Transcript of Interview with Sen. Alan Cayetano  

SALAMAT SA DIYOS AT SA LAHAT NG MGA TUMULONG... ANG PANGULO, PINIRMAHAN NA PO ANG ISKOLAR NG BAYAN!

ASC: You can give me a few minutes just to highlight a few things... Salamat sa Diyos at sa lahat ng mga tumulong... Ang Pangulo, pinirmahan na po ang Iskolar ng Bayan... Simple lang po ang bill na ito. Top ten sa bawat public high school - hanggang 500 yung top ten, kapag more than 500 na, may one additional slot. Sa data po ng DepEd, there are almost 3,000 public schools, 7,917 students. Now, that translates to possible 79,170 scholars. Basically po, the average na gastos sa State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) ranges from P3,000-P10,000. So nag-allot po ng P10,000 per student para sa kanilang tuition and other fees, pangalawa, walang entrance exam. May entrance requirement pero walang entrance exam.

80,000 beneficiaries, the average cost is P19,000. So we allotted P20,000 per studen. So P1.572 billion ay kasama na sa budget ng CHED for the Iskolar ng Bayan for the first year. It will be a good experiment sapagkat after this year, [inaudible]... So mababantayan natin if it's a good program.

Bakit walang entrance exam? Kasi sa isang probinsya, usually, kung sino ang nasa urban areas, yung sa kapitolyo, kahit more than top ten, top 20, top 50, madaling makakapasa yan. Eh ditong sa mga isla, sa bundok, yung malalayo sa school, kahit top ten po sila, syempre iba ang quality ng education dahil minsan walang kuryente, kulang ng teachers, kulang sa gamit. So kung nag-top ten sila pero hindi sila pumasa ng entrance exam, hindi naman na siguro kasalanan ng bata yun... Kasalanan na ng estado yun. So that is why, gumagawa tayo ng action o program tulad ng Iskolar ng Bayan. Ngayon, kung nasa top ten sila, wala nang entrance exam. Pero magkakaroon ng requirements ang school. Yung usual, medical checkup, etc.

THE SOLUTION TO FLOODING, CONGESTION, AND TRAFFIC IN METRO MANILA IS TO INVEST OUTSIDE METRO MANILA.

[Inaudible] I expect na kapag natapos ang ginagawa ng DPWH, ginagawa ng MMDA, yung buhol-buhol na traffic, yung nag-iisip na mawawala ang konting baha, yung sa nag-iisip na yung land transportation medyo gaganda, I am sorry to tell you, hindi mangyayari yun. Kung luluwag man ang konting lugar sa Metro manila, temporary lang po yun, pero kung... pa-congest nang pa-congest ang Metro Manila. Bakit po? Dahil punong-puno na ang Metro Manila. The solution to flooding, congestion, and traffic in Metro Manila is to invest outside Metro Manila. Sa drivers ng ating ekonomiya, ang infrastructure spending [inaudible]. Marami tayo nun sa Metro Manila. Dumadami ang contractor at manggagawa, kumukuha tayo sa probinsya na gagawa sa Metro Manila, nakikita nila mas magaganda ang mga programa ng LGU dito, andito ang pera, may eskwelahan, may trabaho, lilipat sila dito. Parami ng parami ang tao dito. This chart will show you, 26 percent ng budget ng buong bansa, nasa central offices, eh nasaan ba ang central offices? Nasa Metro Manila. 21 percent ay NCR budget, so almost 46 percent ang NCR budget...

Yan po ay binigay mismo ng DBM, of course, subject to the amendments that are being made. But it is safe to assume that 35 to 45 percent of the budget will be in Metro Manila. Remember, ang mga PPP, karamihan niyan nasa Metro Manila din sapagkat... yan ang kumikita. Noong 2013, out of P184 billion na ininclude ng NEDA, P142 billion Metro Manila. Noong 2014, P199 billion, P163 billion Metro Manila. So hindi mo made-decongest ang Metro Manila habang ganyan ang sistema. Hindi ko na ipapakita para hindi na humaba, but I can give you the charts and the date per department. And per department, halos pareho din. Nagre-range ng 10-15 percent ang NCR, nagre-range ng 10-20 percent ang central offices, then ang pinaka-number two o number three sa ibang regions are only 8-4 percent. Then the rest, mas mababa na. so it is the same pattern, whether DOH, etc. Magugulat ka, pati tourism, 8 percent Metro Manila. Sa labas ng Metro Manila, kahit punong punno ng turista, 2-3 percent lang.

Lastly, ito po ang sinubmit ko for the amendments na hindi na na-carry dahil wala nang time, but maybe sa bicam, we will consider. Kung kaya natin gumastos ng P64 billion for the Conditional Cash Transfer, bakit hindi natin pwedeng lagyan ang Micro, Small, and Medium Entrepreneurships (MSMEs) better prices? Sa ngayon, less than P2 billion ang ginagamit natin sa entrepreneurship, sa MSMEs. Samantalang P64 billion ang sa CCT program. So I am proposing a billion per region to promote or sustain MSMEs, kasama diyan ang kapital; P500 million per region for tourism, eco tourism, agri tourism, and related support services and development; P500 million per region for college and technical education scholarships; and P500 million for construction of best practice primary health care centers. Para hindi humaba, I am giving you a copy of the letter I sent to Sen. Chiz kasi nandun po sa letter ang background ng congestion sa Metro Manila and doon sa mga amendments na ito.

Going back, we have 2.2 million cars in the cities of Metro Manila a day. Next year, 2015, car industries are predicting 250,000 new cars na mabebenta. 58 percent, sa Metro Manila lang mapupunta. So no matter how many streets, underpass, overpass, land reforms, ang gawin mo sa Metro Manila, ang simple-simple, puno masyado...

Sa MSMEs, naglagay ng P100 million... [inaudible] I will continue to push for this in the bicam. Ang usual naman na sagot is saan kukuha ng pondo. But ang point ko, tingnan mo ang programa na gusto ng Pangulo, tulad ng CCT, nakahanap naman sila ng P64 billion. So kung hahanapin talaga... You know P17 billion for MSMEs, isn't that an additional [inaudible]. I think three countries, grabe ang pagpasok ng investments at negosyo because of MSMEs. They are Thailand, Singapore and Korea. All of them have programs for small enterprises... Ang napakaimportante, dagdagan ang items for MSMEs...

With a P2.6-trillion budget, 10 percent is P230 billion. I am talking about 1 to 2 percent lang ng budget.

IT IS DEFINITELY A PORK-LESS BUDGET FOR LEGISLATORS. AS PER THE DEFINITION - PORK IS A LUMP SUM, AND THEN LEGISLATORS CAN CHOOSE WHERE THE MONEY WILL GO - PORK-LESS SIYA.

It is definitely a pork-less budget for legislators. As per the definition - pork is a lump sum, and then legislators can choose where the money will go - pork-less siya. But in terms of having lump sums and the executive can still dictate kung saan ilalagay, meron. But in other countries, they don't call lump sums for the president pork. So may kaunting semantics dito. So if in your minds, pork is any lump sum and anyone has discretion, may pork ang ibang secretaries at ang executive. But if you are saying legislators lang, wala nang say ang legislators ngayon after the budget is enacted. But there are lump sums. Some lump sums naman are justified, katulad ng calamity funds. Hindi mo naman masasabi talaga kung saan pwedeng ilagay.

Pero yung ibang lump sum halimbawa sa infra or agri ay pwede mo naman ilista this early kung saan mo ilalagay kung (inaudible). There are some lump sums for example sa CHED sa scholarships, in the sense na hindi ninname yung scholars. Hindi katulad dati ng yung legislator magbibigay lang ng pangalan, siguradong scholar na yun. So as long as yung guidelines ng CHED nilabas nila na it's a merit scholarship, it's not (inaudible) pero kung ilalabas nilang guidelines is that legislators give us the name then magiging pork yun.

You can only refer pero libre naman ang papel at sumulat but it's the guidelines that will matter. If in the guidelines it says na kailangan 85 yung grade, kailangan yung income level ganito, etc. so kahit anong sulat ng legislator pero kung nakalagay dun na merong discretion na legislators can do this, sa pagkakaalam ko walang ganun. Sa pagkaalam ko, naging away pa nga sa CHED yun dahil CHED wants to be strict sa scholarship program. That's what I like about the Iskolar ng Bayan kasi walang lobbying yan, basta top 10 ka, kanino ka man politically, kanino ka mang anak, mayaman ka man o mahirap, sa public school ka, automatic scholar ka.

Of course there will always be attempts but it's not a matter of right sa legislator. We were just asked to give amendments then we were told it could be in small or big amounts but no guarantee that ipapasok yun and this is what I'm giving you the letter na sinubmit. But of course, part naman talaga ng trabaho nila yun. Umpisa pa lang ng budget cycle, sinabi na sa mga departments na ito ang dapat gawin. So meaning kung halimbawa, yung area mo tourism site, maaga pa lang during the year naglobby na sila sa Department of Tourism na lagyan. Pero that's all pre-budget.

I disagree respectfully with Senator Miriam if that's her view ha. I'm not sure. Mere consultations with legislators is not pork barrel because trabaho ng legislators yung batas eh. Hindi naman pwede na kung ano sabihin ng Secretary, dun niya lang ilagay. But hindi rin naman dapat na kung ano lang sabihin ng legislator, sumunod lang yung Secretary. That's why the guidelines or the basis... so katulad nung DPWH, cinomputerize nila or gumawa sila ng system kung ano ang priorities sa main roads. So kahit ibigay ng legislator, kung wala sa system nila, hindi papasok. So nagkaron ng win-win solution ang ibang mga agency. Kasi halimbawa sa tourism diba, it's always an argument. Sa isla mo ba ilalagay, sa beach, sa forest, agri tourism, eco tourism so minsan subjective.

WITHOUT THE FOI, EVEN A PORK-LESS BUDGET CAN BE SUSCEPTIBLE TO LOBBYING.

Of course, ang legislator will always lobby for his side. But what's important for me now, is there is transparency. So a pork-less budget without the FOI is still dangerous. So I think rather than focus on pork kasi wala namang legislative pork dito, let's focus on the FOI kasi kung masusundan naman kung saan napupunta ang pera, madaling tanungin bakit? So kunyari nakalagay ang priority natin sa Central Luzon is Tarlac, for these kinds of irrigation, biglang napunta sa Pampanga, pag may FOI, pwede nang alamin kung bakit doon napunta. Without the FOI, even a pork-less budget can be susceptible to lobbying.

I will still like to see us moving to have discretionary and calamity funds as a lump sum (budget). All the rest should still be itemized because wala namang dahilan na hindi ma-itemize except sa sobrang dami ng trabaho. So, having said that, maraming safeguards pero habang walang FOI, ngayon we're doing the Makati investigation pero hindi tayo makakuha ng dokumento. Senado na yun, andyan na yung COA, COA na nagsabi na tinatakot, pinasok yung bahay yung ng isang Commissioner at yung vault kung nasan ang mga dokumento, nawawala. So, can you imagine other multi-billion projects all over the country?

WE'VE COME A LONG WAY MAY KAIBAHAN NUNG PANAHON NI GMA BUT MARAMI PA TAYONG PWEDENG GAWIN PARA MA-INSTITUTIONALIZE ANG TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY.

So, it's still (the duty) not only for investigative journalism but senators or congressman to piece together how some things are procured or how some things are done in the country. Kulang pa rin talaga yung transparency. We've come a long way no. May kaibahan nung panahon ni GMA sa ngayon so relatively, it's much better but in absolute terms, marami pa tayong pwedeng gawin para ma-institutionalize ang transparency and accountability.

Bottom line, kahit sinong ituro, babagsak ito sa balikat ng leaders ng ating bansa at ng administrasyon. Ang sinabi ng Pangulo kay Vice President na okay lang mag-criticize ka pero magbigay ka ng solusyon pero kung magci-criticize ka for the sake of criticizing, lumabas ka na lang. Rather than point fingers, I'd rather say na lahat tayo nagkulang, it might be true that part of the decision ng Supreme Court sa DAP was meant to spend less but Congress has been totally cooperative with the Palace. Dadalawang bill ang medyo nahuli, yung Bangsamoro and emergency pero pareho namang kasalanan ng Kongreso. Sa Bangsamoro naman, it was submitted earlier sa amin so ongoing yung hearings ngayon. Sa emergency naman, there was some data, and Senator Osmena wasn't comfortable giving that. So meaning, kung sinabi nilang bumagal ang spending kasi walang DAP, that's partially true kasi mas mabilis silang magspend pag may DAP pero pwede naman nilang hingin samin na supplemental budget yun eh.

Before 2010, ang sagot ni Mayor Lani eh tanungin ni Mayor Toby sa bestfriend niya. Since day 1 that Mayor Lani became mayor, hinihingi siya ng special audit sa COA, hindi nagsspecial audit ang COA kasi talagang maraming nawala, P300 million from Taguig nawala.

After her purchases, it's always inspected by COA. And of course, pinamimigay yung house to house. Gusto ng COA, there's no question kung 100 percent sa tao merong video kami na may pirma, ID and everything. Ang gusto ng COA, cheke. Eh bente mil ang aming scholars, so paano mo bibigyan ng cheke ang bente mil na tao, kalahati sa kanila, walang bank account because they're below 18 years old, they're new graduates and then iccash pa nila bago ibayad. Kung i-endorse nila sa school, minsan hindi sakto o mas mahal pa, binayaran pa nila yung school. Si Mayor Lani wants to cut the red tape, so gusto niya cash ang binibigay sa tao. Pero nakuha ng tao, it's all documented, not only on paper but on video.