Press Release
November 25, 2008

TRANSCRIPT OF SENATOR RICHARD J. GORDON'S PRESS BRIEFING AFTER BOLANTE HEARING

Q: on citing Bolante for contempt

RJG:
  Yes, there has been a motion to cite Mr. Bolante in contempt because of his evasiveness and what appears to some members of the committee as outright lying. And so there was a motion filed by Sen. Lacson and we have to dispose of that motion by calling a meeting perhaps before the session this afternoon after which we will issue the corresponding order should we decide that he would be arrested and placed in the custody of the Senate right here in the premises of the Senate or wherever we decide to bring him in.

RJG:  Well that would appear to be the case until he decides to be more cooperative with the Senate. Because matters like things that he cannot remember, there's a lot of in(?) of lying and evasiveness and that's why this has been done.

RJG: That will have to a matter that the committee would decide on, up to how long or should it be condition upon his telling the truth

Q. Bolante on CA for habeas corpus case

 
RJG:  Yes, and this is a subsisting case that has been filed principally because he has not been placed under the custody of the Senate brought about by the first hearing in the 13th Congress. Now, the supervening event now will have to be if he is ordered arrested then they would have to file another writ of habeas corpus for the contempt proceeding on this occasion.

Q. So he cannot appear in the CA this Friday? RJG: He can appear if he wants to. If we will be ordered to produce, the Supreme Court

Is a co-equal branch of government of this country, we will bring him over there.

Q: What if complains of health problems

RJG:  He seemed very, very healthy today and I made a point to tell him that after he arrived here in a stretcher and I came down here, he did not seem to be in pain or anything like that. He lasted 8 hours and again today he seemed to be in great shape.

Q: You won't buy it

RJG:  We'll always consider the health of the person involved and we can have a doctor check him out right away. We did that with the former PCGG chairman

Q: Bolante insists there are no irregularities, are you buying that RJG: that's his privilege

RJG:  Well, again like I said, there has been a committee decision here in the 13th Congress. I thought that was a very good decision. And nothing has changed my mind that the decision was wrong. It's still a very good decision from what I've read.

Q: Should Bolante be indicted

RJG:  Yes, Bolante should be indicted and all the other people involved should be indicted. It's a very comprehensive decision, di ba, lahat kasama doon e, umakyat sa taas, bumaba sa baba so dapat talaga magpaliwanag lahat ng kinauukulan at bigyan ng karampatang kaso.

Q:  What's the Significance of Oblena's admission

RJG:  Well, that's very, very damaging kung tinawagan siya, of course that's by phone. May mga defenses jan sina Bolante kung saka-sakali. First defense nya is denial, kaya para makasigyuro ako, I don't want the committee to be accused of being unfair, I cannot take the word of that gentleman right away because he was very hesitant and evasive. So I ordered all records be taken para malaman natin kung natawagan talaga sila because dini-deny nung isa. That's the only fair thing to do. To check the records. But I'm sure at next Friday's meeting, kung lahat ng mga director na hindi dumating ngayon, may sasabihing ganyan, that will really be very bad for him because talagang meron nang testigo ngayon na siya ang nagsasabi kung sino ang bibigyan. So that would be extremely damaging and certainly pagharap nya sa Ombudsman talagang may testigo na.

Q:  Bakit parang evasive

RJG:  I was surprised. Remember I said amazing because the lawyers told them to stop and read the note "tell the truth." And these are lawyers retained by Sec. Arthur Yap. Ano ba ito, ihuhulog na ba si Bolante. So I want to be sure na hindi ganun ang sitwasyon.

Q: Naestablish ba na ginamti sa 2004 yung pera

RJG:  If u were listening earlier I said napaka-unique yung situation niya dahil lumabas nung panahon ng halalan at pagkatapos ng halalan, nag-retire kayo at pareho kayong napunta sa GSIS, yung isa P200.000 a month ang sweldo may per diems pa, yung isa naman P76,000. So parang may reward.

Q:  Are you calling the AMLC

RJG:  Yes, we're calling the AMLC people because I cannot use any evidence. I have some AMLC documents but we didn't want to do it here without the AMLC. Somebody has got to attest to the veracity of the report. Obviously, there are 23 deposits, 23 bank accounts. Very evasive. Sinabi nya apat lang, 2 daw patay na tapos biglang lumabas may 23 pa. Talagang makikita mo evasive. Hindi niya matandaan yung P200T na sweldo nya, P200T yun hindi mo ba matatandaan yun? Yung mga ganoon, ini-evade nya na. Kaya sya napunta dun dahil may kinakapitan siyang malakas kaya sya napunta dun. Nasundan pa ng another one na yung kanyang assistant napunta din sa GSIS na maganda ang sweldo. Medyo damaging yun.

RJG:  Sa AMLC, may isang 178-million yung LIVE CORE. I'm checking that with the DFA. Nabuko siya dun sa GSIS, pinacheck ko kaagad sa GSIS yung sweldo. Pinapacheck ko sa DFA, medyo bumagal lang pagdating sa DFA. Kung talagang may sulat. In fact, isusunod ko sana yung sa telepono, kung nawala talaga. Pero dapat talaga kung nawala yun, dapat inireport na kaagad and saka syempre for somebody like him who is sick "kuno." If you are sick, Kailangan ko nga passport baka dalhin ako sa abroad, kaya nyang magpagamot abroad. Yun ang di ko mapaniwalaan na hindi siya agad kumuha ng panibagong passport.

Q: What's the significance of his trip to Switzerland

RJG:  Rotarian yan, ang Rotarian na sinalihan (?) nya international siya He goes there, going to Switzerland to make a deposit. I go there 2x a year as red cross governor, but I don't think that is pertinent at the moment. But it can be if the deposits are seen to have been withdrawn in mass, baka may pinuntahan siya doon talaga. Hindi naman nya pwedeng dalhin lahat yung perang yun kaagad baka madagdagan pa siya ng dela paz.

Q:  Do you think you can get 9 votes to detain him

RJG: I think so.

Q:  Will he be brought back

RJG: He'll be brought back. You cannot detain him one second unless you have a ground for detention

Q:  5 senators all for contempt?

RJG:  I cannot speak for them, they'd have to speak for themselves. I have repeatedly admonished him to speak directly and not to be evasive. I will wait for my colleagues to make their own minds, I don't want to influence him. You will recall that I kept repeating to him, wag kang evasive. I thought I was pretty fair with him but firm and I thought that he got the impression but unfortunately the others were very unhappy.

Q:  Zubiri inhibited but he is for it, is he counted

RJG:  He inhibited ba? He cannot participate. To have the justification for the warrant of arrest, you have to have participated in the hearings. You should see how the witness comported himself. You cannot just do it arbitrarily. Karamihan naman ng mga kasama namin e nanonood sa tv yan. Yung mga minority yata pinakiramdaman muna nila kung talagang administration senador talaga ako

Q:  Is monitoring equal to being present in the hearing

RJG:  No but when certainly when u watch, sometimes it is even better to watch on television kasi makikita mo talaga kasi kino-close and there are no distractions. In this electronic world, I think it's good enough.

Q:  Bolante implicated Sec. Yap. Would you invite him?

RJG: Wala pa eh. There's no ground to invite Yap. You see, that's why I asked him all those questions, yung functions ng undersecretary. Hindi nya ginawa lahat yun eh. Wala naman sya tinuturo, hindi sya nagko-coordinate. Sa kanya naman bumagsak lahat eh. Ngayon kung si Yap may makita tayo na nag-utos sya, dadalhin natin dito.

Q:  Na-establish ba na si PGMA ulit yung nag-appoint kay Bolante sa GSIS?

RJG: Hindi ba ang sinabi ko, panahon ng eleksyon to. Ang humahawak ikaw, napakalakas mo. Nakakakuha ka ng SARO, nakakakuha ka ng NCA on the same day. At 40% ang nakuha mo. Mabigat yun. Tapos nabigyan ka ng hanggang P5 million pwede kang pumirma. Pagkatapos nung matapos ang halalan, na-appoint ka sa GSIS, P200,000 a month. Tinatago nya pa nga yan eh. Pagkatapos yung kasama nya na-appoint din, vice president. Yun ang mga golden parachute.

Q:  So may link talaga?

RJG:  This is a political season. Yung political season na yan lahat yan from every president that I can remember, I can remember stories of some presidents who are supposed to be up and out. I can remember cases when my grandmother tell me ang mga maleta punong puno ng pera at that time. Pag panahon ng eleksyon ginagawa talaga yan ng mga yan. That doesn't make it right pero pag nahuli ka dapat parusahan ka. That's what happened here.

Q:  Sa House may nag-file na ng resolution sa term extension ni PGMA.

RJG: Term extension? Like Mr. Marcos who is my fraternity brother, I voted to ban Mr. Marcos from running. I was under terrific pressure in the Constitutional Convention, I was 26 at that time. I'll tell you, I voted to ban him. Pinatawag ako nyan 2 beses. Pinasundo ako kay Speaker Villareal. Maraming kwento dyan. But I voted to ban because that is what the law says. Kaya kung gusto ma-extend dapat pag-usapan natin ngayon para maging issue sa halalan sa 2010.. Pwedeng exempt silang lahat na kung tatakbo ka ng 2010, you can have two terms, you're allowed. Kasi kung ngayon, you cannot profit from a law that you have created in your term. Kaya mas gusto ko malinaw sa tao, napaguusapan kung ano magiging issue sa Con-con para bago tayo bumoto sa Con-con. Lahat naman pinagdududahan lahat ng presidente pag uupo. I am in favor of two terms. But not now. I'm against it now.

Q:  Masasabit ba si FG?

RJG:  Pag sinabi nyong sabit, kailangan malinaw na may sabit talaga. Kailangan may magsasabi na nag-order si ganito, may testigo, may papel, may sulat. Pag circumstantial evidence, pwede pa rin, pero wala eh. Kaibigan nya si Bolante. Wala ka pang testigo na inutusan nya. Bolante would just say, ako ang gumawa nyan, ako ang humingi nyan. Syempre maluwag sa kanya, kaya ang tatamaan dito lahat sila eh. Again, hindi nila ginawa yung dapat na pag-iingat sa pera ng bayan, para lang magamit sa panahon ng halalan.

Q:  So, hindi malinaw yung link?

RJG: Sometimes, perception is more cruel than reality. In fact most of the time, perception is more cruel than reality.

Q:  Pero may link ba kay PGMA?

RJG: The link is, this guy is obviously very strong. Tignan nyo, nakakapaglabas ng pera ng ganun, tapos ma-a-appoint sa GSIS, P200,000. Di ko nga alam na ganyan pala kalaki ang sweldo dyan.

Q:  Do you think may order si PGMA para ilabas yung pera nay un sa fertilizer fund?

RJG: Like I said, hindi nyo ba napapansin na pagdating ng eleksyon, maraming sumisimple dun sa ban ng public works. Maraming pera palagi pag malapit na ang eleksyon, ginagamit ang eleksyon not in the best possible manner but nonetheless ginagamit para maimpluwensyahan ang mga congressman, mga governor, mga mayor, at para makakuha rin ng konting fund para magamit sa kampanya.

Q: Cleared yung first couple?

RJG: No, I'm not clearing anybody. Hindi pa naman tapos eh. Sometimes, you can get away with many things, but in the end, you will lose.

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