Press Release
June 8, 2017

Sen. Bam on false allegations of Sec. Aguirre, fake news, Martial Law
(Transcript of Sen. Bam's Kapihan sa Senado interview)

Q: Good morning, welcome to our weekly Kapihan sa Senado. Ang guest natin, if I'm not mistaken, first time niya dito sa Kapihan. He is the Chairman on Committee on Science and Technology, former Chairman on Committee on Education, let us all welcome Deputy Minority Floor Leader, Bam Aquino. Hi sir, good morning.

Sen. Bam: Good morning Cely, good morning sa mga kaibigan natin, I'm very happy to see all of you here. Unang una po sa lahat, I'd like to thank the PRIB for giving me this opportunity to also talk about what happened yesterday in detail. At gusto ko pong detalyehin iyong mga statements ni Secretary Aguirre, iyong mga activities po natin, and we'll leave it to you to judge yung kanyang statements. Although I will say this, last night, nakapag-usap na rin kami. At nag-apologize na rin siya sakin, personally, over the phone. But, before that, gusto ko lang pong ipakita ang ilang mga photographs at ilang mga pangyayari na rin po over the last few weeks. So una, we'd like to share with you the statement of Secretary Aguirre. Sabi po niya kahapon, and this is quoted from the newspaper, which is a direct quote from what he had said, sabi niya po,

"Senator Bam went to Marawi on April 24, April 28, and they stayed. They had a meeting at Lake View Resort Hotel on May 2. Present were Senator Aquino, Ronald Llamas, Alejano, Trillanes, and some clans doon sa Marawi. So hindi ko naman- So hindi ko malaman why after they went there, nagkagulo na after about two weeks. This could be the spark that triggered the terroristic acts in Marawi", he added.

Now, bago po natin puntahan yung mga possible motives po nila sa statement na ito, gusto ko lang po isa-isahin yung mga dates. Uhm, hindi lang po May 2 ang kanyang namention. He also mentioned two other dates. April 24 and April 28. Now, what happened on April 24? In the morning of April 24, there was actually a- I had a speech at the New Life Academy at BGC. Unfortunately, I don't have any photos. Our office does not have any photos of that event. But, the students there took a lot of photos. So malinaw po na sa umaga ng April 24, nagsalita po tayo at New Life Academy in BGC, pinag-usapan po natin yung adbokasiya natin sa social enterprise, at sa tulong sa ating maliliit na negosyante.

Later on that day, I visited- ah, later on that day I had lunch with our Teach For The Philippines Ambassadors. Some of them are now working in CHED, in DepEd, and we had a send-off lunch po sa kanila because they helped my office for a year, and now they're off to do other things. Nung hapon, bumisita po kami sa wake ng asawa ni Congressman Edcel Lagman. As we know, his wife passed away around that time, and I visited him, and again, I was there with other Congress persons, marami rin pong nagpapicture, klaro po, nandito tayo sa Metro Manila. Nung gabi, I attended a Kaya Natin birthday celebration for Vice President Leni, again, another- hindi naman siya public event, pero marami hong tao na nandun. This was in Max restaurant in Quezon City. Of course, Vice President Leni's birthday was the day before. So, April 24, clearly, I was here the whole day, and not in Marawi.

Mas nakakatawa po yung April 28, because the morning of April 28 was the ASEAN Summit. And, as we know, wala hong trabaho dito sa Senado for that week, you all weren't allowed to come to the Senate kasi malaki yung pangyayari, and I was one of the panel speakers at the ASEAN Prosperity For All Summit. Katabi ko pa po si GMA, tingnan ninyo. She's my seatmate. And this was a very public event- April 28. This was broadcast throughout most of the networks, the Prime Minister of Malaysia was there, I even shook his hand, I don't know if you want to ask him kung nandun ba talaga ako o wala, but that was in the morning of April 28.

Sa hapon ng April 28, I went to Tarlac to attend the Adobo Festival. Napakaraming adobo po yung nakain ko sa araw na iyon. You can ask all of the stores there, ang kanilang mga pinrovide. I was with the Mayor, Mayor Angeles, who, of course, was the host of the Adobo Festival in Tarlac City. So this is April 28 from morning to evening.

On May 2, which, of course is the so called 'big meeting' ni Secretary Aguirre, interestingly enough, I was at the PICC, just a few meters away from the Senate, speaking in front of thousands of students. Kaharap ko po doon libu-libong mga estudyante as their graduation speaker. Si Senator JV was the graduation speaker after me. Uhm, and, again, thousands of people were there. Teachers, administrators, parents- andun po silang lahat. Nung hapon, I was here in the Senate. And the records of the Senate will show that I was present, dito po sa session on May 2.

Now, ano pong ibig sabihin nito? Lahat ho ng mga facts na ito, lahat ng mga pangyayaring ito, hindi ho mahirap hanapin. Napakadali pong hanapin kung nasaan tayo sa mga araw na iyan, na minention po ni Secretary Aguirre. And yet, ang ating Secretary of Justice, instead of doing the proper research, the proper inquiries into where we were, nagbigay po siya ng salita ng basta- basta lang, na nandun daw po tayo sa Marawi, nakikipagmeeting para sa terrorismo. I mean, if that is probably the height of irresponsibility. Kung tayo nga po, nagagalit tayo sa mga taong nagsespread ng fake news sa internet, ano pa po yung isang kawani ng gobyerno? Isang opisyal ng ating bansa na Kagawaran ng Hustisya pa ang kaniyang mandato.

So it's really very irresponsible for Secretary Aguirre to make those statements habang napakadali naman, napaka easy naman na malaman yung katotohanan. Siguro nga po, kung gusto mong hanapin yung katotohanan, madali lang. Kung ayaw mong hanapin, talagang hindi mo ito mahahanap. Now, we go to the picture that is being alleged. And of course, di naman ito bago, napag-usapan na rin ito online, ito daw po yung inaalledge na photo nung meeting. Nasaan po tayo diyan? Ang tanong ko po sa inyong lahat. Hinahanap ko rin po kung nasaan tayo. My understanding is that hindi naman ho siguro ako yung gentlemen sa kanan, I think that's Vice Governor Cerilles, who also posted about this picture. Clearly, that's Senator Trillanes, clearly that's Secretary Llamas, clearly that's Congressman Alejano. Yung nasa gitna po, if I'm not mistaken, is Former Secretary Lapid. Now, hindi ko po alam kung napagkakamalan po akong Secretary Mark Lapid, dehamak naman po siyang mas matipuno at mas pogi sa akin, noh. So, hindi ko ho alam kung tingin ho nila ako yun. Hindi naman ho ako siguro yung nasa likod. Hindi rin naman ho siguro ako yung nakapula. But, it's not a blurred picture- it's quite a clear picture, and yet, sinama pa rin po yung pangalan natin. Kung ito na po yung main na ebidensiya na nagkaroon po ng isang meeting, nasaan po tayo diyan? So bakit tayo sinama doon sa listahan ng mga na-implicate?

Pangalawa, this seems to be a two year-old picture, at iyong isang kausap ko po na media rin, earlier today on phone patch, said that this is likely the Iloilo airport, and not even Marawi. I don't know if that's true, but it doesn't seem to be- any establishment in Marawi, kung tutuusin. So, kung ito na po yung pinaka ebidensiya, isn't it, again, the height of irresponsibility? Hindi mo naman makita po diyan yung mukha ko, and yet isasama mo pa rin yung aking pangalan dun sa mga listahan ng mga implicated po dito.

Now, kagabi po, nag-usap po kami ni Secretary Aguirre, he already apologized, he offic- he told me, in not so many words, that with all the reports na pumasok po sa kaniya, he got confused. Na-confuse daw po siya sa mga reports na pumasok sa kanya. At, well, humingi po ng paumanhin, and he said he would publicly clarify and apologize today, at hinihintay ko pa rin po yung kaniyang public clarification and apology.

Now, that's one government agency. There are two other government agencies who actually spoke for me. Yung una po diyan is DTI, because the event that pinuntahan po namin on May 19, we have photos of May 19 as well. Uhm, again, this is a very public event. Isa po itong opening ng Negosyo Center in Marawi. This is the 508th Negosyo Center in the Philippines, and as all of you know, ako po yung author nung Go Negosyo Act, at sinisikap po naming maitayo ang mga business centers na ito all over the Philippines.

We were invited by the local government unit, si Vice Governor Adiong welcomed me, I was there with General Bautista, General Fortes. Throughout the whole trip, may kasama po akong AFP Escort. And, to be very frank, I was very happy with the event. Kasi, yung mga tao po doon, the Armed Forces, the local government, the min- the Marawi businessmen, were all saying na yung pagtulak ng negosyo at trabaho will help them in their peace efforts. Makakatulong daw po iyon na madala ang kapayapaan duns a lugar. And of course, a few days later, nangyari po yung atake. Obviously, our heart breaks for Marawi.

Now, the DTI Secretary already said yung pagpunta po natin diyan, and this is even last week, yung pagpunta po natin diyan was an official event, it was with the military, with the Department of Trade and Industry. And lahat ng mga lumalabas, is fake news. Na meron pong kulay na binibigay dun sa aking pagpunta sa Marawi. And yet here we have the Secretary of Justice. Siya mismo yung pumatol dun sa fake news, which, again, is irresponsible at talagang nakakabahala.

Now, may isa pa pong ahensiya na humingi po kami ng clarification, and of course, later on, you can ask him for his statement, but through text exchanges, pinaalam ko na idivulge ko to sa inyo, Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and I have been texting. Kasi, during the senate briefing po, the executive session, meron na pong nagtanong sa kaniya. Meron bang kinalaman ang oposisyon senators dun po sa Marawi? And in fact, even then, he said wala. There is no such thing. Malinaw na wala. So, I texted him again, sabi ko, Sir, puwede ba kitang i-quote? At sinabi niya po sa akin through text, sabi niya, Senator, these rumors are too absurd to be believed. Masyadong absurdo para paniwalaan pa. And this is our Martial Law administrator, our Secretary of National Defense, ang siya pong mismong nangangasiwa dito sa mga nangyayari pong pag-iimbestiga sa mga terror activities sa ating bansa. Siya po yung nagsabi. This morning, nagdagdag pa po siya. Sabi niya, General Bautista has vouched that you were with the AFP on the May 19 event. So dinagdagan pa po niya.

Now, kung ikaw po ang Secretary of Justice, mahirap po bang magreach-out sa isang kapwa miyembro ng Kabinete? Kay Secretary Lopez, kay Secretary Lorenzana, sa ating AFP, sa mga generals po who are responsible for this area, mahirap po ba yun? Hindi. Text mates po silang lahat, dapat po madali iyon. So, again, it is the height of irresponsibility na basta-basta lang pong sinabi po ito ni Secretary Aguirre, and again, like our discussion last night, I am waiting for his public clarification and his public apology.

Q: Sir, clarify ko lang dun sa phone conversation niyo last night- yun bang pag-aapologize niya, limited lang sa inyo? Hindi niyo ba itinanong yung sa kaso naman ng kasamahan niyo sa minority na Senator Antonio Trillanes?

Sen. Bam: Hindi po. Hindi po namin napag-usapan si Secretary Llamas, Senator Trillanes, Congressman Alejano, or even the other family names that he mentioned, noh. Uhm, to be frank, ang napag-usapan lang namin na sabi ko lang, Secretary, it's very clear, of course, by that point, umikot na po sa internet that we were present here in the Senate. Sabi ko, it's very clear na wala po tayo sa Marawi nung mga panahong iyan, and sa totoo rin lang, your statement has caused a lot of damage. Hindi lang po sa reputasyon- even in terms of our security, even in terms of the efforts of the AFP. Yung AFP na po mismo yung nagsasabi, wag maniwala sa fake news, wag kayong magsespread ng fake news, mas nakakagulo yan sa mga situwasyon sa ating bayan, and there he was- spreading fake news itself.

So, he backtracked, at sabi ho niya that, again, he was confused by the number of reports po na pumasok, and he apologized, and I said, please clarify this tomorrow publicly. Kasi kung sa publiko mo rin ito inihayag, kailangan sa publiko mo rin itong icorrect. At pumayag naman po siya.

Q: So sir, wala siyang nakita na motive, ba't nagkaron ng parang attempt, or insinuation, na you have something to do with Marawi.

Sen. Bam: Ako, Cely, I think, clearly, pulitika yung motivation. I mean, hindi naman po sikreto na meron po talagang.. meron talagang move to really implicate the opposition senators or those who have been dissenting on some of the issues of the administration. Sabi ko nga, yung problema po ng terorismo sa ating bansa, kailangan ho tayong lahat magsama-sama't magtulungan upang talagang matuldukan po natin yan. It's a very serious problem, not only in the Philippines, but in the whole world. And, the best way to be able to fight terroris, yung pinakamainam po na paraan, is lahat tayo magkakaisa para labanan yan. Hindi yung.. yung mga tao po dito ay pinag-aaway away pa. In fairness noh, we've spoken to the AFP a lot, at naiintindihan ng ating Armed Forces personnel that this is a time when we all need to rally together. Kailangan po tayo magtulungan para matalo po natin ang terrorismo. In the short term, meaning nandun po sa on ground operations, and in the long term, which is the development of Mindanao and the ARMM area. Kailangan ho tayo magtulungan. Nakikita ho nila kung gaano kaseryoso ang problemang ito. Pero, may mga elemento, Secretary Aguirre fell into that trap, pero alam naman natin, dahil po sa mga nagkakalat ng fake news, meron talagang elementong ginagamit ang pulitika para sa issue na ito. At nakakabahala po iyan. Kasi kapag ginagamit po ang pulitka sa issue ng trahedya sa Marawi, ang nananalo po diyan ay yung mga terorismo. Sila po yung nananalo diyan. Kailangan ho tayo magbukod-buklod, hindi po magwatak-watak. At ang pag-implicate po sa mga oposisyon senators, when clearly, the secretary of National Defense already said wala ho kaming kinalaman diyan, is a political motive at palagay ko po, nakakasama po yan sa sitwasyon sa Mindanao.

Q: Sir, iclarify ko lang. Si Secretary Aguirre, he was the one who called you last night?

Sen. Bam: No, so I was actually in a social event last night, and I was with other senators. And, they were all very upset about the accusations of Secretary Aguirre, and Senator Legarda, who was beside me, said 'I will clarify this. I will call him'. At siya po ang tumawag kay Secretary Aguirre.

Q: So hindi pa siya yung nag-initiate.

Sen. Bam: And even the Majority Floor Leader, si Senator Sotto, said na 'I will vouch for you, I'm the Majority Floor Leader, alam kong nandun ka sa session nung Ma 2". So hindi na po ito political. This is not even political, it's cross- across the administration, the majority and the minority already. Kapag nagbibintang ka sa mga senador, ng mga bagay-bagay na peke, hindi lang po personal po yung laban na yan. It becomes already an institutional problem. So, I am really hoping ho na he will, kung baga ay, gagawin po niya yung totoo, yung kanyang sinabi kagabi, he will clarify publicly, he will apologize publicly, at matigil na po yung ganitong klaseng akusasyon na wala naman pong basehan. And clearly, clearly as I have shown, clearly as the records show, hindi naman po talaga totoo.

Q: So sir, na-convince ka ba dun sa naging clarification ni Secretary Aguirre, and then apology accepted ba considering na hindi pa pala siya yung naginitiate na tawagan kayo?

Sen. Bam: Well, firstly, wala pa pong- well, the apology was last night, and I'm still hoping that he will clarify publicly. Kasi hindi po sapat yung kaming dalawa lang po nag-uusap. Kailangan ho talaga maisabi niya yan sa publiko, because sinimulan naman niya yan with the public. So kung gusto ho talaga niyang macorrect yung kaniyang sinabi, he should apologize publicly and correct it publicly.

Q: So sir, considering na sabi niyo politics ang posibleng motibo, so uh, kayo as Minority Group, dahil parang sinabi niyo nga, opposition yung tinatarget, ano yung pinaplano niyo para wag na maulit na ganito yung ginagawa against the opposition?

Sen. Bam: To be honest, we're still deciding on that. Uh, as you know, we're on session break, we're also thinking of maybe filing an investigation of this matter. Pagbalik po natin sa July, kasi kung wala naman ho kami, obviously wala naman ho kaming tinatago, magandang paimbestiga natin ito sa majority, ano, para malaman yung katotohanan. But, right now, because we're on break, medyo ano po yan, mga usap-usap palang po iyan. Right now, ang hinihiling ho natin is a public clarification and a public apology.

Q: So may mga naka-scheduled bang meeting sir ang Minority para madiscuss ano yung magiging susunod na hakbang niya?

Sen. Bam: Wala po. And to be frank, I want to disassociate this as a Minority problem. Kasi po yung mga nagreach out po sa atin na mga Senador kagabi, uh, who texted, saying this was wrong, mali ito, we will speak on your behalf, are both from the Majority and the Minority. Again, kapag may mga false accusations na ganun po ka-outrageous, ridiculous, out of this world, hindi lang po yan nagiging issue ng Minority at Majority. Issue na po iyan ng katotohanan. At pag issue po iyan ng katotohanan, lahat ho tayo ay apektado ho diyan.

Q: Sir, what can you say kasi parang siyempre may mga naniniwala dun sa accusation ni Secretary Aguirre, tapos sa Twitter kahapon, kahit pinakita ng mga reporters yung record nung Senate, some are saying baka daw after nung session, saka kayo nakipagkita.

Sen. Bam: Kaya ho namin mag-teleport no, papunta hong Marawi. The sad truth is, meron talagang maniniwala. Maraming maniniwala. Yung mga galit ho sa Minority, galit ho sa opposisyon, they really are inclined to believe all of this, at palagay ko alam din yan ni Secretary Aguirre. Kaya nga ho niya nirelease eh, diba? And lately, kung napapansin ho ninyo, may magrerelease ng maling balita, tapos after a while, ibabalik nalang. Pero by that time na binawi, ay nakaikot na po yung balita sa buong mundo, literally. So, we need to be responsible from the get go. From the start, dapat responsable tayo. Because we are officials of the government. Hindi ho kami, alam niyo yon, opisyales po eh. And you're the Secretary of Justice. We expect more from you. So, ito pong style na magsasabi kunwari sa media tapos babawiin nalang, eh we all know na it's not enough na mambawi lang. You need to acknowledge it, apologize for it, at wag niyo nang ulitin.

Sen. Bam: Now, marami hong naniniwala sa fake news. That's the reality of our life. Hindi lang po yan sa Pilipinas, sa buong mundo po yan. And it's a problem for the whole world- not just for our country. Now, ano ho yung panglaban diyan? Sa totoo lang, unang una, palagay ko yung real news, which is all of you. Kailangan tayong magtulungan upang labanan yung fake news. Kayo ho, may journalistic standards po kayo, may mga susundan kayong patakaran, kailangan kayo rin mismo ang lumaban doon.

Pangalawa, marami ang nagsasabi na dapat gayahin ang ibang mga bansa na mayroong legislation tungkol sa fake news. There are ongoing discussions about that. As you know, Germany, EU and other countries, mayroon silang patakaran sa paglaban sa fake news. Maybe it's time that we study at tingnan natin kung may applicable sa ating bansa.

Q: As deputy minority floor leader, concern niyo ba iyong accusation laban kay Sen. Antonio Trillanes, or its up to him to defend himself?

Sen. Bam: He has already defended himself and I think on May 2, he was also here at the Senate. The records showed na present din po siya. Itong photo naman, kung two years naman po iyong photo, paano mo naman iyan gagamitin na accusation sa kapwa legislators po natin.

Q: (Inaudible)

Sen. Bam: I think it's pretty clear na mayroong move against the opposition. Kung tiingnan niyo ang statements recently, nakafocus naman siya sa opposition. Ang takot ko lang dito, kung ganito ka-outrageous iyong mga sinasabi niya, sa mga susunod po niyang sasabihin, maniniwala pa ba tayo.Iyong credibility kasi nawawala with accusation this outrageous and this ridiculous.

Ang pinakamainam, i-acknowlege niya na nagkamali siya, mag-apologize po siya at itigil ang akusasyon na walang basehan, iyong pag-zero in sa mga political opponents ng administrasyon. Instead, maging malinaw sa kanyang trabaho bilang secretary of justice.

Q: Fit pa ba na maging DOJ Secretary si Sec. Aguirre?

Sen. Bam: During the security briefing, why did you ask sina Lorenzana na whether, na may mayroong information about. It was another who asked and they were making light of the moment kasi maraming fake news na lumalabas. The day after the attack, may fake news nang lumabas about sa pagpunta ko sa Marawi. Ganon sila kabilis gumawa ng pekeng balita. I'm not sure which senator asked it pero parang noong pinag-uusapan who's behind this, Secretary may mga nagbabalita sa mga oposisyon senators, totoo ba iyon? Natawa lang si Secretary Lorenzana, sabi niya, that's crazy or something like that. Last night, iyong text niya sa akin, you can quote me on this, pakisabi that there rumors are too absurd to be believed.

Q: Parang si Sec. Aguirre lang ang naniniwala na may kaugnayan ang mga dilaw sa destab?

Sen. Bam: Obviously si Secretary Lorenzana is the martial law administrator. Siya ang pangunahing nangangasiwa sa imbestigayon. The AFP of course, kanino ka pa ba maniniwala kundi sa AFP at sa Secretary of National Defense.

Q: (Inaudible)

Sen. Bam: That's his call. Kung sumusunod siya sa balita, palagay ko, magandang i-call niya ang attention ni Secretary Aguirre but that's his call.

Q: HIndi pa ba sapat na basis iyan para sibakin siya?

Sen. Bam: Again, that's the Cabinet call. Mahirap magsalita dahil I'm in the opposition but if there will be an internal cleansing with the Cabinet, why not?

Q: Palagay ko kasi, baka mayroon kasing kagustuhan na i-link ang oposisyon and then dumating iyong mga report, na-confuse na siya kung ano ang tama. HIndi naman siya either or. I'm just hoping that Sec. Aguirre can be more responsible with his work and be responsible with his statements. Mas maging responsable siya gaya ng nararapat sa isang Secretary of Justice ng ating bansa. Whether he's against the oppposition o for the administration, sabi nga nila, justice is blind. Hindi kumikiling kaninuman, maging administration ka o opposition ka, kung sino ka pa man, dapat ang hustisya bulag sa iyo. Iyon ang hinihiling natin sa kanya, maging fair siya, maging responsable siya, at iyong mga statement niya, i-verify niya at the minimum at huwag siyang makinig sa fake news.

Q:(Inaudible)

Sen. Bam: There are some groups who have come to me and said we should file cases para talagang klaro na mali itong nangyari at nagawa niya and we're still looking at that. Tinitingnan natin kung magandang course of action po iyon.

Q: Sir libel?

Sen. Bam: Hindi lang kasi ito personal. Iyong apology kasi is personal but this is also institutional because he represents the Department of Justice. So hindi lang po ito basta basta na bro sorry ha, nagkamali ako. Hindi lang kasi ganun iyon. This was said by the Secretary of Justice regarding sitting senators of the Philippines. Hindi siya light na accusation. Probably the heaviest accusation na you're in cahoots with terrorists. Isa siyang napakabigat na akusasyon. Personally, I would appreciate his apology, nangako naman siya na he will clarify today, hinihintay ko pa rin iyon. Siyempre po, kung may iba pang course of action, especially sa Senado, pag-uusapan pa po natin iyon.

Q: (Inaudible)

Sen. Bam: That's why we're talking about other courses of action also. Siyempre legal kailangan pero tingnan natin through the Senate or through the judiciary, kung paano. Sa totoo lang, ang hinihingi ko lang sa kanya at this point is to clarify publicly at itigil na ang kanyang pagsasalita na walang batayan.

Q: (Inaudible)

Sen. Bam: Siyempre kung nilalabas mo na you're in league with the terrorist, siyempre baka mag-aksiyon iyong ibang tao. Remember in the US, nagkaroon ng isang fake news na si Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party that they were running a prostitution ring in a pizza place in New Jersey. Fake news po iyon, obviously hindi sila nagpapatakbo ng prostitution ring sa isang pizza parlor sa New Jersey. Ang nangyari, may pumunta sa pizza parlor at pinagbabaril ang pizza parlor sa New Jersey, based on fake news. Itong nangyayari sa Middle East, although hindi pa malinaw ang datos, ang away na iyan nagsimula sa fake news, dahil sa maling paratang. Seryosong bagay po ito, hindi siya katawa-tawang bagay at hindi puwedeng palampasin lang. Seryosong bagay po siya at kailangang po siyang ma-clarify nang maayos. Because there are implications on security, on policy, on relationships between agencies, marami siyang implikasyon. Hinihikayat natin si Secretary Aguirre na magclarify na, mag-apologize na at mangako na hindi na siya gagawa uli ng ganitong klaseng akusasyon na walang basehan.

Q: Hihingi ka ba ng security?

Sen. Bam: Hindi naman. I travel with just a few people. But it's a concern. It's more of a concern now before he accused me of being in cahoots with the terrorists.

Q: (Inaudible)

Sen. Bam: Pinag-uusapan pa lang iyon to be frank. At the minimum, gawin niya iyong tama, i-clarify niya publicly. Other courses of action, we'll discuss also kung what's the best action to take.

Q: Some senators are wondering kung bakit ang minority ay may concern sa Martial Law declaration considering the video about Marawi plotters is more than enough factual basis sa pagde-declare ng Martial Law.

Sen. Bam: My position is different. As I've said publicly, as soon as the firefighting is over in Marawi, Martial Law should be lifted. HIndi ko kinukuwestiyon ang deklarasyon niya on May 23. What I'm saying and what a lot of people have said is that as soon the firefighting is done at the soonest possible time, it should be lifted already. Iyon naman po ang posisyon ko. Coming from the security briefing, iyon rin po ang naging malinaw sa akin na kailangan na po siyang i-lift as soon as the residents are asked to come back and asked to move back to Marawi. Iba iba po ang posisyon namin about this in the minority. In fact, in Congress, ibang iba rin ang kanilang posisyon but nagkaisa kami in calling for a joint congress and being transparent with the process and I think in calling for the lifting as soon iyong ating armed forces, nag-all clear sign na in Marawi.

Q: Maraming nag-file sa Supreme Court na i-compel ang Congress na mag-hold ng joint session. Sa tingin niyo, mag-de-decide in favor of the petitioners ang Supreme Court dahil co-equal branch of government, baka hindi makialam.

Sen. Bam: We're a co-equal branch but the Supreme Court decision is persuasive. Kung mag-decide sila na ang tamang patakaran ay mag-convene ng joint session, I hope makikinig ang isang co-equal branch, hindi bilang isang utos kundi bilang isang napakatinding rekomendasyon sa amin na gawin iyong nasa ayon sa ating Saligang Batas at mag-convene ng joint session.

By the time the joint session is convened, baka iba na ang pangyayari on the ground. Remember, it's a moving process. Everyday, sa report ng AFP, they're gaining ground. Paliit nang paliit ang lugar na hawak ng Maute at paunti nang paunti ang Maute fighter. By the time the joint session is convened, maybe its the time to lift it dahil tapos na ang ground operation. Huwag nating isipin na we're talking about the first declaration which was I think on May 24 or May 25. This is an event na nangyayari, current po siya. By the time that we make a decision during a joint session, we will have to look at what's happening on the ground at that time, at hindi iyong nangyari in the beginning.

Q: Sa ngayon, may concern na magkaroon ng protracted battle...

Sen. Bam: Alam mo it's contradictory. If you listen to the AFP line, sinasabi nila within two days, within three days. In fact, during the congressional hearing nila, they said na within this week or within next week. I'm hopeful that we can end the firefighting as soon as possible.

Just on Martial Law, since nandito na tayo sa topic. HIndi ho nating puwedeng ipaglaho ang mga solusyon at mga problema natin sa Marawi, sa Lanao del Sur at sa ARMM.

Martial Law is not the long-term solution to our problems in the area. If ever, and ito naman ang na-mention ng ating security managers, if ever it's needed for on ground operations, kasi may bakbakang nangyayari. As soon as the firefighting ends, kailangan naman doon long term solutions, developmental solutions. You have to rebuild right away. Kapag nakita nilang devastated ang lugar, mas maraming mahihikayat na sumama sa kalaban. Kailangan po ipasok ang resources, we rebuild right away, bumalik ang mga institusyon, educational system needs to be up and running and businesses to be up and running. .Maybe we can revisit the Negosyo Center, ngayon po mas mahalaga na ang kanyang papel dahil part of the rebuilding process na siya.If you look at Lanao del Sur, if you look at their unemployment, isa sa pinakamataas sa ating bansa. Look at their poverty incidence, isa sa pinakamataas sa ating bansa. Look at their literacy rate, isa sa pinakamababa sa ating bansa. Dahil ganun po ang sitwasyon kaya nangyari ang nangyari. The problem there is primarily based on poverty, kahirapan po ang rason kung bakit tayo nandito. These are long term solutions. Mahirap pag-usapan ang long term solutions kung mayroon tayong men and women in uniform na risking their lives on the ground. But soon after the firefighting is done, soon after the AFP has given the all-clear, kailangang komprehensibo ang ating mga solusyon sa Lanao del Sur at ARMM. Maybe coming up with a BBL or coming up with more resources to be able to make sure na kasabay niya ang iba pang probinsiya sa ating bansa. That I think is the long-term solution to our problem. Ang Martial Law, hindi iyan long-term solution, at huwag tayong maniniwala na kapag may nagsasabi na Martial Law ang magso-solve sa problema ng terorismo. Ang development at kaunlaran ang magso-solve sa problema ng terorismo. Pero long-term po siya, mahirap matagal kailangan bigyan ng tutok at pansin. Kailangan handa ang gobyerno na i-accept ang challenge na iyon after the fighting is done.

Q: (Inaudible)

Sen. Bam: We have to be vigilant. Kapag takot kasi tayo, ang nananalo riyan mga terorista. They want us to be afraid. They want a climate of fear. Iyon ang gusto nila. Now, hindi ibig sabihin na maingat tayo, vigilant tayo, nakaabang tayo, hindi ibig sabihin noon, takot tayo. We have to trust the PNP, our AFP. We have to trust the government forces also na kaya nilang gawin ang kanilang trabaho. Ito pong moves na iyan, hindi naman tayo eksperto sa on-ground operations ng AFP, we trust them that we'll do the right thing in accosting itong tatay ng mga Maute.

Q: DOJ has approved the indictment ng isang Smartmatic official dahil sa change sa script ng transparency server noong May 2016 elections. May concerns ba kayo na baka magpalakas ito sa election protest ni Bongbong Marcos against VP Leni Robredo.

Sen. Bam: To be frank, ngayon ko lang narinig iyan. I know in the past, the Comelec has already ruled on that but baka meron ngang paglabag sa batas sa pagbago ng script. Our judicial processes need to prosper. If you look at iyong ginawa nila, according to the Comelec, it was really as cosmetic change at hindi nakapag-iba sa resulta ng boto, coming from the Comelec itself.

Sa totoo lang, hindi ko talaga alam ng mga detalye ng developments ng kaso ni VP Leni but sa pagkakaalaman ko, if you look at her case, if you look at the areas na kino-contest ni former senator Marcos, malinaw na panalo pa rin po siya.

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