TRANSCRIPT OF PRESS CONFERENCE
On the issue of Senators receiving additional funds from SP

ASC: Happy new year, everybody.

Reporter: Sir, isa daw kayo sa hindi nabigyan ng two tranches ng additional MOOE. Kailan ninyo nalaman iyon?

ASC: Hindi issue at hindi dapat maging issue sa amin ang pera dahil napakadaming problema ng mga Pilipino--'yung mga areas ravaged by calamities, mga peace and order problems na lumalabas at nagpuputukan ngayon, 'yung mga hindi lumalabas sa news na mga pagnanakaw, holdup, patayan, tapos 'yung presyo ng mga bilihin na pagkatapos ng pasko, kakulangan sa trabaho, 'yung pataas nang pataas na presyo - all these are major issues. Kaya nakakahiya naman kung ang pag-uusapan ng senado ay ang additional pondo o alleged Christmas gifts galing sa Senate President.

"It is not about the money, we will continue to function and work hard"

However, I'd like to remind the Senate President na noong panahon ni GMA, inipit din kami at lahat ng panggigipit ay ginawa--tinanggal ang security, 'yung mga pondo naming inipit din--but it didn't change my view of what's right and wrong. So he (Senate President) can do what he wants to do, ayaw niyang ibigay ang pondo, we will continue to function and work hard, and we will keep doing our best.

In fact, ang pondo naman na iyon kung additional lang, doon nga sa regular na pondo nagsauli pa kami ng almost a hundred or a little over a hundred thousand this year dahil sumobra pa nga ang pondo. So it's not about the money.

Pero akala ko, sa tuwid na daan, tapos na ang GMA tactics na kapag gusto ka, madami kang pondo, pero kapag may problema sa iyo, maliit ang pondo mo. Sabi niya dahil nasa minority kami, hindi ibinigay. Pero kay manong Joker Arroyo na nasa minority din, ibinigay.

"It's less of an issue for us in the minority, it's an issue for them in the Majority"

So I think it's less an issue for us in the minority, it's an issue for them in the majority. Because when we joined the minority, alam na namin na may mga benefits na hindi ibibigay sa amin. Hindi dapat tingnan ang mga chairmanships because even during the time of Sen. Villar when he was senate president, and the past SP, Senator Drilon, Pimentel, ang mga minority may committees din. Kaya ngayon bakit kinukwestiyon na ang mga minority ay may committee?

Bakit ko sinasabing issue ito for the majority? Because what if one day 'yung iba sa majority ay hindi makasundo ni Sen. Enrile and they join the minority? Ibig sabihin tatanggalan din sila o babawasan din ng pondo? This is really a bad precedent. This Enrile precedent is the first time wherein regular funds for MOOE, namili kung sino ang mga type ng senate president na bigyan, at type niyang huwag bigyan. For me it's an issue of the independence of the Senate.

"Gusto pala niya siya ang happy"

Akala ko ang rule ng Senate President, "Gusto ko lahat kayo happy." Ang lumalabas ngayon ang gusto pala niya siya ang happy. Kung happy siya sa'yo, mayroon kang P1.6 million. Kung hindi siya happy sa iyo, hindi niya ire-release sa iyo ang pondo.

I'd like to remind him na walang personalan pagdating sa RH Bill at sa Sin Tax. 'Yung tingin ng tao that he's losing control of the Senate dahil iba ang tingin niya sa RH Bill at sa Sin Tax, has nothing to do with his leadership. Because those are issues. And majority of the Senate were for the RH Bill and majority was for our version of the sin taxes. Kaya bakit niya pepersonalin kung ano ang stand sa mga issues na iyon?

That's why I said, as Sen. Trillanes said also, hindi problema sa amin iyon. We will continue to function. Pero ang problema, hindi pa doon natapos iyon.

"I thought there is no room for those kinds of tactics in our "tuwid na daan"? "

Hindi ko alam kung nasabi sa inyo na nakatanggap kami ng memo na 'yung ibang empleyado na naka-assign sa akin galing sa Secretariat, pinapa-report na sa mother unit. Ganoon din ang ginawa niya when I first became minority leader na 'yung kwarto na para sa minority leader, 'yung second room, hindi ibinigay sa akin at ibinigay sa staff niya. Kaya hindi bago sa akin ang panggigipit. Panahon pa ni GMA.

Akala ko lang tapos na ang mga ganoong klase ng tactics. Hindi pa pala. Ngayon, itatanong ko sa mga majority, 'yan ba ang tuwid na daan? Iyan ba ang gusto ninyo? Dahil kung ano ang itinanim ninyo ngayon, iyan din ang aanihin ninyo bukas. Baka dumating ang time na kami pwedeng nasa Senate, sila wala, ganoon din ang gawin ng bagong majority na kung sino ang nasa minority o hindi ninyo kasama sa isang issue, tatanggalan kayo ng pondo tapos kung sino ang nagugustuhan, bibigyan ng pondo.

It's up to the majority kung tingin nila happy sila sa sitwasyon na ganoon, hindi kami basta aangal. But it's unfair that we are judged because of being in the minority kasi alam naman natin na sa senado, bawat senador ay may paninindigan. Kaya bakit sasabihin na hindi ako tunay na minority just because I voted for the Sin Tax na gusto ng pangulo, and the RH Bill na gusto din ng pangulo.

Hindi ko naman pwedeng sabihin na siya ang hindi tumutupad sa pagiging Senate President dahil ang gusto ng pangulo hindi niya sinunod. Why? Because that's his prerogative. Hindi ibig sabihin na Senate President ka, lahat na ng gusto ng Malacanang ay ibibgay mo. Siyempre, may sarili kang paninindigan. Pero siya ba binawasan ng pondo ng Malacanang dahil iba ang boto niya? Hindi. Pero bakit ang ibang miyembro ng senado ginawa niya?

"We should be instead forging unity in these crucial times"

But as I said, nakakahiya naman, Mr. Senate President, na sa dami ng problema ng Pilipinas, ang inaasikaso ninyo, ang inaasikaso natin sa Senado, kung kanino ang happy ka at kung kanino ang hindi ka happy, at kung sino ang may pondo at sino ang wala. Especially now that we only have two more weeks session weeks, we should be forging unity. Katulad ng FOI, hindi natin maipapasa iyan nang hindi tayo magtulong-tulong o magsama-sama.

'Yung ngayon na nangyayari sa PNP, if I can shift the topic to the alleged whatever you call it, kung ano ang nangyari sa Quezon, at 'yung ibang peace and order problems, we have to approach it very holistically.

Ano ba ang solusyon ng ibang bansa sa crime na nakakatulong, nakaka-solve, at nakakabawas ditto? Ngayon nagtuturuan whether or not may mga kinuhang gamit doon sa sasakyan.

"Proposed solution to issue of Peace and Order: Focus on prevention, Improve capabilities of law enforcers, Install CCTVs"

In other countries, especially in major thoroughfares, mayroon nang CCTVs. Tayo, sa Metro Manila mismo, Metro Cebu, Metro Davao, and other highly urbanized cities, the cities are left on their own whether maglalagay sila o hindi. The national government is not investing here. But for every CCTV you install, para kang nagdagdag ng sampu o dalawampung pulis.

Because it multiplies the ability of the police to monitor the situation. Also, tingnan po ninyo sa mall. Bakit less ang nakawan sa mall kaysa sa palengke? Bakit mas maganda ang kilos ng mga tao kapag nasa mall? It's not because the people are different. People of all walks of life go to the same mall. It's because they know that someone is monitoring them and that there are CCTVs.

The same thing with the crime lab. Ang laki ng expectation natin sa pulis na i-solve ang crime pero hingi sila nang hingi ng gamit para sa crime lab, hindi naman natin maibigay. Sa mga gamit lang sa fingerprint lifting, sa lie detector machines, 'yung ibang gamit, halos walang laman ang mga crime lab. Kaya umaasa ako na sa lahat ng nangyayaring ito, hindi lang natin sisihin ang mga pulis. Ibigay din natin ang mga kailangan nilang equipment at technology para ma-solve natina ng mga crime at maiwasan.

Remember, we're only talking about solving a couple of crimes that represent so much of what's happening in the country. And the crucial thing is finding out how we can prevent them. Katulad din sa illegal na pagdadala ng baril, whether pro gunless society ka or anti, the CCTVs we have out there, the more that you can monitor how many people carry firearms. In fact, the more CCTVs you have, the more that some will feel that they don't need to bring guns anymore. Kasi feeling nila mas safe sila sa mga areas na ganyan.

Tingnan ninyo ang mga lugar na pinupuntahan ngayon ng mga tao kahit mga bar. May study internationally na 20-30% lesser crimes happen in places that are well-lit. it's not even giving more pay or more equipment sa PNP, it's even just simply lighting up areas where people congregate or pass by.

So I am hoping na kung nagkaroon ng educational crisis o nagkaroon ng mga convention at pag-uusap ang mga educators natin, noong nagkaroon ng crisis sa financial, nagkaroon ng mga meeting o convention ang ating mga bankers, bakit hindi magkaroon din ng convention o pagsasama-sama ang lahat ng involved sa peace and order--ang NB? If not, every now and then, paulit-ulit lang na mangyayari ang mga krimen na na-witness natin in the past few weeks.

"Shift of Senate Leadership: JPE tactic was meant to prevent a leadership change"

Reporter: Pwede bang mag-result ng shift sa Senate leadership 'yung nangyari?

ASC: I think this was meant to prevent a leadership change. Meaning, I don't know why gagawin ni Sen. Enrile iyon kung hindi to send a message that if you cross him even on issues, this is what's going to happen to you. As I have always said, the RH Bill has nothing to do with leadership change. Besides, mag-eeleksyon na tayo. There will really be a leadership issue after the election. And that cannot be resolved except by the 12 newly elected senators and the other 12 that will stay.

So wala namang move before na mag-eleksyon na palitan siya. I think there's paranoia on the side of some, because everytime there are big issues--noong nagkaroon ng impeachment, Sin Tax, RH Bill, palaging nababalita na papalitan siya. Ngayon naman, paskong pasko, ito nanaman ang magiging issue.

Actually, hindi ko nga alam na hindi kami nabigyan.

Reporter: Kailan ninyo nalaman?

ASC: I found out last week when my sister called me and said that there's the P250,000 and she thought siya lang ang may P250,000 sa lahat ng senators so she asked why. And that's when she learned that it was because some got some P1.6 million. Actually, one million pa nga ang nasabi niya sa akin.

It was only recently that I found out na November pa 'yung P250,000 sa amin, but I thought it was also for the MOOE. So two days after sinabi ni Ate Pia sa akin, may isang pahayagan na nag-text sa akin through my MRO saying that they already have a story on it, and whether I want to comment on it. This was two days before the story came out.

Reporter: So natanggap ninyo 'yung first tranche na P600,000?

ASC: Ang nangyayari kasi, sa dami ng membership namin sa committees, your chief of staff and your finance person handles all of that. For example, may monthly kami na MOOE sa CA, pagdating ng December, either may natira o may additional. Halimbawa, sa January, may budget ka for equipment, darating iyon.

All the senators have at least one account sa Landbank sa Senate. Kinukuha at ipinapasok doon ang pondo. Nire-report lang sa akin 'yung paggastos kasi naka-allot na iyon. How much are for bond papers? How much are for cellphone bills? How much ang for travel? And so on and so forth.

And then at the end of the year, for example, I allot P100,000 for travel expenses a month, say dalawang provincial, and the rest inside, kapag hindi ko nagastos, nirere-align towards the end of the year, or ginagamit sa iba.

Ganoon din sa empleyado. Kung ubos ang sa empleyado mo, wala kang ire-realign. Pero kung kulang ang empleyado mo, you can realign it. I don't know exactly where. The cheques coming in can be as small as P15,000 or bigger like half a million. It really depends on the Senate budget.

In my experience, for example, I run two offices. The office of the senator, OS Cayetano, and the office of the minority leader. Pumapasok iyon separately. And they are accounted for separately. May monthly accounting, may yearly accounting. I don't really personally distinguish. But I do know that every end of the year, mas marami 'yung pumapasok usually.

"First time in my knowledge there was an attempt to distinguish basic operating funds for one senator to another"

I think this was the first time there was an attempt to distinguish from one senator to another. Kasi usually sa Congresss, regardless sa iyong stand in any issue, mayroong certain operating funds na pare-pareho kayo. Kasi kahit anong sabihin mo, senador at congressman ka pa din. But there are other funds that are additional depending on the committee that you are part of, and depending on whether majority ka o minority. Halimbawa, majority leader ka, mas malaki ang pondo mo, mas madami kang empleyado and everything.

Noong kay GMA, or even during the impeachment of Erap, doon ko lang narinig na nag-ipitan ng pondo. Ni-release din later on. May it be pork barrel, allowances, or MOOE.

But for the Senate, I may be wrong, because bata pa ako sa Senate, but it's the first time I heard na mayroong common fund for everyone but mayroong mga siningle out na hindi binigyan. That's why I'm saying, kaming apat, hindi naman apektado ang offices namin, with or without that.

"Enrile Martial Law tactics should not set a precedent for others to follow"

Ang apektado dito ay 'yung integridad at independence ng Senate. Because once na maging sistema ito, ito na ang magiging norm. This is Enrile Martial Law tactics, eh. It's the same with GMA. Para itong the carrot and the stick na kapag may carrot sa harap, bibilis ang takbo, pero kung hindi iyon, papaluin mo.

Siguro, akala niya 'yung iba makukuha niya kapag bawasan ang committee o ang budget. Because as I said, I experienced that already. Noong umpisa pa lang, ayaw ibigay sa akin ang CA seat. Tapos 'yung kwarto, tapos ito. And then now, 'yung staff ko. I don't know kung ni-recall nila 'yung ibang staff ng mga senador sa majority.

Having said that, I throw that to the Senate. Kasi once it happened, it can happen again. And if it happened in the Senate, what if Malacanang starts doing that? What if Malacanang says if you vote for those na gusto ng Malacanang may pondo kayo, kung hindi, wala?

Remember, si Sen. Enrile mismo ang dami niyang kinontra sa gusto ng Malacanang. Pero ang alam ko, mas malaki palagi ang pondo niya kaysa sa pondo ng ibang senador. Iyon ang alam kong tuwid na daan--'yung rerespetuhin ang prinsipyo mo at hindi ka iipitin.

"Money should not be an issue: This will not affect our office operations, we will continue to work with him and respect him as SP"

Hindi ko alam kung ang daan ni Enrile is also a tuwid na daan or these tactics. But for us, we'll continue to give the respect that is due him as the senate president, we'll continue working with him, and hindi maaapektuhan ang operations ng mga opisina namin. And as I said, nagsauli pa nga kami ng sobrang pera. And then, money shouldn't be the issue. Nakakahiya sa mga tao na ito ang pinag-uusapan.

Reporter: May sinasabi si Sen. Enrile na binigyan ka na ng oversight committee kaya madami ka nang pondo kaya hindi na dapat bigyan pa ng P1.6 million.

ASC: 'Yung bawat oversight committee ay may pondo. Hindi pinag-uusapan kung sobra o hindi. There are some senators with three oversights na napakalalaki. And as I said, even during the time of Sen. Villar, lahat mayroong committee.

So ang tanong ngayon, bakit siya nagpapaka-auditor ng senate? Siya na ba ang magsasabi kung sino na ang senador na sobra? But I do know for a fact that during the budget hearing, gusto niyng tanggalan ng budget 'yung committee ni Sen. Trillanes. So ngayon, nagdamay-damay na. Pati na rin kami.

"This becomes an issue of the integrity and independence of the Senate"

Hindi ko alam kung ano ang reaction ngayon ng majority. Will they say okay lang dahil hindi naman sila nabawasan? That's up to them. But one day, baka hindi sila agree kay Sen. Enrile or sino man ang maging senate president 3-6-9 years from now, will we allow this to be a precedent in the Senate? The issue really is the integrity and the independence of the senate.

Isipin mo, what if the DILG or DBM secretary does the same? Na ang mga city na kakampi nila dadagdagan ng IRA, yung mga hindi babawasan, tapos sasabihin nila walang pulitika dito. Let's call a spade a spade daw. What's a spade, a heart, a diamond, or a clover in this case?

Some of the people in the majority voted against what the president wishes, and went with Sen. Enrile. The difference is the four of us have been standing up to him when it comes to certain issues. But as we said, walang personalan ang mga iyon. Issues lang iyon. Hindi naman pwedeng happy siya kapag nasunod siya. Kapag hindi siya nasunod hindi na siya happy. Mali. In the end, ang happy dapat ay ang tao. Hindi happy ang tao kung dahil sa problema sa peace and order, sa kawalan ng trabaho, at sa taas ng presyo. And that's what we should be thinking about during this time rather than talking about the funds of the Senate.

But if he doesn't resolve it, there'll always be people now talking this way. And as I said, 'yung staff naman ang kasunod. So after me talking this way, I'm already bracing that towards the election, maghanap pa sila kung ano pa ang gagawin para mang-ipit. Kung gusto nilang kunin na din pati opisina ko, sanay na rin naman ako, pwede naming doon sa basketball court sa senado, wala naming problema.

Reporter: You said hindi ito issue sa dami ng ibang problema.

ASC: I meant hindi dapat nangyari ito. Because he did that, ito pa ang napag-uusapan. Hindi ba, that's what I'm throwing this issue back to him. He's the senate president, alam niya ang dami ng problema ng bansa. So why did he have to do this? He could have called the four of us and pwedeng kami na lang ang nagsauli, kami na lang ang nagsabi na huwag nang ibigay dahil hindi issue sa amin ang pera. But obviously, he wanted to send a message not only to the four of us but to all senators.

Narinig na ba ninyo dati na may discretion ang senate president kung sino ang bibigyan ng pondo at hindi? First time ko narinig iyon. Mayroon siyang discretionary fund na napakalaki. Iyon, discretion niya. Pero ito, hindi niya discretiuon ito. Ang usapan dati, kung ano ang pondo ng isang opisina, 'yon ang pondo ng lahat dahil pare-pareho naman kaming senador.

"It does not matter how the story was revealed, we're all for transparency"

Reporter: What can you say about what that anonymous senator did? Do you approve of what he or she did na inilabas niya ito?

ASC: From the start, we were all about transparency. Ang dami nating mga iniimbestigahan na ibang opisina tungkol sa pondo, tapos sa senado magagalit tayo kapag may lumabas? So whether ang naglabas niyan ay staff, o senador, hindi issue.

Kung baliktarin ko, baka nga ang office ng senate president ang naglabas niyan, eh. By doing that, he was really sending a message. Kung sila nga ang naglabas, kasi hindi ko alam kung sino, as I said, I still have the text message from my staff sa cellphone na nakalagay doon "We already have the story, gusto niyo bang mag-comment o hindi?"

Ang pagkakamali lang siguro, kung office ng senate president nga ang naglabas, hindi nila alam that it will be labelled as a Christmas gift.