Housing worries continue. The Japanese are obviously undermining Filipinos and other house-renters by willingly paying twice the pre-war price; yet there are still not enough houses for the officers. People are resisting, arguing, threatening to fight — even if they can't win.

Speaking of profiteering on rice, an internal revenue agent told me the books of a Japanese firm show they bought 100 sacks of rice at P270 each. He admitted the staff of his department gets daily rations of 300 grams of rice. So the laborers and some government members get it, but not the public.

Today a Chinese woman was arrested for doing what everyone does: paying P12 a kilo for beef when the fixed price is P7. A Filipino could probably bribe or argue his way out; the Chinese lady couldn't — and was arrested so that the policeman could fulfil his quota. That's why third party nationals get the blame for racketeering and profiteering.

A friend said his neighbor (the only one with a beef ration card we've heard about) bought her ration of 1/2 kilo for P3 — it was all bones and practically inedible. Close by, on the other hand, she saw good meat selling for P15.

Tribune: All about Burma and three miles from Imphal.

"Medicines now available at low prices" — at the PDMDA in Dasmariñas. Go there and you'll find a notice saying the Tribune erred and you need to go to the regular drug stores for the medicines. The drug stores, of course, know nothing about it.

"City bus service may be stopped." Buses are stopping by themselves due to battery failure, flat tires, engine failure, lack of spare parts....

"Alcohol from camote under test" — also to make bread and biscuits. "If the experiments are successful, the excess camote production will find new uses." What excess — they had to stop the ration because there wasn't enough.

Commentator, regarding the way the Luftwaffe suddenly began to bomb London, says the enemy will similarly be stricken with terror "when the Imperial Air Force in the South Pacific breaks its strange silence." It does seem that after Hollandia, the Japanese air force has gone off the air.