Press Release
August 18, 2016

TRANSCRIPT OF SEN RICHARD J. GORDON'S INTERVIEW

Sen Richard Gordon

On Duterte-De Lima

QUESTION: Sir, would you like to comment sa naging batikos at personal attack ni President Duterte kay Senador De Lima. Dapat bang magtake ng position ang Senate leadership dito?

GORDON: I don't think we should take a position. The president is a very different president. He is unique if not unorthodox. He is using what we call the bully pulpit. He stands up and says I cannot solve the problem but I have a duty to my countrymen to tell them that the following people have drugs. Sure, he is immune from suits or he could be impeached, he is taking that risk, in fact we are giving him credit for that. Pag umalis na siya he could be sued later on, so if that is the case, then he is using it to good effect. Look at the impact, mga mayors sumu-surrender. Nagkokompisal pa yun iba. Of course may mga tatamaan pero kung ako naman ang tatamaan ang sasabihin ko, can you give me a bill of particulars Mr President, so I can defend myself.

Q: Pero sir, is it not fair na parang ad hominen na yun nangyari?

GORDON: Hindi naman ad hominen yan eh, specific. Hindi naman lahat ng tao sinabi nya. Ang ad hominin against mankind. Ito isa lang eh. Pero hindi yan ang pinag-uusapan dito. Ang pinag-uusapan dito eh paano nakakapasok ang drug sa bilibid?

Q: Liberal Party is asking Senate President Koko and the Senate to take a stand for.?

GORDON: I don't think we should take a stand. Why should we take a stand? That is her problem. It the first place it could be personal. It could be there is a basis because the past show that she was the secretary of justice when all these things were going on, by the way in the Senate the other day I said even the past secretaries of justice should be prosecuted because they were doing these even before. It doesn't mean that just because ito lang ang pipiliin natin... we cannot cherry pick. So ang sinasabi ko, why we should take a position? Eh kung halimbawa maglabas ng ebidensya ,eh di mukhang ano tayo?

Q: Yun bill of particulars na sinasabi nyo, Sen De Lima should ask for a bill of particulars?

GORDON: Bills of particulars. Meron ka segurong testigo. Sinabi mo yan eh. Kung ako yun eh ipakita mo. Kung may ipakita, papaano?

Q: Yun personal attack, hindi ba sya breach of parliamentary courtesy or something like that?

GORDON: I don't want to go into that-- that is judgmental.

Q: Sir hindi ba pang-i-intimidate yun kay Sen. De Lima?

GORDON: Hindi naman nai-intimidate si Sen. De Lima.

Q: Yun timing kasi, sir?

GORDON: Hindi ba ngayon wala ng gender issues. Take it like a man. Diba? Nandyan na yan. That is why I don't think we should intervene. Hindi ko alam kung ano ang kahihinatnan nyan.

Q: Sabi nya unpresidential daw?

GORDON: What is presidential and what is unpresidential? In the old days, presidents even took a swipe at other people, I think it was Andrew Jackson. In the old days, secretaries of state had duels.

Q: So hindi foul yun mga personal attack?

GORDON: Kase pag sinabi mo foul...akala ko ba may freedom of information ngayon?

Q: So wakwakan na lang ngayon? Kase wala pa naman proof na ipinapakita, pwede bay un?

GORDON: I don't have to defend the President, he is a lawyer. To me, ang nakita ko sa kanya and I only met him once since election-- a month before the election. What I see is deadly, serious and sincere in his campaign against drugs. He wants to go out into the sunset--dead or alive saying that I have made a peaceful nation, that I have made my country safe from these people who exploits our children, our families and our society. Naniniwala ako sa kanya na ginagawa nya yun. I am a mayor and I know how it feels. I was deadly serious as well during my time. So you have to give him that slack. Local boy yan eh. Hindi yan dumaan sa Senado. Dumaan siya sa Kongreso pero hindi siya nakatagal. Sa local , kapag tinira ka babalikan mo yun kalaban mo. Yun ang kanyang milieu. So kung tinitira siya, death squad- babalikan nya yan.

Q: Sir, Is it not risky kase 50 days pa lang nandito na tayo sa ganitong level and this is going to be 6 years?

GORDON: Do you feel safer in the street today? Not yet but there is a mark improvement. Takot ang mga crooks. Nahuli kaagad yun mga bumaril diba? Yun mga magdo-droga nagsu-surrender. Happy ako dun.

On drugs allegedly coming from China:

GORDON: Note verbale. Appealing to them to censure formally tell their people, all their ships coming here, all their people not to bring drugs to other countries. E nahuhuli natin sila. We have empirical data that many Chinese (citizens) are involved in the drug trade here. They should be accountable for their citizens. Pag nagpunta yung tao natin dun, they hang them and they kill them. They should be responsible also for what they do here, what they send with their people here. Ano sagot ko dun sa wala tayong death penalty kaya pinupuntahan tayo? No! help the other countries who keeps in tremendous volume. Isa lang ang tinanong ko e, saan ba galing? China.

Q: Paano idedetermine kung state-sponsored?

GORDON: I did not say state-sponsored. I said they should help more, they should appeal to them that their Customs, their airports, their seaports should inspect their people whether their bringing in drugs here or sending drugs here to the country. Whether they are exporting raw materials for drugs to the country. That is an act of friendliness. We take them into account...I'm not going to accuse China that it is state-sponsored. Remember, I said this is dangerous. There could be national security concerns here. They could be invading us with drugs.

Q: How can you be assured that China will follow?

GORDON: You are now putting them on a shame campaign. Sasabihin ko sa kanila, 'Lahat ng drogang nakukuha namin dito, galing sa inyo. Responsibilidad nyo at tulungan niyo kami na hindi naman niyo papabayaan yang mga yan... So sinabi ko let them know that many of these drugs are coming from their country and they should take the necessary measures to safeguard that none of their drug problems are exported here.

Yung mga nagdodroga, nagsusurrender, happy ako dun. I should be happy. I'm not happy with, kaya tinanong ko yun, yung unexplained killings. I will ask that.

Q: What will happen in the next hearings?

GORDON: Kung ako gagawa ng batas, ilalagay ko lahat ng sinabi nila. Sinabi nila na they want na you won't have to go to the judge to get psychiatric help and rehabilitation. Marami pa silang sinabi dun. Yung sinabi ko 'Do you know what your children are doing today?' We should wage a campaign like that among parents. Should we wage a campaign in the schools, to the PTA, Parents-Teachers' Associations? What campaigns have we waged? Should you have more guidance counselors in schools? Train more guidance counselors? We don't even have dentists(in schools)? What do you expect? Our (Department) of Foreign Affairs should really make it of record that we sense that the situation has gone out of control and it is mostly your citizens who are sending these to us.

Q: Will Pres. Duterte do this when he said he is now trying to be friendly with China?

GORDON: No, he said we can talk. This is one of the things we can talk about. And they said, tulungan nyo kami. Nagalit na yung senador o.

Q: Is it firmly established that drugs come from China?

GORDON: Sinabi nila e. Tinanong ko saan ba galing yan? May umangal ba? Sabi nila oo.

Q; How can we do it (note verbale)?

GORDON: The President can do that or the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, sabihin niya mag-apologize ako. No, no, I would not. E sinabi yun dito e. Sasabihin nila, 'we are communicating to you that this is the sense now in our country. (side comment: in china, merong restaurant sa China nakalagay: No Japanese, No Koreans and No Filipinos. Anong gagawin niyo dun?) Empirical data sinabi ko e? Ano bang data? San galing? China.

They (RP government) should inform them that we have a severe problem here. According to our law enforcement authorities, the drugs are coming from China. So you can help us by being pro-active in making sure that all the goods headed to the Philippines and all the citizens coming to the Philippines are told, 'we do not give you the death penalty, you have to help us arrest all these people who are bringing drugs to our country, bringing materials to our country. We should appeal to the UN. Medyo ginaganon ko na rin ang UN, puro sila salita, wala naman silang ginagawa.

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