Office of the Historian

365. Information Memorandum From the President’s Special Assistant (Rostow) to President Johnson1

Washington, April 30, 1968.

SUBJECT

  • Meeting with Governor G. Mennen Williams, May 1—5:30 p.m.2

Governor Williams is in town in connection with his appointment as Ambassador to the Philippines. He is appearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the morning Friday, May 3.

Attached is a Talking Paper prepared for you by the Department of State for your meeting with Governor Williams.3 In brief, it suggests that you stress:

1.
the necessity for the Philippines maintaining their PHILCAG force in South Vietnam.
2.
the importance of the Philippine Government taking a more liberal approach to foreign investment, both in their own interest and as a necessary step to a successful re-negotiation of our current economic relations agreement with them (Laurel-Langley).
3.
our intention of keeping our AID programs to the Philippines at a relatively modest level (1968 MAP program is $21 million and the 1968 AID program is about $20 million).
4.
our concern at the continuing lack of law and order in the Philippines and its inhibiting effect on the confidence of the mass of the people in the ability of the Philippines to meet its problems through existing domestic political structure.

Walt
  1. Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Country File, Philippines, Vol. IV, Memos, 8/67–11/68 [1 of 2]. No classification marking. A note on the memorandum indicates that the President saw it.↩
  2. The President met with Williams very briefly on May 1 from 5:43 to 5:45 p.m. (Ibid., President’s Daily Diary) No other record of their short conversation has been found.↩
  3. Undated; not printed.↩