Transcript of interview of Senate President Enrile

On allegations of attempted bribery for Mancao to recant his testimony

SP Well, sino daw ang nang-suhol sa kanya? He should tell the names. Sino ba ang lumapit sa kanya, at ano ang sinabi? Para klaro. Mahirap naman yung magsasabi lang siya, paniniwalaan na natin. We have to asses what was said. How was the offer made? Magkano, at kung sino 'yun. Baka naman planted 'yun, basta ginawa para mapasama naman yung subject na tinatamaan. Q: Kasi sinabi po niya na may common friends daw sila ni - inaudible -?

SP Sabihin niya kung sino yun para lumitaw, 'di ba? Mahirap yung mga ganoon.

Q: Pero sinagot na daw po ni Senator Ping? Never daw siya tumatanggap ng suhol.

SP Kaya nga. We do not know, there are so much maneuvering going around.

On Cabinet executives being reprimanded by the CA for not attending Senate hearings

SP Well, it depends. 'Yung wala silang rason, basta binale-wala nila 'yung committee, at may magco-complain sa Commission on Appointments, lalabas yun, o 'yung mga senador na affected ay member ng Commission on Appointments. Ibang chamber 'yun eh. That's a separate chamber from the Senate and the House.

(Q: Sir, hindi po ba pangit na this early, 'yung ibang Cabinet members hindi na nagpapakita ng interest to attend the Senate inquiry?

SP Alam mo I've been a Cabinet member myself. Sometimes, when you have schedules, nasa Gabinete ka. Kung magpapatawag 'yung Kongreso, and you cannot break your schedule, you have to send your representative. Unless, you are notified directly by the committee that they want your presence. In that case you have to write a letter and explain that "I could not, because I have to attend to this particular problem."

On how Noynoy can address the salaries of GOCCs

SP Pwede limitahin ng President 'yun. Salaries in government-owned and-controlled corporations are subject to limitation by the President. He is the over-all manager of the government. Unless it is by law, the level of salary is set by law, pero most of these corporations are subject to the Salary Standardization Law. Unless they are exempted. Even if they are exempted, they have to submit a compensation structure to the DBM. Hindi pu-pwede naman that they can do whatever they want. If that is approved by the board, the members of the board could be fired by the President. The President is powerful, kung gagamitin niya ang kapangyarihan. Otherwise, he has an anarchic government, if he cannot manage the entire bureaucracy.

On the Palace and the DPWH recalling the funds released to GMA's allies before she stepped down

SP The President can do that. He is the President now. He has control and supervision over the entire bureaucracy including the budget.

(Q: Kung nai-award na po yung contract, pwede pa ipa-recall?)

SP Ibang salitain 'yun. Siguro in those cases, pag-aaralan nila 'yun. Kung na-bid out na 'yun, mahirap mo ng tanggalin 'yun.

On the televised torture of a suspect by a policeman

SP That is uncalled for. Sinabi ko nga kay Sen. Honasan to study the possibility of conducting an investigation. I saw the video this afternoon. I don't like what I saw. In a civilized government, that should not be done. It means that they are extracting information from somebody against the Constitution. I asked Sen. Honasan to study the possibility of conducting an inquiry in aid of legislation to ferret out these things. I saw the interview by Tony Velasquez of that police officer. The face of the one torturing appears on television, I do not understand why they could not identify them. If I were the head of the office, if I were the head of the Department of Interior and Local Government, I will impound all of those people in that unit and conduct a thorough investigation, and separate, kick out those people from the service immediately. There is no ifs and buts about it. How can you justify a thing like that? Inhuman 'yung ginawa nila. Pag-palagay na lang natin na criminal 'yun, that's bestiality and inhuman. Kaya nung araw, nung ako ay nasa Defense Department, mayroong mga ganyan, I kicked out men in uniform, no matter who they are, whether they are officers or enlisted men. There's no ifs and buts about it, otherwise you cannot discipline your men if you tolerate things like that.

On whether the Anti-Torture Act of 2009 is strong enough to prosecute

SP The law is strong enough if the people who are implementing it are strong enough to do their jobs.

On Lacson

SP We will see what we can do to help him, within the law. We cannot go against it, we are not the Courts. The Courts are the ones in-charge of this case, and there is a warrant issued. We will see to it that he is not tortured. That he is not abused. That they will not demean him. That they will not insult him and treat him like an animal. He must be given his due as a human being. That indignities will not be inflicted on him.

On the transfer of the Senate to a new office

SP 'Yun ang ginagawa namin ngayon. I already initiated that.