Transcript of Interview of Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III

On the groundbreaking of the new Senate building

Q:Ito po ba ang legacy na iniwan ng Senate under your leadership?

SP Sotto: Itong bagong building? Yes, finally the Senate will have a building of its own. Nung una kasi, nangungupahan, but even before the 22 years na nangungupahan kami, yung old Congress building, hindi namin building yun, pinagamit lang sa amin nila, pinagamit lang sa Senado yun. Inabot ko yun, nung 1992. Hanggang 1995 kami doon, lampas pang 1995 kami doon. And even before that, yung pinag-gaganapan nila ng Congress noon, ay hindi rin talaga property ng Senate. Ngayon pa lang magkakaroon ang Senado ng sarili niyang pagaari, at sarili niyang building. Malaking bagay ito. On the 2019 budget.

Q:Sabi ni Senator Ping, tinawagan na siya ni Congressman Zamora kahapon and parang may decision na ang leadership ng House, irerecall na nila yung kanilang version of the budget bill? Will you sign it?

SP Sotto: Yes, Senator Lacson told me yesterday, the other day, not even yesterday, the night before, that Congressman Ronnie Zamora was n touch, and that they wanted to talk, so Senator Lacson practically asked for my concurrence. I said yes, sige, talk to them. Alam naman ni Senator Lacson kung ano yung stand ng Senado, and that is, precisely, remove what is not agreed upon. Remove in the budget what was not ratified. Hindi yun yung itemized, may nangliligaw ng usapan. Inaitemize lang daw nila, hindi namin sinasabing hindi ninyo iitemize, yung iniitemize, iba yun. Okay yun, sapagkat yun ang usapan nila, 1987 pa, nag-iitemize ang Senate at saka ang House after the approval ng bicam, pero in general, inaapprove muna in bicam. Ngayon, alam naman natin, alam naman nila, na yung hindi yung itemized ang pinaguusapan. Senator Lacson I think was able to talk to Congressman Zamora already and the feedback is that they will act on it today, if not today, tomorrow. We will wait for that action and if it is submitted to us as ratified, I will immediately sign it and consider it an enrolled bill and send it to the President for signature.

Q:Parang ang compromise, magsusubmit na lang ng supplemental budget kung saan nakadetail yung projects ng (unclear). Can you commit to passing that?

SP Sotto: Yes. Ang ibig sabihin noon, kasi yung sinsabi nila na initemize daw, which is actually lump sum, at yun ay supposed to be for the funding of DPWH, and some funds for the DOH, na talagang funding ng Presidente yun. Kung yun ay sasabihin nilang magiging lump sum kaya nila inaitemize, magiging lump sum, isusubmit sa amin, yung lump sum na yun depende ngayon sa Presidente kung ano pwede niyang gawin doon. Pwede niyang iveto, pwede niya ring payagan, pero mas malamang na iveto niya yun. Pag vineto niya yun, that remains in the budget. It does not mean that it will be removed. It remains in the budget. So when it remains in the budget, what will happen is that we may pass a supplemental budget, appropriating that vetoed part of the budget.

Q:To the same items na nilagay ng House?

SP Sotto: Hindi siguro, because yuon, per district. Maiiba ng kaunti doon sa gusto nila, siguro masusunod yung sinasabi ng Presidente. Pagka gusto ng House na ganun, sa mga distrito nila ilagay, then let's take it up and cross the bridge when we get there.

Q:Are you open kung ganun?

SP Sotto: Depende, tingnan natin. Bakit kasi umaangal yung mga iba nilang Congressmen? Na yung mga ibang district ay tinanggalan at nilagay dito, tapos itong bago, nilagay sa iba, sila hindi pa rin. Q:Kung fair open naman kayo?

SP Sotto: Malamang. Kung fair, open naman kami. Kung equitable, yes.

Q:Are you willing to hold a special session para po ipasa yung supplemental budget?

SP Sotto: If necessary, yes. We will ask the President to call for a special session, to pass a supplemental budget that will address the so-called 2-3 percent that's debatable in the budget.

Q:For you, this is the right way to move forward sa deadlock ninyo?

SP Sotto: On a personal level sa akin, I can live with both. I can live with a reenacted budget, I can live with a scrutinized budget. Actually a supplemental budget addressing the problem would be also an ideal move. On the ICC withdrawal.

Q:Do you see any effect as far as our relations with any country is concerned?

SP Sotto: I don't think so. As a matter of fact, the United States is also not inclined to support the ICC. They are barring the members of the ICC from interfering with United States policies. The same thing in the Philippines, kasi lalo na, minuddle masyado. Pati ang kwento at report sa ICC, pagkakaalam ko, muddled. Ang kwento doon, may political persecution, tapos lahat ng deaths nung nakaraang taon ikiniclaim nila na EJK lahat, look at the figures, hindi EJK lahat yun. At saka hindi ika-nga the deaths were killed during police operations, no. A very small percentage was killed in the police operations. In the last figures that I know, that I have seen, 68,000 plus ang mga drug operations, and there are more than 78,000 arrests. Ang namatay doon sa mga drug operations na ito, a little over 3,000 only. Kaya lang the figures that they sent the ICC, and I don't know who are these people sending figures, sabi mga 12,000 daw yung mga napatay. Pag tiningnan mo yung listahan, based doon sa aming intel doon sa nakakaalam sa ICC, yung listahan sinama lahat pati homicide, pati yung kung anu-anong kamatayan na wala namang kinalaman sa drug operations or anti-drug operations.

Q:Walang any negative effect sa bansa natin yung pagkalas sa ICC?

SP Sotto: Wala. I don't think there is. In so many years of the Philippines, from the establishment of the Philippines as a republic, from 1945-46, up to the present, meron na bang magandang nangyari? Na involved ang ICC? Meron na bang pangyayari na nakinabang ang Pilipinas? Wala. As a matter of fact, ngayon parang pineperhuwisyo pa tayo as far as the media is concerned.

Q:Paano ninyo ititreat yung pending resolution na signed by at least 18 senators?

SP Sotto: We have not passed that resolution. So as long as we do not pass a resolution in plenary, a resolution is a piece of paper.

Q:So you don't think na dapat may concurrence from the Senate yung pagwithdraw?

SP Sotto: I don't think so. Did we ratify that? Kelan?

Q:Yung pagpasok, pero yung pagkalas, kailangan pa ng Senate resolution?

SP Sotto: Hindi. Yung pagkalas na kailangan ng concurrence ng Senate, lately lang kami nagpasa ng resolution to that effect. In the past, wala namang ganun. So yung mga napasa na treaty nung araw, iba pang mga agreements, walang kinalaman yun doon.

Q:Do you share the position of Senator Gordon na kahit wala kayo sa ICC, the ICC can still prosecute the President?

SP Sotto: I don't think so.

Q:And since wala na tayo sa ICC, wala ng jurisdiction?

 SP Sotto: Wala.

Q:Sabi kasi ni Atty. Sabio, tuloy pa rin yung kaso laban kay President Duterte kahit na magwithdraw tayo?

SP Sotto: I don't know, that is his opinion. That might be the opinion of some people, but in my case, I don't think so and that is my opinion.