Transcript of Sen. Zubiri's press conference-interview

Q: Kamusta na daw kayo sabi ni BF?

SJMZ: (laughs) Regards, regards. I follow all traffic rules para hindi ako mahuli ng MMDA (laughs).

Q: Sa Quirino yata sir bawal na hawi

SJMZ: Wala akong wang-wang, wala akong special plate. Wala akong backup. Hindi na ako dadaan sa yellow lane iyon lang kasi baka matigil kami patay tayo diyan.

Q: Sir charter change po tayo

SJMZ: Well, unang-una wala po sa priority ang charter change sa Senado itong darating na pitong lingo na lang naiiwan, 21 session days wala na po tayong panahon para sa usaping cha-cha. Ang priority po natin ang socio-economic agenda ni Senate President Enrile. Iyan po iyong EPIRA amendments para bumababa iyong presyo ng kuryente, iyong CARP amendments and several other economic measures. So wala talaga sa aming usapin na iyon ang charter change. Now it's up to the House of Representatives kung gusto po nilang ihabol pa itong agenda nila but as far as the senators are concerned we are solidly behind the socio-economic agenda of the Senate and of course the elections sa 2010. Hindi na po natin maititigil iyan by June election mode na, election fever na ang ating bansa kaya my suggestion to the congressmen tigilan na muna nila ang usaping cha-cha at magtrabaho na muna tayo. At we challenge them na kung anong maipasa nila sa Kongreso basta para sa kabutihan ng ating bansa, ipapasa din po namin iyan sa Senado basta may counterpart measure dito.

Q: Walang party stand ang Lakas sa Cha-cha?

SJMZ: Hindi ko masasabing party stand pero marami din sa aming mga kasamahan na ayaw sa charter change nandiyan si dating Pangulong Fidel V. Ramos, kasama din po diyan ang mga ibat-ibang congressmen. Kasama po namin sina Edcel Lagman even Art Defensor ay nagsasabing wala na pong panahon at hindi dapat nilang gawing solo ang charter change na hindi kasama ang senador. Meron din mga Cabinet members, we've heard statements from Gabby Claudio na nagsasabi na right now that is not the priority agenda of the president. So, marami po sa aming mga kasamahan sa Lakas ay hindi sang-ayon sa Charter Change sa darating na iilang buwan kasi kaunti na lang ang panahon na naiiwan. Let's concentrate on bills na makakatulong sa ating mga kababayan. Lalo na ngayon na meron global economic crisis. I think now is not the time. Imagine we have 7 weeks, 21 session days before sine die kailan pa natin - kung magkakaroon nga sila ng amendments to the constitution through a constituent assembly kung solo flight sila lalaban pa iyan sa Supreme Court. Pagdating sa Supreme Court may mga 2-3 buwan pa iyan idi-discuss ng Supreme Court bago sila maglalabas ng resolution after which if they sat no then moot and academic sayang yun panahon din ba? If they say there will still be no time to conduct a referendum dahil nga November 30 will be the last day of filing of candidacies for all elected officials. So election mode na. Hindi papayag ang taong bayan na postpone muna ang election para pag-usapan muna natin ang charter change. Personally, this is a personal stand malaking gulo po iyan. And kung may magalit sa akin sa aking partido or sa administrasyon sa pagsasalita ko nito I'm just telling them the truth. The truth hurts but as a friend to the administration I must tell them na magagalit ang taong bayan sa plano nila.

Q: Hindi ba puwedeng the President should do something to stop her allies at the House?

SJMZ: The President naman is sensitive to the public pulse. Kung itutuloy po ng mga kaalyado niya sa House of Representatives sigurado po magkakaroon ng mass protest, sigurado magkakaroon ng pagkilos ang ibat-ibang anti-administration groups pagka-ganun it will be too late sa akin pananaw. Dapat maaga pa lang sabihan na ng president sila na huwag na muna ninyong guluhin ang aking administrasyon kasi maraming sumisipsip kay maam pero sa tingin ko mali pong pagsisipsip iyon. Dahil kung magkakagulo lang paano na ang legacy ng ating pangulo pagdating ng 2010? ang maaalala lang nila iyong mga rallies bago magka-eleksyon at baka maging kulelat pa iyong mga kandidato ng administrasyon. So, I suggest na think these twice, thrice, ten times bago nila gawin. At alam po ni Speaker Nogi iyan at sinabihan ko na po si Speaker Nogi in our last meeting na magingat siya diyan dahil baka siya ay masunog at masunog po iyong House of Representatives.

Q: Pero ang gumagalaw Sir is mismong anak ng Presidente?

SJMZ: Well no comment tayo diyan (laughs). Ikaw naman birthday ko ngayon sabi ko be gentle ikaw talaga. Basta as far as the Senate is concerned it's not the priority. We've signed the resolution 23 senators unanimous that the House cannot do it alone kailangan kasama po ang Senado sa paggawa or pagconstitute ng isang asembliya para amyendahan ang konstitusyon. Without any participation wala po silang magagawa that's what I believe in, that's what we believe in. That is basic constitutional law in most legal classes.

Q: Iyong dagdag na 100 sa kamara gusto niyong mag-react?

SJMZ: Iyong general bill na pin-file ni Sen. Enrile kailangan linawin natin mabuti. Hindi po ibig sabihin na kapag na-approve natin iyong dagdag 100-seats kaagad-agad meron ng 100 congressmen na magte-take oath hindi po totoo iyan. As a matter of fact dadaan pa po sa proseso iyan. You have to file the bill for first reading, tapos hearing sa House of Representatives, ipapasa pa ng House of Representatives, dadaan pa sa senador iyan katulad ng nangyari dun sa CamSur, CamNorte at Cavite. But right now may prohibition kasi under the constitution. Under the constitution it says the of House of Representatives will only have 250 seats unless otherwise provided by law, so right now meron yatang 240-seats so ang naiiwan na lang po is about 10-congressional seat which are already reserve for party-list kasi ang nakalagay po doon 20-percent of Congress will have a party-list representation. So, ibig sabihin tigil na po kung hindi po tayo gagawa ng general law, tigil na po ang paggawa ng congressional district. Unfair naman po iyan for example sa Quezon City, Novaliches alone is 600,000 puwede na pong dalawang distrito ang Novaliches, ang Cavite is 3-million so puwede na rin pong six congressional districts ang Cavite ngayon po ay tatlong lamang ang districts ng Cavite. So unfair din iyan sa ating mga kababayan, so hindi naman automatic magkakaroon ng 100 seats. We guarantee you that it is only a general law but it will still have to go through a fine tooth comb, butas ng karayon iyong pagbigay po ng additional districts. For example iyong requirement sa population dadaan pa iyan sa DILG requirement, Local Government Code, so hindi basta-basta itong pagupo ng mga congressman na ito. You know that 100 additional seats will probably be field up in about could be in about 20 years. So within 20 years hindi naman ibig sabihin within this year or next congress puwedeng 20 years pa iyan mapupuno by that time we'll be probably over 100 million maybe 110 million tamang-tama lang naman iyon. Iyong France nga po na ang population ng France ay kasinglaki ng population ng Pilipinas they have 400 members in their national assembly. 400 ang members ng kanilang parliament in a way that is direct representation at the same time I guarantee you na hindi sila basta-basta uupo sila kaagad diyan na hindi dadaan sa individual legislation.

Q: Hindi niyo na kailangan ng Cha-cha for that?

SJMZ: No, no kasi under the constitution it says unless otherwise ang increase by law. Kasi they foresee the time na baka lumaki ang population ng bansa.

Q: Sir iyong Pork Barrel paano niyo?

SJMZ: Well of course depende din iyan sa discretion ng executive iyong pork barrel kasi hindi naman lahat ng congressmen nakakatanggap ng pork barrel it is a executive discretion although nailalagay po iyan sa batas or sa General Appropriations Act but its still not automatically funded by the executive department. So, hindi natin masabi basta may additional seats ang congressman ibig sabihin additional pork barrel iyan hindi naman po ganoon ka-automatic. Of course iyong automatic doon iyong salaries, allowances, the staffing but then again that will be approved only the law is approve to create a new district. So, there has to be a law still up to this general law to create a new individual district, so hindi ibig sabihin na automatic congressmen na itong magte-take oath.

Q: Sir kung 100 congressmen ang idadagdag ilang senators ang madadagdag?

SJMZ: Wala. Under the constitution kasi we are limited to 24 senators hindi po nalagay doon na unless otherwise approved or provided by law, so in the Senate we are stuck in the number 24.

Q: Sir parang may sinasabi si JPE na dapat dagdagan na rin daw?

SJMZ: Well totoo po iyon. Sana nga by representation of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao kasi kami sa Mindanao dalawa lang kaming senador Sen. Enrile and myself and I know Region 7 na napakalaki po iyong voting population wala pong senador ngayon na galing ng Region 7, that's Cebu, Bohol, Negros Oriental, wala na pong taga-region 7 sa senador wala na po kasi si Serge Osmena. It would be nice to have by representation pero even if there's none we could use probably another six senators para 30 senators, 15-15 kasi ang dami-dami namin trabaho, ang dami-daming committees hindi na naaaksyunan dahil busy ang mga senador sa pagiikot sa ibat-ibang constituencies nila at hindi na po naaksyunan ang mga committees, so we could use another six senators.

Q: It will need Cha-Cha?

SJMZ: It will need Cha-Cha. So, again that will wait until after 2010, even the mode, iyong mode of charter change. Con-Con ba or constituent assembly dahil napaka-bigat iyon dahil titignan natin kung ano ang favorable sa tao. Right now ang favorable sa taong bayan ay ang con-con so if its con-con let's look at the con-con possibility and elect na lang the delegates to the con-con rather than kaming gagawa kasi self-serving din kung kaming gagawa. Kasi kung kami ang gagawa dadagdagan namin iyong term namin e, di pangit tignan di ba? Lalong magagalit iyong taong bayan sa amin.

Q: Kung con-con po iyan dapat bang mag-start sa 2010 iyan?

SJMZ: Could be or ang akin lang kasi diyan ay we're too close to the elections, so me personally let's discuss con-con, con-ass and charter change after the 2010 elections. Let's give it to the new administration to decide on how we can best strengthen our constitution but after the new administration, whoever wins the next administration.

Q: Reaction lang sabi ni Erap meron top officials and congressman lumilipat?

SJMZ: May posibilidad iyon dahil unang-una medyo nagdi-dilly dally pa ang administration in terms of presidential candidate. Pagka nakikita po ng ating mga opisyales na malalakas na po iyong mga kandidato sa oposisyon maraming lilipat talaga. That is a fact of life, real politic ika nga kaya kami naman sa Lakas ay nagdo-double time sa pagpili namin ng kandidato that way we can keep the ranks together kasi marami na rin akong nakausap na congressmen at local government official na nagbibigay na po ng commitment sa ibat-ibang presidential candidate. So, how to change that commitment is very difficult. Marami sa Lakas na nagbibigay na ng commitment sa ibat-ibang kandidato, so we have to move fast to be able to maintain our people in the field.

Q: Hindi ba ma-prevent?

SJMZ: Wala po tayong magawa. Wala po tayong anti-balimbing law. So, kung gusto po nilang lumipat wala po tayong magagawa.

... We'll have the actual selection and convention wherein the party members will decide by July.

Q: Given the strict timetable na 21-session days na lang tayo sir, can we still expect na magkakaroon pa kayo ng mga investigation or focus na lang muna ...

SJMZ: Hindi kop o ma-short guess ang ating mga kasamahan sa senador, each senator acts independently among each other so, I cannot dictate. None of us can dictate not even the Senate President can dictate the chairmen and women of the different committees so hindi kop o masasagot iyan although we can appeal to our colleagues na 21-session days na lang ang naiiwan please assist us in the passage of socio-economic bills. So, iyan po ang aming direksyon, as a matter of fact meron po kaming caucus ngayong gabi.. Ang kagandahan po ng liderato ni SP Enrile so kung medyo nagiging overboard na po iyong isang committee hearing or committee investigation kinakausap din po namin ang mga chairpersons na baka puwedeng i-windup na natin, magkaroon ng committee report para meron tayong final outcome nitong mga investigation na ito.

Q: Sir, iyong sa Comelec na iyong proposal na to help the candidate na mag-file by November?

SJMZ: Yes, we support that. We support that very much because unang-una kailangan po nila iyong time frame na iyon para map-print na nila ang mga balota kung saan nandoon ang mga pangalan nila.

Q: Hindi na aatras si BF banner o, nangunguna na raw siya sa survey?

SJMZ: (laughs) di kasama na siya sa third force, sa third candidate, alternative candidate.

Q: Alternative na si BF?

SJMZ: Hindi naman, hindi naman meron tayong third name na ilalabas. I say kung capability ok si BF very capable, credibility may kredibilidad naman iyong tao. Iyong winnability and not only winnability amongst survey amongst members of Lakas kasi dadaan pa po ito sa voting sa convention. So kailangan kausapin din niya iyong mga delegates or members of Lakas all the way down to the mayor and councilor level. Alam mo mahal ko nga siya pero alam mo naman kailangan malaman din niya iyong political realities di ba? Kaya sinasabi ko work harder hindi ko naman sinasabi na etsapuwera na siya just work harder. But we have a deadline the deadline is July. July we'll make a decision because July, August, September, October, November we have only 4-months to campaign for our presidential candidate. It's either too late or wala talaga or mag-adopt na lang po kami kapag ganoon. Ayaw naman po namin mangyari iyon.

Q: Iyong sinasabi niyong 3-choices, possible choices that's just for Lakas where does that lead Kampi?

SJMZ: I have no clue. I am clueless with KAMPI.

Q: Ano na bang mangyayari sa merger?

SJMZ: Alam mo iyong problema sa, parang ano iyan parang kasal. Kung ayaw naman ng bride sa iyon ikaw iyong groom walang honeymoon di hindi matutuloy iyong kasal. Kami nandoon na kami, willing naman kami makipag-usap sa kanila pero ang lumalabas pa hanggang ngayon parang alanganin pa sila sa usaping merger. If that's the case why push for it, why push it.

Q: Kampi is the president's party di ba? So kay presidente pa rin ba kayo kukuha ng in terms kung sino ang pipiliin?

SJMZ: (Jokes ... be gentle it's my birthday Linda) Of course the president carries a big weight in the decision but at the end of the day it's a collective decision as well. We have to listen to FVR, former president FVR who is a big, big factor in the equation and several of the Cabinet member and several of the congressmen.

Q: If Kampi does not merge with Lakas, will Lakas still consider the president ...

SJMZ: She's still our party chairman, she's not even chairman emeritus, she's the party chairman, so that definitely carries a lot of weight. And the party still backs her up in her agenda to have this country move forward. Iyon nga lang it's her baby Kampi that is giving us the headaches not Lakas. We're not giving her headaches.

Q: Papipiliin niyo ba ang presidente between Lakas ang Kampi?

SJMZ: I'll be very honest with you here. Ilang beses na namin kinausap si maam na kausapin niya ang Kampi. If she tells them to tow the line dapat nag-tow the line ang problema hindi rin sila nakikinig sa kanya because in all our meetings very hesitant po sila sa plan to merge. Kami sa Lakas we've been obedient, we've been very obedient. I think we've been too obedient. It's about time that we already discuss election plans, strengthenin Lakas and coming up with their own candidate. If they want to merge with us after we have our strong candidate well and good but I think we should already start looking at our alternatives. Ilang lingo na every time we meet o last week na lang ito ha, o last week na talaga, ito na talaga ang pinaka-last week wala talagang nangyayari.

Q: May plano bang tumakbo sa congress ang presidente?

SJMZ: hindi ko alam. I don't think so. If I were the president I wouldn't do such a thing because I was already the president of the Republic of Philippines tapos tatakbo kang congressman kausap mo 220 na mga bugoy at bugay sa tingin ko nadi-demean iyong dating posisyon niya. Hindi ko sinasabi na demeaning ang posisyon ng congressman. I was a congressman for 9 years and I enjoyed the job, pero parang galing ka na sa pinnacle ng political spectrum sa Pilipinas. I will suggest to just like FVR, just like president Cory Aquino be like an elderly statesman and she's still the leader of Lakas and Kampi and still make a lot of political decision. So that would be the best.

Q: Pahabol sa Thailand lang

SJMZ: Alam mo iyong nangyari sa Thailand na iyon isang wake up call sa atin iyon.. Alam mo ang kinagagalitan ng Thaksin Party ay wala pong democractic process sa pagpili ng liderato because that is a parliamentary system. And again in a parliamentary system it is the members of parliament through political maneuvering that will elect the prime minister. So kaya nagagalit iyong tao walang direct support na galing sa taong bayan. Kaya that could also be a wake up call to us on the plan to go into parliamentary mode of government. I think the parliamentary mode of government now has some oppositors because of what happened to Thailand nagkakagulo iyong Thailand paiba-iba iyong prime minister nila. In six months time tatlo iyong prime minister nila. I think that's a wake up call for us eventually if we decide to amend the constitution. Let's learn from the mistakes of others. Maganda iyong 2-party presidential system is fantastic why kasi may majority vote ka sa taong bayan dalawa lang iyong tatakbong kandidato. Or if you have a multi-party system magkaroon lang tayo ng napaka-simpleng amendment runoff election wherein the top two ay tatakbong muli at iyong nanalo ng 51 percent or nanalo ng majority ay magiging pangulo ng ating bansa para sa ganoon lahat tayo meron majority vote, lahat tayo nagparticipate sa paghalal ng pangulo.

Q: Right now hindi kaya ng cha-cha?

SJMZ: After election na. Physically I don't know how they can do it kasi 7-weeks na lang ang naiiwan, 20 days starting tomorrow session days dadaan pa sa Supreme Court iyon alam ko po may mga kongresistang tututol. Not to mention the Senate might also pass a resolution to the Supreme Court na they cannot do it alone. Number three never in the history, never pa sa kasaysayan ng Kongreso never pa silang nagkaroon ng 198 votes. In the last few years ang pinaka-mataas na nakuha ng Kongreso for any measure and for voting for speaker has always been 180-plus, 184 or 185 never na umabot ng 198 iyan sa tingin ko magkaroon sila ng two third votes never nilang maabot iyong two thirds vote or three fourths vote, so back to square one.

Q: Kung ipipilit iyong cha-cha nakikita mo rin magpapalit gaya ng Thailand?

SJMZ: Hindi naman. Hindi naman sa ganoon kasi iyong institution natin, alam mo bakit hindi na magkakaroon ng street demonstration para palitan si Pangulong Arroyo dahil malapit na ang eleksyon. Alam mo iyong matatamaan lang diyan iyong ating mga kaibigan sa House of Representatives. But in terms of the president marami ng excited sa presidential elections. Kung tatanggalin mo si Pangulong Arroyo sinong papalit si Noli de Castro, so tutol diyan si Manny Villar, Chiz Escudero, Loren Legarda, lahat ng tatakbo tututol diyan. They'll make an appeal let's just wait for 2010 anyway it's almost a year away.