The Rotary Balita no. 639 (February 2, 1950).

This meeting on this all-important subject of the day brought in the largest Rotary audience that your recorder has ever seen in the last three (3) years. Occupying the main dining room, the crowd overflowed into the corridors, all awaiting to hear Rotary's "Let your hair down" session on the Import and Exchange Control situation. Ramon Araneta, Chairman of Vocational Services Committee of Rotary, presided at this meeting. Special guests for the day were Governor Miguel Cuaderno of the Central Bank and our own Balmy Balmaceda in his capacity as Chairman of the Import Control Board. Dr. Rufino Luna, Congressman J. J. Roy and Congressman Veloso were also present in view of their active participation and interest in this current problem. Ramon Araneta made the introductory speech which was a brilliant exposé of some background information starting from the base of the Bell Trade Act in Manila to the promotion of local industries, to the present day of Import and Exchange Control. He made very concrete suggestions to the Control Board, which were unanimously approved by Rotary's Import Control Committee. After the introductory speech, Governor Cuaderno stood up to state the position of the Central Bank in connection with Ramon Araneta's remarks and took the occasion to take issue with the American Chamber's Journal, which he said was making bad publicity in the United States. Balmy Balmaceda also took occasion to state the difficulties that beset the Import Control organization, namely: the biggest mistake was to appoint three (3) men to run an organization when these three (3) men would not work together causing chaos and confusion. He said that everybody including the Import Control Body was caught by surprise increasing the work but making no provision for the increase of personnel or facilities in order to handle this unexpected volume of work. He said everything humanly possible is being done and that the solution is very near at hand. A list of fourteen (14) questions affecting both Import and Exchange Control were profounded by the committee and each of them were answered to the satisfaction of the members by either Secretary Balmaceda or Governor Cuaderno.