The rumor is that Pirovano is out. The Elizaldes are in Muntinglupa, charged with helping the guerrillas using Buttenbruch as messenger.

Just finished reading James A. Scherer's "Japan Defies the World." The book condemns the militarists and practically exonerates the common people.

The Japanese badly need cars all of a sudden. Hundreds of decrepit taxis are being brought back to life — mechanics are getting P100 to recondition them. Trucks are being taken; the owners are getting paper receipts instead of cash. Two days ago most banks ran out of five and ten Peso bills. One fellow had to take P28,000 in one-Peso bills.

The price of rice depends on how far it is from the source: P350 a sack in Batangas, P250 in Manila, P180 fifty kilometers north, and it begins to drop quickly from there. The rice ban is not effective — you can bring some in if you have the necessary pass ... er, money. The Constabulary nonchalantly asks for bribes.

Signs of The Invasion: First came the banning of travel between Britain and Ireland; then a warning that public railroad services may be cut to transport troops; the third step is in today's Tribune: "Britain clears coastal strip" — 600 miles of coastline 10 miles deep.