TRANSCRIPT OF SENATOR SERGIO OSMENA III'S AMBUSH INTERVIEW

On the jueteng allegations of Archbishop Oscar Cruz

Q: Archbishop Oscar Cruz says malalapit daw kay President Noynoy ang may nagpapatakbo ngayon ng jueteng?

Serge: I hope Archbishop Cruz comes out with a name. In the first place, President Noynoy has so many friends and they are all under a cloud, hindi naman tama iyon ano. So, sabihin niya ang mga pangalan ng 2 o 5 o 7 mga tao na iyon so that we can begin making an inquiry,in aid of legislation, into how these things happened all over again. As a matter of fact, napaka-serious po iyan because the main promise made by President Noynoy was wala ng corrupt, wala ng kotong, wala ng katiwalian sa gobyerno. If this is true, that his close friends are the ones who do it, mawawala ang kumpiyansa ng taumbayan sa kanya.

Q: The Senate should investigate this?

Serge: Yes, definitely. There are no sacred cows.

Q: May intel funds daw ang gobyerno, iyan dapat ang gamitin para silipin ang mga kaibigan ng pangulo?

Serge: Ang mahalaga diyan is for Archbishop Cruz to mention the names. We're always guessing, nasan ba sila, anong siyudad, anong agency. Tama na iyan. Let's stop playing those games. Come out with those names first. It's also not fair for other people whom President Noynoy has appointed and who are not under a cloud. It's absolutely not fair.

Q: Kanino ang burden of proof?

Serge: Ang burden of proof muna kay Archbishop Cruz. I am sure he has the names. It's just that for some reason or another, he just doesn't want to name them first. Pinapalutang lang muna.

On Globe Asiatique-Pagibig financial arrangement

Q: Nakita niyo may konting kaluwagan dun sa pagpa-process nung utang? Within 7 days lang daw?

Serge: Iyong 7 days na iyon, express lane iyon. But that express lane opens you up to a lot of shortcuts. And kung may shortcuts, ang daming wais diyan na marunong maghanap ng butas. Ang daming butas diyan kung shortcut. And that's what happened here. 1,400 na mga fakes were not detected for months. Bakit? Binabayaran kasi ng Globe Asiatique eh. P5,000 a month lang iyan. So, kung babayaran iyan at tumatanggap ang Pag-IBIG ng payment, valid. Until they did that post-validation process at nakita nila na wala palang tao.

Q: May sweeteners daw na ibinigay sa Globe Asiatique?

Serge: Iyan na iyong sweetener. They fast-tracked the process. They allowed Globe Asiatique to pick and qualify the buyers. So, what they did was: 'O, qualified ka ha. Basta pirma ka lang dito. Ako na ang bahala. Ako magbabayad ng monthly. In the meantime, here's a bonus of P2,000.'

Q: Itutuloy niyo ang hearing sa Committee on Banks?

Serge: Oh yes, definitely.

Q: Ipapatawag niyo po si Kabayan?

Serge: Yes. I already talked with him. And I asked him to come and attend the hearing. He promised he woud.

Q: What about Rep. Quimbo?

Serge: I already met with Congressman Quimbo. He promised he would attend the hearing.

Q: Paano iyong parliamentary immunity?

Serge: Walang parliamentary immunity. Even we, ourselves, ought to appear if a committee calls us. It has nothing to do with immunity. He can keep quiet if he wants. He doesn't have to answer all the questions. He can says, 'Well, I am sorry, I cannot answer that because it might affect me because I am being investigated by the Ombudsman.' But, he's not off the hook. He'll help us, he'll explain to us the process that was followed.

Q: Is anyone off the hook now?

Serge: Nobody is off the hook because I have not even started.

Q: Kelan ang hearing?

Serge: Earliest will be next Thursday because I still have to do my homework.

Q: Is this a connivance?

Serge: It's not connivance. Pinaluwag nila ang process. Wala naman sila sa loob. Ang nangyari ang sinabi lang nila, sige, i-qualify mo na iyan tapos i-register mo na tapos ire-release ko na ang pera. Don't tell me anymore how you did it.

Q: Sabi ni Delfin Lee other developers are just out to get him kasi they can't get loans from Pag-IBIG?

Serge: How can they compete with you if you have an inside track?