Transcript of Zoom Interview of Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III

Q: Do you think safe na po na ilower to modified GCQ ang NCR or may danger po kung sakali man?

SP Sotto: I don't think so. Perhaps if (unclear) do it yung hindi naman tinatawag na piecemeal pero parang incisive ang style, what's a better word for that? Yung may mga areas talaga na hindi mo pwedeng i-GCQ. It's better if government will be selective and retain GCQ in some areas in the National Capital Region. Ngayon pa lang, GCQ pa lang, hindi pa nag MGCQ, ay malala na, kitang-kita ninyo naman, ako, nanonood sa news kagabi, parang completely mali pala yung mga sinasabi ko the last few days saying that marami sigurong pagkukulang tayo sa mga health protocols natin, marami siguro tayong, delayed siguro tayo sa reaction, sa mga (unclear) at saka ngayon pa lang dumadami ang mga mass testing kaya ngayon pa lang lumilitaw lahat yan. Pero watching the news last night, I think I am wrong. I think there is something wrong with our attitude, there is something wrong with the character being seen among us, sa ating mga kababayan natin, na tayong, parang ang tingin nila tapos na yung problema, wala na. Sige lang, sige lang, labas ng labas, padami ng padami tuloy ngayon. Merong mga nag iinuman, merong mga nagpupunta sa bar, di ba? Labas ng abas, hindi, nawala na yung pag iingat. It's still dangerous because Nakita natin na last week, months, almost three months already, yung lockdown talagang malaki ang pakinabang. Kasi malaking pakinabang doon sa mga health workers dahil ngayon mas alam na nila kung paano iaddress yung problema, hindi katulad ng umpisa, kaya sa ngayon medyo mas marami ang gagaling. Pero ang responsibilidad ay nasa ating lahat, hindi pwedeng puro sa gobyerno lang. Kasi pag puro inasa mo sa gobyerno yan, pagka merong ginawang paghihigpit, pintasan natin. Pag medyo nagluwag ng kaunti, may aangal naman at merong mangyayaring masama. So, kailangan maging ang responsibilidad ay nasa atin din. We should share the responsibility with government para makalampas tayo dito sa unos na nangyayaring ito sa buhay ng Pilipinas at sa buong mundo. Tingnan ninyo ang nangyayari sa ibag bansa, hindi ba? Yung matitigas ang ulo, ayun, palala ng palala. Yung mga sumusunod, paganda ng paganda ang takbo ng pamumuhay pati ng ekonomiya. Q: Dito sa NCR, ano ang maisusuggest ninyo, iretain yung GCQ or ibalik tayo sa ECQ?

SP Sotto: Well, pag medyo nag iinit ang ulo mo talaga, sasabihin mo ECQ na ulit para lockdown, total lockdown tayong lahat pero alam naman natin na taagang mahihirapan sa ekonomiya yung iba nating mga kasama. So kung ako tatanungin lang naman, wala namang nakikinig sa akin pagdating sa issue na ganyan, basta ako, ang opinion ko is that iretain yung GCQ. Kung meron mang bibigyan ka ng MGCQ dito sa Metro Manila o sa Luzon, yun talagang alam mo na ang disilpina maganda, sumusunod ang kanilang mga tao, at maganda ang pagtakbo ng kanilang nasasakupan.

Q: Si Sec. Roque, iniinsist niya na we are winning the fight against COVID-19. You think so considering yung naging statement ng WHO?

SP Sotto: Yung sinabi ko nung isang araw na natanong ako about my reaction on the WHO report about the Philippines, my initial reaction was something else but then I said and I can be quoted as saying, that something is very wrong. I should have said something is terribly wrong, but I don't mean it's a double-bladed statement, because something could be very wrong with the stats of WHO, di ba? And something could be wrong also in our health protocols and the way we are running it. That is why the call is for the IATF to review the protocols being done, the actions being taken, whether up to date or delayed as far as the Department of Health is concerned. That is the gal na dapat na asikasuhin natin. Like in the case of Cebu, I am very much concerned sapagkat alam mo namang Cebuano ang pamilya namin, ang father ko. I think they should send a representative in Cebu that comes from Cebu. Merong mentality kung minsan ang mga Cebuano na pag galling sa Maynila, medyo aloof. I have to be very blunt about it, ganoon talaga kaming mga Cebuano, na pag galling sa Maynila yung pinadala doon at mag uutos doon, medyo nakataas ang kilay ng karamihan na Cebuano. Pero pagka taga roon sa kanila, mas madaling tanggapin yung kung ano man yung gusting palaganapin doon. That is only my opinion.

Q: Hindi kayo comfortable doon sa decision na si Cimatu yung ipinadala doon ng Pangulo?

SP Sotto: Okay si Gen. Cimatu doon, what I mean is there must be a representative from Cebu. Dapat kumuha sila ng taga Cebu na kasama sa IATF nila Gen. Cimatu. Sec. Cimatu has been doing a good job, so there is no problem with that. What I mean is dapat meron ding taga Cebu na parang counterpart, or katulong na nakakaalam at may maitutulong. Say for example, let's say Gen. Eric Espina, used to be a councilor, he is a general in the reserve corps. Talagang full blooded Cebuano He knows the terrain, yung mga ganoon. Sana ganoon ang maidagdag natin as far as Cebu is concerned.

Q: Any update sa Bayanihan II kung may panawagan na ba yung Malacañang? Kung nagconduct na po ng special session?

SP Sotto: May scoop kayo, as far as I know, today, early this morning, the office of the Committee on Finance of Sen. Sonny Angara has just received a proposal of their amendments to the Bayanihan II from the Executive Department. Katatanggap pa lang ngayon. So the committee would review it, I am sure seator Angara will consult us and tell us what it s all about but that is as far as it goes as f now. Wala pa kaming schedule, wala pang sinasabi kung sila ay tatawag ng special session.

Q: Wala pa kayong copy ng proposal ng Executive?

SP Sotto: Wala pa akong kopya, katatanggap pa lang ngayon. Hindi pala early this morning, katatanggap pa lang ngayon.

Q: Do you take that proposal to the IATF or Malacañang na maglagay ng isang Cebuano sagrupo nila Gen. Cimatu?

SP Sotto: I hope makarating. I was planning to, after nito baka I will try to call Executive Secretary Medialdea or Sec. Sonny Dominguez or even perhaps Sec. Galvez, kung sino ang makokontact o sa kanila. I was on the phone with Sec. Medialdea last night and we were discussing something else, we were discussing the possibility of a special session but he will get back to me this afternoon. Wala pang, nothing concrete.

Q: Yung assign na Cebuano doon sa group, do you think that would help address yung concern na yung mga ibang doctor from the barrios ayaw magpa assign sa Cebu?

SP Sotto: Maaari. Lalo na those who are (unclear) health workers from Cebu themselves. Oo, baka mas makatulong yun because right now, what s happening? We are not doing well. So in general, babalik ako doon sa question kanina which is yung sinasabi ni Sec. Roque na we are winning. Perhaps, in selective areas, we are indeed winning the war, that's true, but there are areas that we are not, we are not successful yet. Hopefully, we will get there.

Q: Yung binanggit mo kanina na there could be problems sa WHO data, what do you mean by that?

SP Sotto: Baka hindi accurate ang nakakarating sa kanilang data, di ba? This is not an incident that I could say only happened now, there were many instances in the past that the WHO statistics or figures on the issue of illegal drugs, even when I was still secretary of the Dangerous Drugs Board, hindi accurate so that is a possibility, something is wrong. Maybe something is wrong in the data or something is wrong in the way we are running the protocols. It can go either way, kaya sabi ko double-bladed yung statement ko na yun.

Q: Doon sa maritime incident sa Mindoro na isang Hong Kong carrier na nakabangga ng mga Pilipino fishermen, hanggang ngayon po nawawala yung labing apat na Pilipinong mangingisda.

SP Sotto: Yung dati or bago yan?

Q: Bago po.

SP Sotto: Sorry hindi ko.

Q: Nawawala po yung labing apat kasi hindi rin sila tinulungan nung cargo vessel. How should the government address this?

SP Sotto: Dapat the Coast Guard and the Philippine Navy should find out what happened and search for them. Kaya nga isa sa dati na nating pinopropose, we must have a search and rescue airplane, dapat airplanes. Kung pwede, tatlo, Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao. Search and rescue planes are very essential in countries like ours that have over 7,100 islands. Mas madaling sana makareact tayo diyan at malaman natn kung ano ang nangyari salabing apat na yun, kung meron tayong ganoon.

Q: Should we be concerned that many POGOS are threatening to leave the country dahil ayaw talaga nila magbayad ng taxes?

SP Sotto: Well, it cuts both ways. Merong mga nagsasabi na sayang yung income, meron din namang nagsasabi na baka nga makabuti sa tin sapagkat yung iba ay sinasabi masyadong marami ng POGO sa atin. Siguro, in my opinion, stick na natin doon sa mga legal na POGO. Sa legal na POGO, dapat huwag umalis, sayang pag umalis sapagkat kumikita ang gobyerno. Doon sa mga illegal, aba'y good riddance.

Q: Legal ibig sabihin nagbabayad ng tax?

SP Sotto: Nagbabayad ng tax, oo at saka rehistrado. Nagbabayad ng tax, rehistrado.

Q: It has been three months na naka quarantine tayo. Are you somehow disappointed that hindi na ngabumababa yung kaso, hindi nagfa-flatten yung curve, and kahapon lang, 900 na naman yung dumagdag sa cases? What is it telling us?

SP Sotto: I cannot really be disappointed kasi it's worldwide, the problem is worldwide. Perhaps we can experience a little bit of disappointment on how we are handling ourselves, and how we are cooperating with government, kasi sino ba ang may gustong matapos agad ito, di number one yung gobyerno, di ba? Sapagkat ang ekonomiya natin ay sumasama. Sumasama ang lagay So there is a bit of disappointment over all, nt because we are dissatisfied with the (unclear) but we are disappointed in how everybody is handling it. Hindi naman lahat, siyempre marami ring sa ating sumusunod ng mabuti, pero it is disappointing na kaya ng ibang basa, bakit hindi natin kaya. Kayang sumunod ng mga kababayan natin, kaya naman, yung iba ayaw. So siguro kung nakikiisa tayong lahat, (unclear) pero this kind of pandemic is something different, It has far reaching effect, kaya how can we think of disappointment at this point? Perhaps isa sa mga dapat nating maisip is ito ang panahon na mas manawagan tayo sa Panginoong Diyos kasi itong labanan na ito, alam mo isang kisap mata lang ng Panginoon yan.In the bible he was able to remove all those people from the temple, yung masasamang tao doon sa templo. Eto, itong mga masasamang nangyayari sa atin, sa isang kisap mata lang, kaya din ng Panginoon yun pero it is a wakeup call for everybody, I think. A wakeup call for the entire world that in just a flick of a finger, you can lose everything.

Q: You said kahapon nung nanod kayo, nakita ninyo king gaano kapasaway yung mga tao, but hindi naman yung buong government but at least yung DOH, how would you react, example mass testing, I mean two months ng pinapangako ni Sec. Duque yung 30,000 tests every day, but up until now it is just 10,000 to 12,000 tests. Hindi ba ang laking bagay noon?

SP Sotto: Oo, totoo yun, kaya nga sinasabi nga rin natin, sabi ko nga double-bladed yung something is wrong na sinabi ko. Ang ibig sabihin, yung mga health protocols natin at yung mga kilos natin, especially as far as the DOH is concerned, ay huli or hindi at par kaya... ang pangako nila, 40,000 ang mass testing, atleast 40,000 a day. Well, expectedly, pagka talagang narating ang 40,000 a day, tataas talaga yung number natin ng mga nagpopositive siguro. Tataas din yung number ng gumagaling at nagnenegative, pero kung nasa mga 12,000 ka lang tapos ganyan katas ang nangyayari, aba malaki ang diperensiya. Hindi tama ang kinikilos natin.

Q: Since sabi ninyo taga Cebu kayo, nasabi ni Pangulong Duterte last week na parang naging complacent daw yung Cebu kaya sila yung naging bagong epicenter ng pandemic, tama ba yun? Talagang matigas ang ulo rin ng mga taga Cebu?

SP Sotto: Complacent and tigas ng ulo is a combination. We can probably say it is a combination of both, medyo talagang yung iba ayaw sumunod, matigas ang ulo, yung iba naman, perhaps complacent. Hindi, okay lang yan, kaya natin yan, wala naman sa amin yan, parang ganoon, pero nangyayari. But as I said, if it is well explained, everyone is well informed, palagay ko mas tatanggapin ng Cebuano.

Q: Ano po ang plano for SONA? Will you all be attending the session personally, sa Senate po ba kayo manonood ng SONA ng Pangulo?

SP Sotto: Well, pareho nung pinaplano namin sa necro ni Ramon Revilla as requested by the family, right now I think there two or three options, I am not sure of the two options. There are two options, could be three options as far as SONA is concerned. Merong proposal, pinaguusapan na namin from the HOR at saka sa Executive Department, the possibility of ang Presidente ay nasa, well, doon pa rin sa original. The possibility is ang Presidente and some members f the House of Representatives and the Senate without visitors, could be in the Batasang Pambansa. The other option is the President is in Malacanang, HOR will be in the House of Representatives together with some senators. And then the other option is that maybe we will be here, the Senate in the session hall, HOR in the plenary hall, and the President in Malacanang, that is the other option. Those are the three options na pinaguusapan ngayon. Therefore, bottom line yung tatlong points would be live in their areas. Those are the options. Yung third option, yung sinasabi ko, live in there are, but kung sino ang makaka attend sa plenary, they can, House ang maglilimit. Sa Senate naman pwedeng hindi maglimit sapagkat iilan lang naman kami, 23 lang. And then all virtual na.

Q: Pero kung yung third option, you will require all senators to be present in the plenary while you are watching SONA or pwedeng nasa bahay din ung ibang senators, watching SONA?

SP Sotto: Palagay ko pwede ring nasa bahay yung iba. It will be better if we would have at least twelve in the Senate, in the plenary hall sana but otherwise we can go by the rules, we already passed a resolution allowing a quorum that will include people in the (unclear).

Q: But in the morning when you open the session, ganoon din po, pwede rin may mga nasa bahay or lahat nasa session hall?

SP Sotto: Pwede.

Q: May nasabi ba ang Malacanang na mas gusto nila na sa Palace na lang si Pangulo mag SONA?

SP Sotto: I cannot say yes outright because yung mga tatlong options pa lang ang pinaguusapan. Merong option na lahat kami nandoon, yung tatlong leader nasa Batasan and then kung sino lang ang pr\wedeng umattend. That is one option, so I cannot say yes.

Q: Hindi na daw sila mamomroblema sa outfit? So pwedeng hindi na kasi pwedeng naka face mask sa opening ng session?

SP Sotto: Oo nga.

Q: Doon sa tatlong options, yung Malacanang saan sila inclined, ano ang mas gusto nila, favorable for them?

SP Sotto: I think they would go for option number three. Two or three. They would favor two or three which is ang Presidente nasa Malacañang.

Q: Why do you think Filipinos are behaving this way, na mataas pa rin ang number of cases natin ang yet they are being complacent. Araw-araw namang nagpepresscon ang DOH, meron bang kulang sa leadership? Sa paalala? Bakit ganoon?

SP Sotto: Ang hirap sagutin yan, mahirap basahin yan kasi marami sa atin, we should give credit where credit is due, marami sa mga kababayan natin ang sumusunod. Mas marami ang tingin ko sa mga kababayan natin ang hindi matgas ang ulo at talagang staying home. And if ever they have to go out, talagang essential lang, mas marami yun. Kaya lang yung kaunti, hindi kaunti eh, marami yung minority na gumagawa nun, majority sa Piilipino tingin ko sumusunod eh. Ang kaso mas matingkad itong minority na hindi sumusunod at kung titngnan ninyo naman, like for example, ang positive sa atin ngayon nasa mga almost 40,000, 36,000-37,000? Mga ganoon, hindi ba? Eh 105 million Filipinos. Soang tingin ko, based on what I can see, marami sa mga kababayan natin, mas marami ang sumusunod. Mas marami ang staying home. Kaya lang ang hirap, I don't know if we can translate it in English, kaya lang, amrami yung matigas ang ulo, hindi lang natin mabilang, pero napakarami nila.

Q: What do you think should be done to encourage these hardheaded individuals to follow yung mga protocols?

SP Sotto: Una dapat matakot magkasakit. Pangalawa, kung minsan talaga, ano mapipntasan na naman ako niyan, kailangan talaga strong-arm rule. Talagang pag pinilit, kaso naman pag tinigasan mo naman, tnibayan mo naman, kung ano na naman ang sasabihin, di ba? Freedom of expression, freedom of demokrasya daw is patay na, ang dami kang maririnig bigla na ganoon. Pero yung mga nagsasalita, sabagay yung mga hindinaman nagsasalita nandoon sa kanto, nag iinuman, nakahubad, labas ng labas, inaaway yung mga tao sa checkpoint, mas siga pa roon sa mga pulis, paano tayo doon sa ganoon? Hindi ba matigas ang ulo noon? Sisitahin nung mga nagtitinda, sasabihin wala kayong mask, galit pa sila? Anong klase yun, kasya lang ang problema, kaunti lang yung mga yun compared to the majority, kaso sila ang matingkad. Sila ang napupuna, sila ang nakikita at nadadamay yung mga matitino.

Q: Yung sa strong arm rule, kasi sa Cebu may Nakita na yung tangke nandoon, tapos yung iba nagcricriticize, kailangan daw ba talaga yun? What do you think? Yug presence ng military sa Cebu, is that really necessary?

SP Sotto: Well, it is the call of IATF. They know more what is happening because kung saksakan ng tigas ng ulo, ang gusto lumabas pa rin, ang gusto naka standby sa labas, siguro ganoon ang paraan na naisip ng IATF para pilitin silang huwag lumabas ng bahay at padami ng padami ang nagiging positive doo sa Cebu. And then again, go back to what I said, siguro it is a matter really of explaining and getting along so I suggest that we get a fellow Cebuano who will be the counterpart o kaya will aid Sec. Cimatu and the company, and the IATF, in handling and disseminating information to the Cebuanos. At huwag natin lahatin, hindi lahat ng Cebuano ganoon, mas marami rin yung sumusunod kaya lang again, sa milyones na Cebuanona nasa Cebu, kung merong isang libo doon na matigas ang ulo, yun ang nakakaperhuwisyo.

Q: Yung message ninyo sa amin kagabi na sabi ninyo kung ganito lagi yung mga napapanood ninyo nga, yung hindi sumusunod sa quarantine protocol dapat mag ECQ na lang tayo, paki clarify nga po?

SP Sotto: It is an expression of my frustration, I describe it that way. It is a frustration on my part na makita na after 100 days, para bang, parang walang katakot-takot yung mga kababayan natin na ganoon-ganoon na lang? Kaya sabi ko, aba mabuti pa ibalik na sa ECQ ito. You know it is out of frustration but I know we can't do that anymore because of the economic impact. Unless government has enough resources, to maintain another one month of ECQ, but particularly in the National Capital Region and Cebu. Yun na nga, it is not really a suggestion, it is out of frustration. Q: Parang we cannot afford to be another Cebu at this time, na bumalik sa ECQ.

SP Sotto: Oo, we cannot. We cannot afford to do that. Kaya sana makiisa na lang tayo, makiisa sana ang mga kababayan natin sa sinasabi ng gobyerno na umiwas muna.

Q: Paano kung tuloy pa rin yung ganito? Kasi parang more than 80,000 na yung nag COVID positive and then talagang dito sa NCR, dahil nga well populated na karamihan na area...

SP Sotto: Wala namang 80,000 tayo.

Q: 8,300. Mahirap icontrol yung mga community, ano ang mas kailangang gawin lalo na dito sa NCR?

SP Sotto: Paano bang nagiging successful sila doon sa mga bansa na nagtatagumpay? Sumusunod yung mga kababayan nila, it boils down to that. Of course may mga pagkukulang, hindi naman natun pwedeng sabihin na magaling masyado ng DOH, or magaling yung sinasabi ng gobyerno, hindi, pero, kung nakikisama talaga tayo, at katulad nila sumusunod tayo to the letter, tingnan ninyo yung Vietnam, tingnan ninyo yung mga ibang bansa, sa Norway, Singapore, sumusunod yung mga tao, nakikiisa talaga.

Q: June 30ngayn, fourth year anniversary ni Presidente, ano yung nakikita ninyo na so far, outstanding achievement niya at the same time shortcomings niya as a leader of the nation?

SP Sotto: Well, sa akin, on a scale of 1-10, 10 being the highest, performance level, the President, PRRD, in my scorecard gets 8.5 from the war on drugs up to the time of COVID-19, President Duterte strove to uplift the people's welfare with a firm hand and this is something that is seldom seen from the Executive Office. He has practically reduced the noise and violence from the separatists. Reduced, I am not saying na nawala na, reduced the separatists and the terrorists from the South. He has contained the half century communist insurgency, and criminal syndicates have laid low, they really laid low. The foreign policy also is independent, dynamic if I may say so, no longer to the beat of the United States. The economy is stable except for pagpasok ng COVID-19, despite the foreign and local challenges. Local labor is quiet, the plight of the overseas workers and social anxieties caused by the pandemic, medyo siguro yung problema sa pandemic at saka yung mga transportation woes could probably account to the 1.5 in my assessment. So overall, I think hope naman is in abundance as far as I am concerned in the remaining couple of years of this administration.

Q: Ano ang tingin ninyo na dapat niyang unahin, two years na lang and alam natin ang hirap din ng system dito sa Pilipinas, yung system of governance?

SP Sotto: We must relieve ourselves from the problem of the pandemic and then of course continue with the economic gains that have been in place before the COVID-19, and then of course address the transportation issues of the country and retain, and gain more, as far as peace and order is concerned, kung mas mahihigitan pa natin, mas mabuti, yun ang nakikita ko sa next couple of years. (Unclear) issue ng insurgency and terrorism.

Q: Is it time for him to again consider a possible unification or reconciliation with his political enemies or critics in the last two years of his presidency?

SP Sotto: In what way? Kasi ang basa ko kay Presidente, hindi naman siya nang-aaway ng oppositionists niya. Siya ang inaaway pilit, wal anaman siyang inaaway.

Q: So hindi kailangan?

SP Sotto: I do not know where it should come from.

Q: How about a possible reconsideration to give another role to VP Robredo?

SP Sotto: Kung saan medyo makakatulong, siguro, why not, pero kasi in the past, what I have noticed in the past, every time the president or members of the Executive Department opens up or gives a pat in the back to some members of the opposition or to the minority, there are others who pipintasan agad, puro pintas ang maririnig mo, wala pang narinig na kritisismo na may kasamang proposal kung paano. Ang maganda sana, kung magcriticize ka, magbigay ka ng suggestion kung paanong gagamutin yung crinicriticize mo. Mas maganda ganoon, hindi yung basta criticize lang, di ba? Dahil criticize mo, wala ka namang suggestion kung paano magiging mabuti, tapos karamihan ng naririnig niya, nababasa ko rin naman, puro name calling. Sabi nga natin, when you start name calling, that means you have lost the debate.

Q: Yung granting daw ng ABS CBN franchise magstart ng reconciliation...

SP Sotto: Baliktad, alam mo mas maganda kung yung...wala naman kay Presidente yun, wala naman sa kanya. Nasa amin, nasa Kongreso. Baliktad, mad magandang manggaling sa opposition yung unification suggestion, di ba? Siguradong papaya ang Presidente.

Q: Sila ang magreach out?

SP Sotto: Oo, masmaganda yun, kasi paano rereach out, pintas ka ng pintas sa akin, suntok ka ng suntok sa akin, ang gagawin ko, babatiin kita? Hindi, ikaw, tigilan mo ng kasusuntok sa akin, di ba, satpos magusap tayo.

Q: Mat ganoonbg character ba si Presidente na when you reach out kahit na long time political enemy, biglang magiging open-minded at tatanggap ng ganoong klaseng (unclear)?

SP Sotto: Oo. Meron siyang ugaling ganoon. Tingnan mo si Boy Nograles, si Speaker Nograles, eh kaaway niyang mortal sa Davao yun. Nung maging Presidente siya, biglang tinanggap na niyang kaibigan, inappoint pa niya yung anak. Tinulungan niya yung isang anak na tumakbo. Meron in his character na ganoon.

Q: Going back sa scenarios for SONA, so parang ang consideration ng three options, the deciding factor would be the safety?

SP Sotto: Yes. Correct, indeed I think that will be the primary consideration when we decide.

Q: You mentioned that you have been talking with Sec. Medialdea, particularly about Bayanihan II and special session, if ever they will ask for a special session, okay lang sa Senado? Or do you think habulin na lang after, less than a month away ang opening ng regular session.

SP Sotto: Well, the answer is yes but when I was talking with ES Medialdea last night, I suggested to him that if ever they would indeed call for a special session and they have already submitted today the amendments from the Department of Finance, to the Committee on Finance, yung sabi ko, we'll sit down muna. Ang suggestion ko is we sit down first, leadership of the House, leadership of he Senate, and the Executive Department, to sit down first, find out what we could agree on so that we do not waste each other's time na tatanggapin namin, paguusapan sa House, hihintayin namin, tityra din kami dito, pagkatapos hindi rin kami magkasundo-sundo, di ba? Let's do what we did with Bayanihan I, and that is precisely what we did then, remember? Umupo kami, nagmeeting kami after I suggested to Sonny Dominguez first that we do a SAP and then yun na, nanganak na, ang dami ng suggestion na gawin, pero we sat down and discussed it so that when it came to us in a matter of 24 hours, tapos, di ba?

Q: Based on your conversation, ano yung nababsa mong inclination ng Malacanang, will they ask for a special session?

SP Sotto: Ang sabi sa akin ni Bingbong, he will let me know after lunch kaya mali ang timing ng Zoom natin, sabi niya after lunch, hindi pa ako tinatawagan, mamaya pa yun. Text ko na lang kayo sa Viber group natin.

Q: Bago ba itong sinubmit nila or nireiterate lang nila yug amendments?

SP Sotto: Hindi ko pa nababasa. Kanina lang natanggap ng Committee on Finance, ni Senator Angara so perhaps later this afternoon, he will send me a copy, I will give you feedback.

Q: I suppose they submitted it, part of your request mag usap kayo so that siguro hawak ninyo yung (unclear)?

SP Sotto: Correct, dapat may talking points na siguro.

Q: Going back on the opposition (unclear)?

SP Sotto: Yes, I am sure. I am confident that the President will accept such.

Q: Ano yung mas nakikita ninyong bigger problem, is it the compliance or attitude of the people or the government program?

SP Sotto: Kung ano ang mas malaking problema I think the compliance of the people. Mas malaking sakit ng ulo yun kesa doon sa programa. The reason I say that is that yung mga programa natin, na mga protocols natin lalo na yung impisa pa lang, yung lockdown pa lang, (unclear) may mga areas na pwede, it's the same thing that were done in other countries and they are all successful in those countries na sumunod. Pero those countries na matitigas ang ulo, na kung anu-ano ang sinisigaw, ayun, tingnan mo ang America, tingnan mo ang Europa, tingnan mo ang Pilipinas, hindi ba? Kaya siguro kung hahatiin natin yan, kung saan ang pagkukulang, mas malaki ang pagkukulang natin, ng mga kababayan natin na hindi sumusunod.

Q: May nabanggit kayo na may mga protocols na dapat review ng IATF, ano po ba yun?

SP Sotto: Siguro yung bilis katulad nung mga kakulangan na mass testing, tapos yung bilis ng mga laboratories, dapat kasi kailangan within a day or so alam na kaagad ang resulta, kung pwede nga within 4 or 5 hours alam na ang result, ganoon dapat, so I hope they can fix that. Yun ang mga dapat na ayusin na mga protocols. And then there are areas na talaga naman, or selective nga ang suggestion ko ay selective MGCQ, selective GCQ, selective ECQ if necessary. Yun ang suggestion ko lang. Kaya lang kayo lang naman ang nakikinig sa akin, yung iba hindi nakikinig, so hayaan mo na, bahala sila.

Q: (Unclear) kung pakikinggan kayo?

SP Sotto: Kung pakikinggan ako dapat selective kasi marami tayong mga kababayan na sumusunod, maraming mga lugar na magaganda ang takbo, Baguio, Pasig, ang daming magandang area na okay di ba? Eh yung mahihirap na areas na sunabi ko, eh yung mga sa probinsiya na magaganda ang takbo? Dapat yun, pabayaan na muna tumakbo ang ekonomiya dahil sumusunod yung mga tao. Pero sa mga areas na mattigas ang ulo...

Q: Clarification lang sa rules ng Senate, may namention kayo sa amin before na there is a constitutional provision that prohibits Congress from holding session 20 days or 30 days before the SONA, paano kayo magsespecial session?

SP Sotto: Thirty days excluding holidays, nasa constitution yun. Pero meron ding provision sa constitution doon sa pagtawag ng spceial session, nahanap ko, nakalagay, that the President may call a special session anytime, eh ano na yan, yun ang mabigat na rider doon. So pag tumawag siya ng special session, kahit adjourned sine die kami, we will not be violating the constitution.