m. on May 21.
IN the presence of the President and of thousands of people who greeted the Chief Executive in their colorful costumes, 40 Moro outlaws and dissidents surrendered to Brig. Gen. Calixto Duque at the high school stadium at noon of May 21. The President counseled them to forget partisan warfare and urged them to devote their attention to the solution of our problem to provide livelihood to our people. In the afternoon, after visiting the provincial jail in Jolo, the President headed for Siasi and the Turtle Tslands.
THE President spent two hours on May 22 visiting Taganak Island, most populated of the Turtle Island group. The President visited the marker on the spot where the Philippine flag was raised during the ceremonies at the turnover by the British of the sovereignty of the Turtle Islands to the Philippine government. He also inspected the deposits of turtle eggs whose collection anal sale are now undertaken by the Government, and looked into the island’s main industry—copra. The President also visited the second biggest island in the group, Bagoan where most of the turtle eggs are gathered. He spent here another hour inspecting the turtle egg industry.
SANDAKAN, North Borneo, turned out en masse to give a rousing welcome to President Quirino and party on their arrival on May 22. At the dinner given by the British community in the evening, President Quirino and Governor Sir Ralph Hone spoke on the necessity of united efforts of freedom-loving peoples to fight communism. Both said that the Philippines and North Borneo are so closely situated that the threat to the security of one endangers the other.
THE President’s party left Sandakan at 10 a.m. on May 23 after a successful goodwill visit to British North Borneo. The local Filipino community, the natives, and the officials braved a heavy downpour to see the presidential party off.
PRESIDENT Quirino startled officials and populace of the little town of Cagayan de Sulu when the S.S. Apo dropped in unexpectedly early in the evening of May 23. The principal purpose of the President’s visit to this isolated spot in the Sulu seas was to check up on the reports that Cagayan de Sulu is one of the principal bases of operation of a big smuggling syndicate that operates in Hongkong, Sandakan, and Southern Philippines. Town officials disclaimed knowledge of big scale smuggling, as they said they have no way of checking up where cargoes leaving Cagayan are bound for. The President ordered Captain Jose Francisco of the Philippine Navy who was with the party to station permanent patrol launch there to keep watch on that port.
FROM Cagayan de Sulu, the presidential party sailed to Brooks Point, the southernmost tip of Palawan and alleged gateway for smugglers from Singapore. In a conference with town officials that night of May 24, the President was pleased to find out that the immigrants from Luzon and eastern Visayas are pouring into Palawan. The Presidential yacht left Brooks Point at 8 o’clock that same night for Puerto Princesa.
ADDRESSING a big crowd that welcomed him at Puerto Princesa in the morning of May 25, the President announced that the development of the rich agricultural, mining and fishing areas of Palawan would be included in the national plan of economic mobilization in connection with the program of financial and technical assistance to be rendered to the country by the ECA. He also bared the Government plan to transfer to Mindanao the Iwahig Penal Colony located nearby to help accelerate the cultivation of virgin lands in other parts of the country, particularly Mindanao.
THE presidential party returned to Manila Friday noon, May 25, on board A the presidential plane Laong Laan. At the cabinet meeting held on the day of his arrival, the President acted swiftly to implement his findings during his tour of Western Mindanao and the islands in the Sulu group. He informed the Cabinet of his desire to establish trade between the Philippines and Borneo which would help to put an end to the big scale smuggling between Sandakan and Jolo. During the cabinet meeting:, the President designated Secretary of Justice Jose P. Bengzon as acting secretary of Labor in the absence of Secretary Jose Figueras who was scheduled to leave by plane for Geneva the next day, to attend the ILO conference.. He also signed Proclamation No. 253 designating the period from July 4 to July 10, 1951, as Fifth Anniversary Week.
SPEAKING before GSP leaders and delegates who paid their respects to the Chief Executive on May 26 as a fitting climax to the observance of the eleventh anniversary of the organization, the President called on girl scout-leaders and delegates to contribute to the establishment of a strong government through the promotion of civic consciousness and the economic development of the country. The President also signed, in their presence Senate Bill No. 252, authorizing the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office to hold annually one special race for the benefit of the girl scout organization, and Senate Bill No. 262, creating the United Nationals Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization National Commission of the Philippines. On the same day Proclamation No. 254 fixing the value of the Canadian dollar at P1.923124, Philippine currency, was also signed by the President.
Further control of prices of important materials was ordered by the President on May 26 when he signed Executive Order No. 442 fixing the ceiling prices of flour, drugs, medicines and household remedies.
THE President inducted Florencio Selga as chief of the Constabulary with the rank of brigadier general in a brief ceremony held at the council of state room on May 28. On the same day, the President issued Proclamation No. 255 prescribing qualifications in the selection of trainees to be called for military training. He also signed Executive Order No. 441 which includes the manager of the Metropolitan Water District in the membership of the Fire Prevention Board, under Group One (Government). This new order amends Executive Orders Nos. 315 and 416 pertaining to the Fire Prevention Board.
ON May 29, the Cabinet approved the creation of a three-man committee to fix reasonable price for the purchase of firearms deposited by local firearms dealers with the Philippine constabulary at Camp Crame. In view of a directive issued on December 7, 1949, prohibiting the sale to private persons of firearms of higher caliber than twenty-two, the chief of constabulary required that all arms and ammunition above caliber 22 be deposited with the PC. Executive Order Mo. 443 increasing and setting up new ceiling prices for American and Canadian flours, imported textiles, galvanized fittings, mild steel flat bars, angle bars, galvanized plain wire, reinforcing mild steel bars, and commercial quality and new billet steel ASTM A-15-39, was signed by the President on May. 29. The new executive order amends Executive Orders Nos. 343, 373, 4C8, 421, and 427.
THE President signed on May 30 the ad interim appointment of Ambassador Domingo Imperial as chairman of the Commission on Elections vice Vicente de Vera, deceased. At noon of the same day, the President administered the oath of office to Luis Manalang as acting director of the newly created Placement Bureau of the Department of Labor.
ON May 31, at 5 o’clock sharp, the President received the credentials of the new British Minister Frank S. Gibbs in presentation ceremonies held at the Malacañan ceremonial hall. (The full texts of the speeches of the British Minister and the President are printed in full on pp. 2285 and 2286.) Earlier in the morning, the President conferred with Public Works Secretary Sotero Baluyut who accompanied a representative of the contractor-firm in charge of the building of the permanent grandstand on the Luneta. The President ordered the grandstand finished in time for July 4.
Source: University of the Philippines, College of Law Library
Office of the President of the Philippines. (1951). Official Week in Review. Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines, 47(5), xxxviii-xlii.
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