The government

Media

Part of The American Chamber of Commerce Journal

Title: The government
Identifier: The business view
Language: English
Source: The American Chamber of Commerce Journal Volume XXX (No. 2) February 1954
Year: 1954
Rights
Abstract: A monthly review of facts, trends, forecasts by Manila businessmen
Fulltext: The Business View A monthly review of facts, trends, forecasts, by Manila businessmen The Government From Official Sources JANUARY 2, 1954—The President issues a proclamation declaring January 10 to 15 “Statistics Week”, declaring that it is “desir able to encourage and promote the use of statistical data to solve the country’s social and economic problems.” The President boards the presidential yacht, S. S. Apo, for Mariveles to inspect the government shipyard there, accompanied by officials of the Metropolitan Water District and a number of labor leaders, as well as a group of newspapermen. He inspects the National Shipyards and Steel Corporation plant and states that a special com mittee which has been studying the situation has reported that NASSCO’S repair and dry-dock charges are higher than similar charges in Hongkong and Japan and that it must operate more efficiently if it is to survive; he listens to workers’ complaints about the inadequate housing and the high cost of rice. The President in a ship-board con ference states he has asked Executive Secretary Ruiz Castro to drop his teaching in a local school and that this would be required of all top officials. He states that the studies by special committees concerning the administration of justice, the situation with respect to rice, and the financial position of the Manila Hotel have been completed, also those of the special fiscal and budget committee and that the latter is now completing a draft of the 1954-55 budget. Jan. 3—Agreement is reached aboard the Apo to settle the 10-day Metropolitan Water District strike, the President persuading the labor leaders to accept temporarily the District’s offer of a wage-increase of P0.50 as against the P1.00 demanded, pending an examination of the District’s ability to accord to full increase; he also authorizes additional representation of labor on the District’s Board of Directors from one to two members, one for the office employees and the other for the laborers; during the conference he announces that he has designated Manila Mayor Arsenio H. Lacson and Rizal Province Governor Wenceslao Pascual as members of the MWD Board. The President releases a statement of his assets and liabilities showing total properties worth P39,446.10 and total debts of P13.087.76, or a net worth of P26,358.34, as of December 30, the day of his inauguration; he points out that President Manuel Roxas issued an order requiring such statements from ranking officials, but that this has been disregarded and that he will have the order revised to include "practically all” public servants in the Executive Department, par ticularly those in the tax-collection agencies; he states that those who submit suspiciously incomplete statements will have their properties inventoried. The President, still aboard the Apo, announces he will issue an order tightening control of the purchase and disposition of dynamite and blasting caps to curb illegal fishing; he has instructed Commodore Jose Francisco, Philippine Navy Chief, and the Commanding General of the Constabulary to draft an order requiring permits for the pur chase of these explosives by mining firms to be approved by both of these officials; the mining companies will be required to construct strong vaults to store them and to make weekly reports of use, etc. The President tells newsmen he has instructed Lt. Col. Job Mayo, Iloilo Provincial Commander, to report at Malacanan to coordinate security arrangements there; it is understood that the President con templates the establishment of a secret service, patterned after the United States agency, to take charge of security measures for the Pre sident and his family. The President informally visits the U. S. Naval Base at Subic, Zambales, spending two and a half hours there “to acquaint the press and myself with the improvements made on this installation by the United States Government.” He states he wanted the newsmen ac companying him to see the base as many had only a hazy idea of the present United States installations in the country and the improvements made. Jan. 5—The President meets with Democratic Party leaders in both the Senate and the House and issues a statement later revealing that Se nator Fernando Lopez will not seek election as President of the Senate and has released those who had committed themselves to support him for At the 1954 annual meeting of the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Inc., held on the Chamber premises on January 29, the election The New Chamber of members of the Board of Di Officers and rectors resulted in the re-election Board Members of all eight of eight members of the 1953 Board who had been nominated for reelection, and the election of one new mem ber, Mr. John Oppenheimer, of the Pan American World Airways, Inc. The Acting President, Mr. W. C. Palmer, III, with drew from the nominations because he will leave the Philip pines shortly for an extended vacation, and Mr. R. J. Baker, the Chamber Treasurer, was not presented for nomination as he is retiring as Comptroller of the Manila Electric Company and will return to the United States to make his home there. At the organization meeting of the Board, held on February 1, Mr. Paul R. Parrette was elected President, Mr. W. M. Simmons, Vice-President, and Mr. A. H. Hender son, Treasurer, Mr. I. T. Salmo being reelected Secre tary. Mrs.' Virginia Gonder remains Executive VicePresident. The following are the business connections of the officers of the Chamber and the other members of the Board: Mr. F. C. Bennett, Vice-President and Sales Manager, Atlantic, Gulf fie Pacific Company of Manila. Mr. Arthur H. Henderson, President, American In ternational Underwriters for the Philippines, Inc. Mr. S. W. G. Lehman, General Manager, Standard Vacuum Oil Company, Philippines. Mr. John Oppenheimer, Director—Philippines, Pan American World Airways, Inc. Mr. Paul R. Parrette, President and General Manager, Philippine Manufacturing Company. Mr. E. E. Selph, Member of the firm, Ross, Selph, Carrascoso & Janda. Mr. W. M. Simmons, Manager, National City Bank of New York, Philippines. Mr. F. H. Spengler, Manager, Philippine Office, Amer ican President Lines. Mr. Paul H. Wood, Vice-President and General Man ager, International Harvester Company of Philippines. More than ever, we must think, plan, and work as one, with only one supreme goal in mind—the promotion of the welfare and happiness of our people. Perhaps you will say that the people are asking for a miracle. But they, too, performed no less than a miracle when in one great irre sistible movement they dared every peril to preserve the right to have a government of their choice. Thus, they proved to the whole world, to our friends and enemies, that Democracy has come of age in our land, that it has become truly and actively a part of the Filipino way of life. We have pledged to enrich that life. We can do.it. We must do it. With the aid of Divine Providence, we shall begin and continue the work until we shall have fulfilled the great promise that gave our people strength to prove themselves worthy of their heritage of freedom. 54 that position; the President congratulates him and other Democratic senators and representatives for their sincere desire to cooperate. The President announces he will soon convene a meeting of Nationalista Party leaders to inform them of conditions in the governmentowned or controlled corporations and to formulate a pojicy regarding them. He states the total indebtedness of the Manila Railroad Com pany amounts to P104,000,000 and that it is suffering operational losses of P3,000,000 yearly, which, added to the P2,000,000 yearly that it has to pay in interests on bonds held by British holders, sets the Company back P5,000,000 a year. The Manila Hotel, a Railroad Company subsidiary, is losing on the average of P50,000 a month and is now P876.000 in the red. The NASSCO is losing money at the rate of Pl,000 'a jday. Other corporations whose “future is to be decided upon” include the National Rice land Corn Corporation, the Price Stabilization Corporation (PRISCO), and Cebu Portland Cement Company, the National Development Company, the Land Settlement and Development Company, and the People’s Homesite and Housing Corporation. Judge Emilio Rilloraza of the Court of First Instance of Pasay City, issues warrants for the arrest of former Secretary of Justice and acting Secretary of National Defense Oscar Castelo, a sister and another woman associate, Bienvenido Mendoza (alias Ben Ulo) and 12 others accused of conspiring in the murder of Manuel P. Monroy on June 15 last year. Castelo and his two women associates surrender themselves to Gen. Jesus Vargas at Camp Murphy. Jan. 6 — Castelo and the women are released on bail. Jan. 7 — The President issues an executive order dissolving the Malacanan Property Requisition Committee and transferring its func tions to the different executive departments “to expedite procurement of much needed equipment and materials” and to relieve the Office of the President of a heavy administrative burden. Jan. 8 — The President, accompanied by a group of officials in cluding Col. Harry A. IBrenn, Director of the U.S. Foreign Operations Ad ministration, FOA highway specialist Alonzo Taylor, Filemon C. Rodriguez, Manager of the National Power Corporation, and a number of provincial governors, leaves Manila on the Apo on an inspection trip. Aboard the Apo the President releases the names of entities granted large areas of land within the Davao Penal Colony reservation during the last days of the Quirino Administration and states he is asking Secretary of Justice Tuason and Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources Araneta to challenge these releases in order to make the holding available for redistribution in 10-hectare lots. The President tells newsmen he plans to abolish the present Na tional Economic Council, the Office of Economic Coordination, and the Philippine Council for United States Aid, and combine them into a new National Economic Council, to be composed of 11 members instead of 15 as at present, which will have full charge of the planning and pro gramming of the Government’s economic projects. He states he has also directed the immediate organization of a 250-jman construction battalion in the Philippine Navy, patterned after the United States "Seabees” organization, to concentrate on the installation of centrifugal pumps for irrigation. The President and his party arrive at Masbate and extends execu tive pardons to 25 under-nourished prisoners in the provincial jail for violation of the kaingin (forest -^clearing) laws, instructing local officials to make public lands on Burias Island available for them in plots of 6 hectares each, food and clothing to be provided them and their families meanwhile by the Social Welfare Administration. He inquires about the food of the other prisoners and directs the local health officer to fumigate the jail. Later he boards his Philippine Air Force plane, the Pagasa, for Virac, Catanduanes. Jan. 9—The President inspects the P280.000 hydro-electric and water-works project at Balongbong Falls, Bago, Catanduanes, and instructs NPC Manager Rodriguez to open bidding on the construc tion immediately. The President reveals his plans to request a study of the penal system in various parts of the country in order to reconcile tribal laws and customs with the laws of the Republic; he points out that much dissatisfaction in the Moro provinces is due to the conflict between the laws of the Republic and the customary law which guides the decisions of the native agama courts. Jan. 10 — Returned from his southern trip, the President visits Camp Oliveros, Plaridel, Bulacan, where he interviews several sur rendered Huks. He orders the Constabulary to take control of Lubao, Pampanga, because of disorders there, and to withdraw its forces from Guagua, Magalang, and Mabalacat, and directs the immediate re examination of the so-called "civilian guards” with a view to their ultimate disbandment. He also directs the investigation of reports that the Huks are still imposing “contributions” upon wealthy citizens of Angeles, Pampanga. The President visits San Luis, Pampanga, home-town of Hukleader Luis Taruc, and then Sta. Monica and other barrios where an army task force of some 1500 officers and men under Col. Manuel Flores, is at work building roads and bridges, digging artesian wells, and clearing away vast growths of talahib grass to facilitate the return of the people to their abandoned farms. With written authority from Secretary of Justice Tuason, Com missioner Manuel Manahan, of the Presidential Complaints and Action Commission, seals the files of the National Bureau of Investigation; reported that various records and documents are missing. Jan. 11 —Executive Secretary and Mrs. Fred Ruiz Castro and family, report, as of January 1, 1954, their assets minus their liabilities as amounting to P29.320. Malacanang announces that the premises will be open to guided tours for the general public only on every Saturday, from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Jan. 12 — The President spends the whole day on the yacht Apo, anchored in Manila Bay, but retains contact with Malacanang via the ship’s radio. The President stops the loading of 7,000 tons of scrap-iron aboard the Tatsaharu Maru, being exported by the Marcelo Steel Corpora tion, which was being carried out in spite of the order of Col. Jaime Velasquez, acting Commissioner of Customs; it is reported that the President is studying a plan to exchange scrap iron with water-pipe. Malacanan announces the release to the public of the MSA-PHILCUSA rural community survey, commonly called the MacMillanRivera Report, following representations made by rural sociologist Cornelio M. Ferrer with the Presidential Complaints and Action Com mission; 5,000 printed copies of the report have, since Octobre, 1952, been stored in a warehouse of the Foreign Operations Administration (formerly the Mutual Security Administration), “padlocked by the Liberal Party Administration... for unknown reasons,” according to Mr. Ferrer. The President approves an offer of a prize of P100.000 by the Government to any Filipino or foreigner who discovers a virus which will exterminate rats without harm to man or other animals; use of the present virus has been found harmful in this respect. The President, at an earlier Cabinet meeting, asked Secretary of Agriculture Araneta to accept the offer of the WHO (World Health Organization) to send an expert to the Philippines; meanwhile a team of FOA, WHO, De partment of Health, and Department of Agriculture and Natural Re sources team of rat-control experts will go to Cotabato this week to study the situation there which is resulting in a complete destruction of crops. Judge Rilloraza grants the dismissal of the charges against the two women implicated in the case against Castelo and the others for the murder of Monroy. Jan. 13 — The President makes a surprise trip to Masbate to follow-up the implementation of several orders he issued there on his brief visit last week; he finds that the settlement project for the 51 pardoned prisoners has already been started on a 1000-hectare area. Announced that the President has ordered the dissolution of the Malacanang guard unit formerly headed by Col. Agustin Marking. Malacanang announces the private organization in the Mala canang Social Hall of the “Liberty Wells Association” which will raise funds for the construction of artesian wells in line with the President’s barrio-improvement program; among those present were Albino Sycip, originator of the plan, Ambassador R. A. Spruance, Colonel Brenn and other officials of the FOA, and others, including many Chinese who contributed from P5000 to P15000 each; P150.000 has already been raised in voluntary contributions; it is estimated that P3,000,000 is needed to construct the estimated 67,000 wells required to provide safe water for the entire country. Secretary of Health Paulino Garcia, under whose department the well-building project falls, is chosen chair man of the executive committee of the Association and Arsenio Luz executive secretary; the President is Honorary Chairman. Jan. 14 — On returning to Manila the President inducts into office Justice Pastor Endencia, of the Court of Appeals, as Secretary of Edu cation; the President states to the new Secretary, who is a prominent Catholic layman leader, that one of the best weapons in combating communism is religious education. The President refers the matter of the scrap-iron shipment by the Marcelo Steel Corporation to Secretary of Finance Hernandez for study and disposition. The President orders the immediate relief of Maj. Alejandro Trespeces, provincial commander of Marinduque, reportedly on the grounds that he did not take appropriate action against a sergeant involved in rape and extortion charges; the sergeant is ordered to be brought to Camp Murphy for investigation and court-martial if the evidence so warrants. The President orders the Masbate provincial commander to eliminate illegal fishing and check unnecessary butchering of carabaos. He orders the Philippine Navy to intercept a shipload of carabaos which had left Masbate for Manila for the purpose of verifying whether the animals intended for the slaughter-house are really unfit as work animals; it is reported that work animals are being deliberately disabled by driving nails into their hoofs, and the President wants the practice stopped. Jan. 15—Bureau of Customs authorizes scrap-iron shipment to Japan on condition it is returned in the form of ingots. The President spends the entire day aboard the Apo in Manila Bay in going over numerous recommendations for various appoint ments. The President issues a statement of regret and condolence on the loss, yesterday, of the Philippine Air Line plane, the Mindoro, on the Manila-London route, while nearing the Rome airport, as a result of what appeared to some observers, as reported, to be an 55 explosion; all aboard perished, including 9 crew members and 7 pas sengers, one from Manila; the Company is sending several officials to investigate and report. A group of around a hundred members of the Tambobong Estate Tenants Association calls on the President to petition him for a “more consistent” policy in disposing of the land. Reported that two inter-island vessels were intercepted by the Philippine Navy, one being found to carry 12 carabaos, 8 of which were fit for work, and the other 24, 3 of which were fit; one of the ships was found to be carrying 130 persons, though the limit is 74. Jan. 16 — The President holds a conference with Maj. Gen. Vargas and Maj. Gen.'Robert M. Cannon, Chief of JUSMAG, concerning general policies affecting the armed forces and also the matter of equipping two additional engineering battalions for road construction and other rural improvement projects. The President instructs Philippine Navy and Customs officials to revoke the licenses of fishing-boat operators who reportedly have suspended operations because of the government campaign against illegal dynamite-fishing in order to embarrass the Administration. Reported that another ship was found carrying a shipment of 28 cara baos of which 19 were still fit fcr work; the animals are being held to be used as evidence against officials responsible for authorizing their slaughter against the provisions of the law. The President issues a proclamation setting the period from Feb ruary 14 to March 31 of this year for the annual Red Cross fund cam paign; in a meeting with Red Cross officials he expresses his desire to award Mr. Ray Higgins the Legion of Honor decoration in recognition of his humanitarian services to the country. The President directs Assistant Executive Secretary Quema to take all the legal steps possible in assuring the proper distribution of the Tambobong Estate lands. Jan. 18—The President addresses the provincial governors and city mayors at the opening session of their 3-day convention at Malacanang Park asking for their cooperation and speaking of his plans of extending greater autonomy to local governments which, he states, would give the national government more time to concentrate on national prob lems; he urges the necessity of uniting the two leagues of governors and mayors formed during the previous Administration,—the Liberal Party League headed by Governor Eliseo Quirino, and the Freedom League of the Nacionalistas headed by Governor Juan de G. Rodriguez. The President receives former Representative F. M. Serrano, who, having been requested by him to inquire into the wheat-flour business, submits his report. Announced that the Philippine Navy yesterday apprehended an Okinawan fishing vessel, the Omitaka Maru, 31 gross tons, with a crew of 44, one mile off the Mayan Landing at Itbayat Island, Batanes, the vessel being t6wed to Basco for further investigation. Col. Jaime Velasquez, special technical assistant to the President in charge of the Bureau of Customs, discloses that he has been compiling information on the over-loading of ships and that the shipping com panies have been warned to observe the law. Jan. 19 — The President receives the credentials of Minister Young Kee Kim of the Republic of Korea. The President accepts and expresses thanks for the offer of the SOO-man complement of the U.S.S. Salisbury Sound, flagship of the Formosa Patrol, U. S. Navy, now anchored at Sangley Point, Cavite, of a mass blood donation to the Philippine Red Cross Blood Bank. The President, aboard the presidential yacht Apo (“grand-father,” “chief”, renamed, at the suggestion 'of Senate President Rodriguez, the Pagasa, meaning “hope”), anchored in the Bay, holds a conference with a number of leading senators and representatives; they agree that the Manila Hotel, which has been operating at a loss, should be leased to some private interest, but that offers of private parties to purchase the Cebu Portland Cement Company and the cement com pany at Bacnotan, La Union, should be declined, the Government to continue to operate these entities; no decision is made as to the Manila Railroad Company which, the President states, has been losing at the rate of P4,500,000 a year and has already incurred a total loss of P105,000,000; the President’s suggestion that all government purchases and contracts amounting to Pl0,000 or more should be secured through public bidding, is unanimously endorsed; the President’s recommenda tion that scrap iron be bartered for 6-inch pipe from Japan, is also agreed to, the President explaining that in exchange for 6,000 tons of scrap iron, the Philippines would receive 1,000 tons of the pipe needed badly for the construction of water systems throughout the country; various appointments are discussed and agreed to; the President states that senators and representatives who have business to transact with him will be given priority in seeing him. The President announces a plan to settle Malacanang job-seekers in farm areas and names Bernard Gaberman chairman of a committee to receive, process, and channel their applications, with the acting General Manager of LASEDECO as a member and another member to be appointed to represent EDCOR; groups of from 200 to 300 settlers at a time would be transported on Philippine Navy ships. The President broaches a plan to require medical students to spend a part of their internship in the newly settled areas. The President orders the demilitarization of artillery shells scat tered over Corregidor Island and to post a guard there to prevent un authorized persons from collecting them for dynamite-fishing purposes. Jan. 20 — The President authorizes the Cebu Portland Cement Company to buy coconut-shell charcoal to mix with coal for its fuel needs; the measure would utilize a product that has been going largely to waste. T 1ST of important appointments and designations made by President Mag■*-' saysay as of January 22, 1954: I. Department secretaries, undersecretaries, chiefs and assistant chiefs of bureaus and offices, provincial governors, and city Mayors (a) Appointed ad interim: Carlos P. Garcia Jaime Hernandez Paulino G. Garcia Salvador Araneta Position Secretary of Foreign Affairs Secretary of Finance Secretary of Health Oscar Ledesma Pedro Tuazon Pacita Madrigal Warns Fred Ruiz Castro Jose Gil Jesus Vargas Eulogio Balao Mariano A. Yenko, Jr. Leon Ma. Guerrero Leroy S. Brown Ramon Blanco Tomas Dizon Antonio P. Sibulp Jose A. Rono Teofilo Guadiz Mariano F. Perdices Benito C. Labao Enrique C. Quema Pastor M. Endencia Rafael Tumbokon Panteleon Pelayo Felipe R. Amos Ramon O. Nolasco Jesus Barrera Secretary of Agriculture and Na tural Resources Secretary of Commerce and In Secretary of Justice Social Welfare Administrator Executive Secretary Commissioner of Civil Service Chief of Staff, Armed Forces of the Philippines Vice Chief of Staff, AFP (designa tion only) Assistant Executive Secretary Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Mayor, City of Basilan Mayor, City of Roxas Mayor, City of San Pablo Mayor, City of Naga Mayor, City of Calbayog Mayor, City of Dagupan Mayor, City of Dumaguete Mayor, City of Iligan Assistant Executive Secretary Secretary of Education Undersecretary of Health Undersecretary of Labor Director of Forestry Provincial Governor of Lanao Undersecretary of Justice 31 Jan. 1, 1954 Abenir Bernales Leon C. Miraflores Leon L. Fernandez Marcos Resifia Manuel Solidum Tomas S. Martin Luis P. Torres Bado Dangwa J. Antonio Araneta Alfonso Tabora Mateo Ferrer D. Mohammad de Venancio Zacarias S. Pizarro Baldomero S. Reyes Alfredo Bunye Dioecoro de Leon Urbano Caldoza Antonio C. Adaza Domingo Bailon Justiniano R. Borja Provincial Governor of Cotabato Provincial Governor of Negros Occ. Provincial Governor of Sulu Provincial Governor of Bukidnon Provincial Governor of RomProvincial Governor of Bulacan Commissioner of Immigration Provincial Governor of Mountain Province Collector of Internal Revenue Mayor, City of Baguio Assistant Director of Printing Commissioner, National EmployMayor, City of Butuan Mayor, City of Lipa Director of Prisons Provincial Governor of Nueva Administrator, Civil Aeronautics Administration Provincial Governor, Zamboanga del Norte Mayor, City of Legaspi Mayor, City of Cagayan de Oro II. Chairmen and members of governing boards of government corporations <b) Designated in actir Arsenio Lugay Dominador Aytona Horacio Rodriguez Dominador Mangubat Jose M. Crisol Vene Pe Benito Hector Suarez Cosain Ali Usman Provincial Governor of Tarlac Commissioner of the Budget Provincial Governor of Cavite Mayor, City of Cavite Director, National Bureau of In vestigation Provincial Governor of Abra Mayor, City of Zamboanga Provincial Governor of Lanao Dec. 31, 1953 Jan. 3 (a) Appointed ad interii Dolores Paredes-Leviste Oscar Ledesma Antonio F. Garcia Oscar Ledesma Vicente Araneta Gerardo Flores Sergio Bayan Manuel V. Arguelles Member, Board of Review for Moving Pictures Chairman, Board of Directors, PRISCO Member, Philippine Veterans Member, Board of Supervisors, Philippine Tourist & Travel Association, Inc........................... Chairman, Board of Governors, ACCFA Member, Adv. Bd., Institute of Science and Technology Member, Adv. Bd., Institute of Science and Technology Member, Adv. Bd., Institute of Science and Technology Jan. 6 14 16 2 56 The governors and city mayors on the last day of their convention adopt a number of resolutions including one proposing a single national election every 4 years, the next to be held at the same time as the pre sidential election in 1957, and others proposing to pattern all city char ters after the Manila charter and making all city mayors elective, making all provinces regular, creating provincial legislatures and ca binets, granting veto and pardoning powers to provincial governors, etc. Jan. 21 — The President is informed by Mariano del Rosario, district governor of the Lion’s Club, that 1000 tons of farm implements and 530,000 in cash, donated by the California and Nevada Lions, are ready to be sent to the Philippines to aid in the resettlement program. The President visits the government-owned Tambobong Estate at Malabon, Rizal, and interviews the tenants to look into their griev ances. Jan. 22 — The President issues a proclamation declaring the period from January 16 to February 15, 1954, as Philippine Tourist Month. Two international travel conferences will be held in Manila,—the Asian and Far Eastern Travel Commission (January 25-27) and the Pacific Area Travel Association (January 27-February 1.) The President receives the members of the Code Commission, accompanied by Under-Secretary of Justice Jesus Barrera, who present him with copies of the new proposed Code of Commerce; members of the Commission who called are Jorge Bocobo, Chairman, and Messrs. Pedro Y. Hagan, Francisco Capistrano, and Carmelino Alvendia. The President announces that machinery for the construction of prefabricated school houses is being readied for shipment to Palawan and Agusan after a discussion of his plans with Nicanor M. Bautista, architect, who has suggested a design; the proposed buildings will be of wood, with galvanized-iron roof, built 4 feet above the ground and 12 feet high, and with a floor-area of 1,357 square feet. The President gives a beer party for men of the U.S.S. Salisbury Sound, who donated some 90 gallons of blood (valued at almost P300,000). Malacanang announces that the President’s order to ease unem ployment by settling the unemployed in Mindanao is being carried out by the National Rehabilitation and Resettlement Project (NRRP) of which Bernard Gebermann, Malacanang technical assistant, has been designated the head; Benjamin Gaston, acting Manager of LASE DECO and member of the committee, has flown to Cotabato to prepare the ground; the Social Welfare Administration will cooperate; Gabermann announces that only those who want to farm should apply; others are referred to the National Employment Service. Malacanang announces the creation by the President of the Peace and Amelioration Commission under Executive Order No. 7, signed January 7, with Manuel Elizalde as Chairman and W. C. Palmer, III, as Vice-Chairman and Treasurer, and a number of other private persons as members; unexpended balances of the Peace Fund and all properties end records of the Peace Fund Campaign Commission created under a 1950 executive'order and transferred to the Department of National Defense in 1953, will be transferred to the new Commission, and these funds and funds to be raised by it will be used for the purchase of loose fire-arms and for other purposes connected with the peace campaign. Vice-President Carlos P. Garcia, concurrently Secretary of Foreign Affairs, issues a statement that the Foreign Service Act contains defects which should be corrected and that the new Administration should be given the opportunity to select foreign-service officials in its con fidence, but that the Department will not be used as a “dumping ground for political proteges” as reported in sections of the press. Jan. 23 — The President directs the Agricultural Cooperative and Credit Financing Administration to advance loans of P7.20 a cavan of palay to producers in Central Luzon and at any point of embarcation in Mindanao; earlier, in inducting former Governor Juan O. Chioco of Nueva Ecija as acting Chairman of the NARIC board of directors, he directed him to take up his duties with a view to liquidating the corporation, a new organization being planned to take its place. Press Secretary J. V. Cruz corrects the report that 19 hectares of the fish-ponds on the Tambobong Estate will be filled to provide addi tional lands for distribution to tenants, stating this is only one of several measures being studied. His office stormed by 1000 would-be la nd-settlers, Bernard Ga bermann, head of the NRRP, states that he will observe the rule of "first come, first served”. January 25 — The President spends the morning on the yacht Pagasa, and in the afternoon delivers his State of the Nation message before a joint session of the Senate and House of the Third Congress of of the Philippines; earlier, Eulogio Rodriguez was elected President of the Senate and Jose B. Laurel, Jr., Speaker of the House. The President spoke for 30 minutes and from the Congress session hall returned to the Pagasa. (See the editorials in this issue of the Journal.) ViceJ’resident and Foreign Secretary Garcia, addressing the meet ing of the Asian and Far Eastern Travel Commission, states that— “under the policy of the new administration of President Ramon Magsaysay, we are going to throw wide open the gates of our country to bona fide world tourists and travelers by making their entrance most easy, most simple, and most direct.” Jan. 26 — The President issues Executive Ordtr No. 8, prohibiting the slaughtering of carabaos for a period of one year, beginning Ja nuary 31. The President states that Republic Act No. 11, approved September 2, 1946, prohibits the slaughtering of male and female cara baos, horses, mares, and cows, unless authorized by the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources; he states that he has been informed by the Director of Animal Industry, Manuel G. Sumulong, that a total of 156,216 carabaos were slaughtered from 1947 to 1953 in Manila and suburbs, and that 247,895 were slaughtered in the provinces during the same period; last year alone, 82,401 carabaos were slaughtered in Manila and suburbs and the provinces; most of these, he said, were still fit for work, and the indiscriminate slaughtering has resulted in a scarcity of animals and a rise in the price of carabaos to such an extent (up to P400) that poor barrio farmers can not afford to buy animals for their farm work. The President visits the National Mental Hospital, formerly the National Psychopathic Hospital, to check on reports of the shortage of the water-supply, and finding these correct, instructs Manager Manuel Manosa, of the Metropolitan Water District, to provide an adequate water-supply and also a sewer-system within 10 days, telling him to hire extra labor and work night and day, if necessary; the President Enrique T. Virata Manuel I. Felizardo Juan Salcedo, Jr., Arcadio G. Matela Horacio de la Costa Pilar Hidalgo-Lim Luis P. Torres Eduardo Romualdez Member, Adv. Bd., Institute of Science and Technology 16 Member, Adv. Bd., Institute of Science and Technology ” Chairman, Adv. Bd., Institute of Science and Technology ” Member, Board of Governors, ACCFA 18 Member, Board of Pardons and Member, Board of Pardons and Member, Board of Pardons and Chairman, Board of Governors, (b) Designated in acting capacities: Jaime Ferrer Eugenio Reyes Bienvenido Castillo Manuel Q. Tin\o Benjamin Gaston Rafael Estrada Teofilo B. Rivera Salvador T. Villa Terry M. Adevoso Raoul H. Veloso Vicente Tiongson Federico Borromeo Oscar J. Arellano Alfredo M. Velayo Member, Board of Directors, LASEDECO Member, Board of Directors, LASEDECO Member, Board of Directors, LASEDECO Member, Board of Directors, LASEDECO Chairman, Board of Directors, LASEDECO Member, Philippine Veterans Member, Philippine Veterans Member, Board of Directors, MRR Co. Member Board of Directors, PCSO Member, Board of Directors, PCSO Chairman, Board of Liquidators Member, Board of Directors, Manila Hotel Co. Member, Board of Directors, Manila Hotel Co. Member, Board of Directors, Manila Hotel Co. 11 14 Lauro G. Marquez Ramon del Rosario Jose Castillo, Jr. Hermogenes Dimaguiba Manuel Nieto, Jr. Mariano Marfori Esteban Mayo Jose Giron Manuel Dindo Gonzalez Eugenio Santos Bernard Gaberman Placido Mapa Victor Buencamino Felix de la Costa Wenceslao Pascual Wenceslao Pascual Isidro Retizos Filemon C. Rodriguez Sergio Ortiz Luis Sergio Ortiz Luis Jaime Ferrer Member, Board of Directors, Manila Hotel Co. Chairman, Board of Directors, Manila Hotel Co. Member, Board of Directors, PRISCO Member, Board of Directors, PRISCO Chairman, Games and Amuse ments Board Member, Games and Amusements Member, Games and Amusements Member, Board of Directors, PCSO Chairman, Board of Directors, PCSO of Directors, of Directors, of Directors, Member, Board of Directors, PCSO Member, Board NARIC Member, Board NARIC Member, Board NARIC Chairman, Board of Directors, NARIC Chairman, Food Commission ... Member, Board of Directors, MWD Member, Board of Directors, PHHC Coordinator of United States Aid and the Philippine Counterpart Member, Board PRISCO Member, Board NARIC Member, Board PRISCO of of of Directors, Directors, III. Chairmen and Members of Boards of Examiners 57 also finds the electric wiring defective and dangerous and ordered im mediate repairs. The President next visits the Bureau of Animal In dustry compound in Pandacan and then proceeds to Fort William Mc Kinley where he inspects the carabaos impounded there by the Army from intercepted vessels. Executive Secretary Ruiz Castro announces that all job-seekers are asked to register with the National Employment Service of the Bureau of Labor, to which, he states, all government offices, including the government corporations, should communicate from time to time the vacancies open, especially for work in the lower brackets. Gabermann announces that his office is ready to endorse to the social Welfare Administration for processing the first 300 out of 2,000 persons who have applied for resettlement. Jan. 27 — The President visits Morong, Bataan, to check on reports of the activity of dissidents there. The President instructs Commodore Jose V. Francisco, with him on the Pagasa, to order any Navy ships returning to Manila to stop at Dadiangas, Cotabato, to pick up any available potatoes there and bring them to Manila free of charge, Lasedeco Manager Gaston having reported that tons of them are going to waste in the province. Jan. 28 — The President states he means to stand firm on his order against the slaughtering of carabaos because the national interest demands this. Critics of the measure claim that 75% of the meat sold in Manila markets is carabao-meat, which is cheaper than beef, and that the price of beef has already begun to leap upward. The President states that complaint against his ban does not take into account the vital need of the country for work animals to increase agricultural production; he states he will create a committee to be composed of representatives of the Central Bank, the Bureau of Animal Industry, and the Meat Vendors’ Association and other groups to study the ques tion of increasing meat imports. The President states he has asked Vice-President Garcia and congressional leaders to study the controversial T-V tower case, amid reports that the tower is being offered for sale for Pl,500,000; he states that unless Judge Antonio Quirino’s claim to the tower is definitely established, the Armed Forces will take it over and set it up in Zam boanga to aid weather-observation work. It is said that the tower was omitted inadvertently from the list of articles turned over by the United States Government to the Philippines and that ownership still remains with the former. Malacanang releases a statement on the financial assets and liabil ities of Vice-President and Mrs. Carlos P. Garcia, Secretary of Health and Mrs. Paulino J. Garcia, Assistant Executive Secretary and Mrs. Mariano Yenko, Jr., and Under-Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Mrs. Leon Ma. Guerrero, the net worth amounting respectively to P58.000, P86.000, P18.000, and P88.000. Jan. 29 — The President and Philippine Army and Navy heads at a conference .in Baguio agree to reactivate the National Security Council and to propose a defense budget of P172,000,000, or P17.000,000 over the current budget, including increases for the Air Force, the Navy, the training program, and a P2,000,000 increase for EDCOR. The NSC, created by law, has been dormant for some time; it is the highest defense advisory body and is composed of the President as Chairman, the Vice-President, members of the Cabinet, the presiding officers of the Senate and House, the Chief of Staff, and 6 other mem bers appointed by the President, including the chairmen of the House and Senate defense committees. Jan. 30 — The President, in Baguio, inducts Col. Leoncio Tan as acting Director of the National Bureau of Investigation, from which position Major Crisol was removed last night following an exchange of charges between him and Maj. Santiago Tan (no relative), of the Presidential Complaints and Action Commission, in the revival of a case allegedly invclvig him and a Chinese, Major Crisol also charging Executive Secretary Castro with having interfered with the investiga tion. The President has instructed General Vergas and Under-Secre tary of Justice Barrera to determine whether Castro’s “intervention was cooperative or obstructive in nature.” Castro states Crisol’s charge against him is malicious and distorted and that he only advised Crisol against hasty action with respect to Major Tan based on testimony of two Chinese, whom he knew from past personal experience to be “of dubious character and unreliable.” The President returns from a 4-day trip to Bataan, Zambales, La Union, and the Mountain Province. The President, following reports that sugar cane fields have been fired at Porac,* Pampanga, in the strikes in the Tabacalera sugar central and several estates there, instructs General Vargas to take measures against arson and other acts of vandalism and to investigate whether these strikes have “any subversive undertones”; he instructs Under secretary Pelayo to find out whether the strikes are being instigated by unscrupulous labor leaders. He also instructs Brig. Gen. Alfonso Are llano, First Military Area commander, to invite landowners around San Luis, Pampanga, to a conference to work out some feasible way for the Government to acquire the 3,200-hectare area, being reclaimed there by the Army, for subdivision among the tenants, possibly "swap ping” their holdings for public lands elsewhere in the Philippines. Jan. 31 — The President states he will “exchange views” tomorrow with U. S. Secretary of the Army Robert T. Stevens and General John E. Hill, commander of the United Nations Forces in Korea, regarding the United States military assistance program and the United States military installations in the Philippines. The President confers with Under-Secretary of Labor Pelayo who reports on the amicable settlement of the strike in the Tarlac sugar central, but nevertheless asks him to proceed to Tarlac to investigate reports that labor unions of other plantations are poised to strike. The President receives the members of the Board of Directors of the Philippine National Bank who inform him they will elect Jose Paez, currently Chairman of the Board, as acting President, and the President congratulates them on their choice. Banking and Finance By I. G. Spering Sub-Manager The National City Bank of New York COMPARATIVE statement of condition of the Central Bank : As of As of As of As of P793.629 P892.584 P884.707 P900.036 ASSETS Dec. 31, 1949 Oct. 30, 1953 Nov. 31, Dec. 29, 1953 1953 International Reserve............. P460.689 P462.154 P449.011 P460.531 Contribution to International Monetary Fund.................... 30,000 30,000 30,000 30,000 Account to Secure Coinage •.. 113,306 106,940 106,941 106,940 Loans and Advances............... 77,047 16,180 16,767 27,334 Trust Account-Securities Sta bilization Fund...................... — — — — Domestic Securities.................. 92,197 228,125 227,696 230,518 Other Assets............................... 20,390 49,185 54,292 44,713 P793.629 P892.584 P884.707 P900.036 LIABILITIES Currency —Notes..................... P555.576 P574.786 P586.080 P619.305 Coins...................... 74,384 85,260 84,931 84,804 Demand Deposits-Pesos.... 117,682 181,958 169,896 151,716 Securities Stabilization Fund.. 2,000 10,068 5,035 5,076 Due to International Mone tary Fund............................... 22,498 496 496 496 Due to International Bank for Reconstruction fis De velopment ............................... 2,389 2,376 2,377 2,377 Other Liabilities........................ 2,636 6,426 3,686 2,982 Deferred Credits........................ — 3,006 3,590 607 Capital.......................................... 10,000 10,000 10,000 10,000 Undivided Profits..................... 6,464 8,075 8,483 12,540 Surplus.......................................... 10,133 10,133 10,133 The international reserves as of December 29, 1953, were as follows: Central Bank International Reserves.................... 5230,265,850.78 Japan Open Account (due from)............................ 10,142,009.70 Net FX Holdings Other Banks............................... 55,595,497.63 5296,003,358.11 This is an increase of approximately $1,700,000 from November 30, 1953. Currency and coins issued totalled P671,011,446.01. The import allocations have been released for the first semester based on the last semester of 1953, with certain adjustments to offset certain unintentional penalties imposed in the last semester of 1953, plus ex-quota alloca tions for other than non-recurring items. Manila Stock Market By Ji. J. Ortigas Hall, Picornell, Ortigas & Co. IN the base-metal group the principal feature was the strength of Lepanto Consolidated Mines, which advanced 5 points. Consolidated Mines continued firm, while Acoje Mining Company and Philippine Iron Mines, Inc., were under pressure. The gold-share market has been quiet, and fluctuations have been narrow since our last review. The price of gold in the local free market declined, closing today approxi mately at P101 per fine ounce as compared to P105 last month. 58