Aquino explains the omissions in his SONA

GMA News’ Jessica Soho interviewed President Benigno Aquino III to get his assessment of the impact of the State of the Nation Address (SONA) he delivered before Congress and broadcast to the rest of the country and the world via television and the Internet. Aquino’s second SONA was the first delivered in Filipino from start to finish. The speech lasted 50 minutes and covered a wide range of matters of national interest. Filipino and English transcripts of the SONA were made available and are posted on GMA News Online. JS: First of all Presidente, kayo po ba ang gumawa ng speech niyo kahapon? PNoy: Hindi ko naman maaangkin na ginawa ko. May inputs ako du’n. Marami akong inputs dahil at least 8 or 9 revisions yun. Pero the base comes from the Comm Group. They prepare all my speeches. JS: But it was your language? PNoy: And the topics that I wanted covered, the directions. JS: Noong nagbasa ka ng diyaryo kaninang umaga at napakinggan lahat ng mga feedback sa SONA mo, how did you feel? PNoy: I got a lot of text messages. For instance from last night, it’s about 240, 250. Isa lang naman yung nagsabing parang pinapa-enroll ako sa isang HMO. All the others were praising the speech. Today I got some. Two of them said they didn’t support me; they didn’t know me. After hearing yesterday’s speech, they now realized why the people they were talking to supported me. They are going to support me also. Tapos yung sa dyaryo, syempre the usual critics, matatawa ka na lang dun sa criticism. Pero may unexpected na pumuri na “aba may pwede pala tayong magawang tama." Kasi yung ibang pumuri kanina talagang first time yata akong napuri nu’n ever since napasok ako sa public life. JS: Maraming nakulangan. Parang you delivered it well. Your language connected to the viewers especially for TV audiences. Pero maraming nakulangan. PNoy: Yung nakulangan, it was over 50 minutes, Jess. Ang importante du’n kasi sa akin more than anything siguro the attitude. It was just last year. Ang dami sa ating nag-iisip, wala tayong magagawa sa lahat ng mali sa ating bansa. Gusto kong ipakita sa kanila. Nagkaroon tayo ng pagkakataon. Nangarap tayo. Pinangarap natin. Ang daming nagkakatotoo nito. Now, I’m sure going into making the speech, napakarami ng kanya-kanyang advocacies. Kailangan ipasok mo ‘to. Kailangan ipasok mo yan. Kailangan ipasok mo ‘to. So paano ba naman natin ipapasok lahat doon na meron pang matitirang makikinig sayo kapag pinasok mo lahat ng kanya-kanyang concerns? There’s a portion in this speech that says, 'marami pa hong mga detalye doon sa ating budget message.' Yung hindi ko ho napapasok dito, makikita niyo naman ho doon. Iyong other intentions that is. That document is single space. Yung budget message is 35 pages. And the font is not that large, parang font 10 lang yata. So you can imagine how much details are in a summary of the budget. And the budget naman in turn is a series of books.

So the policy is best demonstrated by where we are suggesting that money will be spent on. If there is a physical impossibility of putting in everybody’s particular advocacy in a speech that you want people to listen to, May rule nga na after 10 minutes baka nagwa-wander na ang attention ng tao. Kahapon umabot tayo ng 50. So the only choice I had was may kaunti kang examples in particular areas to give you the flavor, the concentration, the focus that we have on everything. JS: In fact yun yung medyo let down to a lot of people, not so much the things that you said, but the things that you did not say. Wala ka raw binanggit on the RH Bill? You didn’t mention anything about the Freedom of Information Bill na supposed to be very important to your campaign against graft and corruption. You made no mention at all about Hacienda Luisita. PNoy: Isa-isahin ko. Reproductive health. I met with the group of legislators from Congress who are adherents of the RH bill. They tell me that they will be able to get it to a vote if not the third, by the fourth quarter. They’re confident of their numbers that it will pass. So if I mention yung RH, what does it actually help? Yung mga against it naman lalo kong iga-galvanize into action, to make the process even more divisive. At anong pakinabang ninuman na yung proponents or the antagonist of the bill to discuss it when it’s already, parang we’re almost at the stage na tapos na yung debate. So again beside sa, kunwari pwedeng tignan ng iba, nanalo na yung advocates tapos yung paano ba sa Tagalog na iduduldulan mo pa na talo kayo, paano tatanggap? Freedom of the information. Merong technical working group that I tasked. As a concept, sino ba namang may ayaw nun? Pero pag nilagay mo na yung detalye? For instance, isang example na parating ginagamit namin — cabinet meeting. May pagpapasok, sa ngayon ang istilo, meron silang information na natanggap na hindi kasing level ng papasok sa korte. Malaya silang sabihin: narinig namin ganito, allegedly may ganyan. Pag nilagay mong freedom of information sa absolute terms nun, lahat nung minutes ng cabinet meeting, pwedeng i-access ng everybody, subject to libel laws na yun. So anong net effect nun? Pag may diskusyon ang cabinet meeting magpalitan nga kayo ng impormasyon, ideas, definition ng problema, solution, etc. Biglang lahat mananahimik ngayon, anong mangyayari sa mga meeting natin? So this technical working group, I followed up. The reason we couldn’t include it was ang pagkasabi sa akin there are three minor points na halos resolved na pero hindi pa resolved. So as long as that’s done then we will forward it to Congress for the appropriate measure. Kailangan natin ma-meet yung constitutional requirements of people having the right to information so they can base their decisions properly. Gusto naman natin na hindi magiging threat to the national interest, to national security. Another example kasi just to make it clear. Secretary Ona nag-text message sa akin meron itong youth who were participants in a youth exchange program within Asia. Suspected na SARS yung isa sa mga pabalik, may trangkaso. So theoretically pwedeng access iyan: totoo ho bang may SARS na parating? Syempre yung less responsible unlike GMA as a news outfit will play it up. SARS invades the Philippines, mga ganyan. So alam natin. Pero tinakot yung tao tapos kinalabasan pala walang SARS. Pero syempre kinakailangang magsasabi oh raw palang ho ‘to, hindi pa dumarating yung tao. So kailangan natin balansehin lahat ito na masabi mo sa tao, pero mabigay yung sapat na impormasyon na hindi “a little knowledge is dangerous." Maiwasan mo yan. Or mahirapan ang lahat na magawa yung kanilang tungkulin. Pero focus pa rin natin yan. interesado tayo diyan. Fina-follow up natin at ang dami ngang kung anu-anong sektor ang kinausap nung technical working group para mahanap yung mag-a-address nung kanya-kanyang concerns at issues with regards sa FOI. Luisita, Supreme Court made the decision. Kaya humingi ng clarification ang ating OSG at saka DAR sa implementation nito. What more needs to be said from my end? I’m the chief executive. Their rulings are part of the law of the land. I execute. JS: Let me just take off from that. Sabi ni Risa Honteveros of AKBAYAN who is one of your staunch allies, she is hoping na magbago raw ang isip mo on Hacienda Luisita. I think she’s implying that you will ask Luisita to still distribute the land. PNoy: Jess, babalikan ko lang kung ano ba talaga ang interest ko dito. One way or another, I divested. Pero maski kahit papano meron pa rin akong moral responsibility as to the condition of the farmers there. All I’m saying is when I leave, I have to be clear in my conscience na I did everything I could to make sure that they had a reasonable chance of making a go out of it. Anyway I really don’t want to revisit everything. Pero there are more farmer beneficiaries or farmer workers than land. 6,000 plus yata ang minimum kung hindi ako nagkakamali na farmer workers-beneficiaries. Then 4,100 or so hectares. Walang 1 hectare per person. After that, I had to ask DAR, did you program this? Did you program the 12 others na may SDO? Is it in the budget? Can we support this? Pag sinabi mong “can you support", nandyan ba yung agricultural extension, farm-to-market, credit? And so on and so forth. May directions ba? Anong dapat itatanim diyan? Tutulungan ba natin silang magtayo ng cooperative or mag-collectivize? And so on and so forth. Yung at the end of the day hindi ko pwedeng sabihin, “oh nadistribute na yan, bahala na kayo sa buhay niyo. Tapos na ko." Parang medyo fake naman, kaunti yata yun. Sabi nga ‘pag nilikuan ko lahat kasama sila. So ano yung kasama sila? Pag umalis ako diyan, maayos ba? Nasa maayos silang kalagayan. So yun ang hinihingi natin sa Supreme Court: paki-define lang. Sabi hindi pwede SDO. Pero at the same time may referendum. Paano ba ‘to? Yung so many details that I think are embodied in the most for reconsideration by DAR and clarification. JS: People perceive na nagbago ka ng stand sa Hacienda Luisita from the campaign to when you were already president… PNoy: Saan ang difference? JS: Is that accurate? PNoy: I don’t see the difference. JS: Kasi I think you were quoted during the campaign as having said na you are for the distribution of the land? PNoy: I think you can go back. Ang sabi ko, dapat siguro ang pangunahing boses na mapakinggan dito yung directly maapektuhan. Pag sinabi lang ito ang direksyon namin, dapat suportahan ko sila dun. O kung kabila yung direksyon nila, oh di dapat suportahan ko sila dun. All in accordance with what the Supreme Court has decided upon. Balikan ko lang, parang ang labo naman na yung pino-promote kong democracy, tapos didiktahan ko silang lahat. Sino pa sa atin ang makakasabing mas marunong pa tayo dun sa mga taong ibubuhay – o yung buhay nila, mga kabuhayan nila, nakatali dun? JS: So no way can Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel convince you, if she’s implying correctly, na i-distribute na lang yung land? PNoy: Ulitin ko lang, baka we didn’t get it clear. 6,000 minimum plus beneficiaries. 4,000 hectares. Walang 1 hectare per person. JS: .6 hectares ata. PNoy: Ang tanda ko: 1 hectare to have a reasonable standard of living. So it’s not even that. And then, assumption pa yan. Kaya hindi pwedeng theoretical. Yung actual: not all of the land is equally productive. Amongst the things that they will have to set up is, paano ba natin ia-award yung particular lots to whom? Kasi may magrereklamo. Bakit sa akin yung walang tumutubo dito? Bakit sa kanya napunta yung sobrang ganansya? Di .6 ka na nga, quality pa issue, tapos yung all the other things necessary: set up the credit facilities for them. Yung distribution is just the first phase e. Ang sa akin, end goal, result. Ano ba ang resulta? Gumanda ba ang sitwasyon nila? May pagkakataon ba pagandahin? Kung guaranteed na wala, hindi naman ako magiging parte na 'sige pasamain natin lalo yung buhay nila.' Mali naman yun. JS: Okay, iwan na natin ang issueng Hacienda Luisita. Regarding your SONA, sabi ni Professor Monsod… PNoy: Yes. (laughs) JS: Teacher ko siya, hindi mo siya teacher (laughs). But she said that you should have not cited the statistics on agriculture kasi hindi naman daw accurate. Or it should not be credited to anyone na tumaas yung yield dahil walang Ondoy and walang drought. Talagang tataas ang yield kahit sino pa ang nakaupong presidente. PNoy: Well, masyadong marami siyang assumptions. For instance, pano yung sinasabi nung iba na meron talagang naglalakad na para huwag magtanim ang ating magsasaka? Para may shortage na magiging dahilan para mag-import? Parang hindi ba, ikaw ba hindi ka naniniwala na, 'oo nga kailangan natin ng 10 million tons every year.' So siguro sabihin na nating wala tayong Ondoy at wala tayong Pepeng. Pero off hand, sa first three weeks lang of the year, Bicol in particular, yung St. Bernard, yung CARAGA area, all of them were, excuse me (coughs), experiencing abnormal rainfall, meaning mas marami. In the first three weeks alone, si Joey Salceda naalala ko in particular, nalampasan na nila yung annual rainfall na lugar nila. Sa Isabela for instance, during that period… well sorry ha, let me check what period... but sila naapektuhan at least 80,000 hectares na lupain nila. Ano bang gusto ko lang i-highlight dun? Tinanong ko si Secretary Alcala, what can we attribute this to? Sabi niya, may boost dun sa farming. Meron yung irrigation systems na talagang napatayo. Yung seeds na ano ba yung pre-certified seeds ay totohanan. Ang kino-contrast ko lang, paano yung fertilizer scam? Yung fertilizer scam ba na maling fertilizer, mahal, hindi pa dineliver? Yun bang ganung intervention makakaproduce ng dagdag sa agriculture? Sinasabi lang namin, of course, weather is a factor. Pero yung kabila naman nito, binigay natin ng tulad ng tanim. May tinanim tayong tamang sistema, tamang direksyon na makakabigay ng ganitong resulta kung nag-cooperate ang weather. JS: Employment. You cited the unemployment has having gone down pero tumaas naman daw ang underemployment by almost a million jobs din? PNoy: I’ll have to check that. But I talked to Secretary Baldos, tinanong ko. I’ll compare muna, January-January, January 2010, January 2011. In the January 2010, 7.3 unemployment, bakit January 2011, 7.4? Pero ang dami natin supposed to be na trabahong naki-create. So pinoint out niya s'akin: 'Sir, kino-compare naman niyo s'akin, isang taon na may eleksyon, isang taon na wala.' Tapos, so in 7.3 ng January, isipin mo by April naging 8. And each 10th of a percent is something like 92,000 jobs. Tapos parang medyo realistic yata yun. April kasi lahat nung mga hinire for the campaigns, syempre May ang election, first week more or less. Lahat nung hinire mo: yung nagkabit ng mga poster, yung mga hinire ng printing press, etc. Hindi na kailangan lahat yun. Yung maiiwan na lang yung magbabantay ng bawat presinto. So sa May yun. So yung .8 times 92,000 mas magaling ka s'akin sa Math, Jessica, bahala ka na lang dun. So a 10th of a percent is more or less 90 to 94,000. So plus i-a-add mo pa dun, something like 600,000 jobs, ay 600,000 people who entered the labor pool. So you have to create at least 600,000 jobs just to remaintain your unemployment rate. So ano bang sinasabi dito? 8 nung April 2010, 7.2 noong April 2011. Without an election. With taking care of those that had temporary employment. With well more or less by June pa yata ipapasok yung 600,000. So sabi kasi nung isang kritiko, dapat daw i-check yung figures. Alam mo yung ginagamit namin dito, NSO, na ang head nito ay panahon noong aking pinalitan. So alangan naman inutusan ko yan maniobrahin ‘to saka walang silbi sakin maniobrahin ko yung results JS: Pero paano gaganda ang employment? Paano gaganda ang employment status ng Pilipinas when you have Saudization, yung mga nawalan ng trabaho sa Libya and the other countries in the Middle East na nagkagulo? PNoy: Yeah, that’s true. Pero Libya in particular, bumalik dito. NJNP is in need, just one company, 4,000 of the engineers. Tamang-tama yun ang galing sa Libya so maraming na-hire dun. I went to Brunei. Ang daming galing Libya, naka-hire sa Libya, Yung the truth of the matter is, and according to Secretary Baldos, you go to philjobnet. That’s a website na indicating lahat nitong jobs na available. May mismatch of between 50-60,000 jobs every month, hindi ma-fill. Punta ka ng job fair, 5-10%, maximum yata 15 ang naha-hire on the same day. Tapos yun nga they mismatch. So pano ko ba ipapaliwanag? NJNP, 15 years ago nag-umpisang medyo tumagilid. Now they’re exporting whole refineries to places like Indiana in America, 6 largest refinery. Ang dami talaga. Yung BPO na lang. Noong bago tayo Jess, wala yata tayong incentive na mag-apply sa kung saang kompanya. Nakita mo naman siguro yung poster nung isang BPO na nakalagay doon, 'halika pumunta ka dito, pa-interview ka.' Meron kang breakfast ng isang fastfood franchise. Yung mag-aapply ka, pinapakain ka pa ngayon para mag-apply ka lang sa kanila. San Lazaro. Dito ang lapit-lapit, race track. Ngayon ilang condominiums nakatayo dun? Ilang coffee shop? Ilang convenient store? Yung BPO dun, pwede ko bang i-mention ang pangalan? Convergys ang pangalan. First day na inauguration nila, 5 storeys. On the first, on the day of the inauguration, they needed to negotiate for another floor. Kulang na sila. Then there is already talk na kulang tayo dun sa managerial. JP Morgan came in. Isa sa nakwento nila sakin: they have a seminar for investment planning for BPO workers. One of the questions, in 3 years I want to save enough for a car. Ewan ko kung alam mo yun pero 25 y/o na yun nagma-manage, nagsu-supervise ng 200 people. So kahit na umikot ka lang, condominiums na nakatayo, sinong bumibili? Kotse, nagreport sila down tayo by 1-point something percent. Bakit tayo down? Kulang ng components galing sa Japan na nagkaroon ng Fukushima, pero may demand. So kung ayaw mo makita, sorry di ba, wala akong magagawa dun. Pero paano mo maipagkakaila? 50,000 last 10 years ago BPO. We are now between 7-800,000 by the end of this year. Sinurpass na natin ang India, that’s just one of the aspects. Pero yung BPO, wag nating kalimutan, nanganganak ng on average about 5 jobs, what does that mean? Yung kapehan na katabi nun, si convenience store, si taxi driver, si security guard, etc. So minimum of five. So if we will grow again something like 70-80,000 jobs if I’m not mistaken — sorry ha, lahat ito off on the top of my mind — times 5 mo yun, that’s 400,000 jobs. Ang next phase na nga natin dito yung tinatawag na higher end sa BPO. Siguro gamitin ko na lang, ito mga classic example, yung aktibista. Noong araw magsasalita, 'ano ba naman ‘to nag-aaral tayo, wala naman tayong papasukang trabaho pagkatapos, o ambisyon.' Ako, in Congress perhaps my first time, perhaps the second year, may 80 nursing students, I asked them, ilan sa inyo ang magtatrabaho sa Pilipinas pagkatapos? Ang nagtaas ng kamay dun sa 80 dalawa, ngayon nakaka-deploy tayo ng close to 10,000 sa “RN Heals" program. Ewan ko lang, kung ano yung nire-report sakin ng burokrasya, pupunta ko ng mall. Tignan ko. Dito sa mall time to time nakakapunta ako, marami minsan may dala-dalang packages. Pag may dalang packages, may perang panggastos. Pag wala, edi nagre-relax lang dun. Isang rough indicator yan. Pag kausap natin yung mga lalaking negosyante, tignan mo yung stock market, 7 times. Joke ba yun from last year in one year’s time? JS: So you’re saying it’s not just purely statistics. You’re in touch with the ground realities kasi. PNoy: Well I’m hoping to be in touch. JS: I’m sure yun ang tinatanong din ng maraming taong nakinig sa SONA mo kahapon. Baka pihado may mga nagsasabi, 'it sounds too good to be true, parang fairy tale.' From where you are kaya alam mo daw ba ang totoong nangyayari sa mga tao? Sa masa? PNoy: Imbitahin ko sila. Papayag naman akong pumunta sila sa NJNP. Parang sabi nila sakin un — and this is one of them, and then there are others. Pero sabi nung mga management nila, dito ang binibili nila sabon, toothbrush. I’m not sure kung toothbrush, baka toothpaste ang sinabi. Transportation is being cared of. Merong company dormitories or may housing assistance if you want to live off base. They’re talking about, if I’m not mistaken, mga 10 billion in contracts, a lot of them Australia. They were talking already of visas that Australia will be issuing of which they have secured x number because of the projects that they will be doing there. And so on and so forth. So ulitin ko lang. I challenge them. Kasi even you lay the papers that are medyo fair, kasi para bang meron naman talaga tayong mga kritiko na pag nakita half full, half empty, sasabihin quarter empty or quarter full na lang. Pero car industry. In a period of time, syempre sa America nagre-recover pa, Europe nagre-recover pa. Sa atin bumaba yung car sales. Issue: piyesa ang components na nasa Japan lang ang makaka-solve. Pero inulit-ulit, they were expecting na lalaki kung may produktong maibebenta. Tumingin ka lang sa dami nung — ako nagugulat, may nadaanan ako sa Roxas Boulevard. Hindi ko alam kung ano yung construction dun. Parang impression ko walo hanggang isang dosenang crane dun sa isang construction site lang. Syempre may time to time, natityempuhan ko na hindi lunch break, titignan ko ilan ba sa mga crane na ‘to gumagalaw. Yun rin ang test e, kung hindi gumagalaw yan, wala. Pero ilan yung nag-aannounce na nagtatayo ng mga bagong gusali? Ilan yung hotels? Sa Cebu yata I distinctly remember the number something like 20 plus yung hotels. Some of them are already operational. Airlines. I went to Kalibo, kaka-inaugurate nila ng Zest Air flights from Korea. For a week nandun yung Korean partner nila. Nagkatiyempo kami. Nagkasabay kami dun sa airport. Merong flights raw na parating or operation na Zest Air from Shanghai to Puerto Princesa. Kausap ko yung Air Asia na one of the biggest budget airlines in the world. Operational by August, first flight by December. Jet Star is another airline that’s coming. Plus kahapon kausap ko yung general manager ng NAIA. I think there are new 7 applicants for NAIA 3. Tapos vini-vet ko lahat. Yung iba, pag sinabi nilang ganito, hindi ko tatanggapin as is where is. Pag medyo hindi logical yung sinasabi sakin, nagre-report sakin, kukwestyunin ko. At pag hindi niya masagot nang maayos, lalaliman ko yung pag-iimbestiga ko. Pero ulitin ko lang. Sa people living below the poverty level, minana ko 4.6 million families, 5 per family. Close to 25 million Filipinos yun. Ang nagawa natin ngayon, lampas na tayo dun sa 2 million. Matatapos natin yung another 300,000 families before the end of the year. At least 1.6 of the 2 million ang nakakatanggap na ng benepisyo nila. P ero medyo luma na yung figure na yun. I figure about 1.8 ang receiving it by now. Tapos siguro nakita mo naman yung SWS na parating pini-play up na yung lahat na declining popularity, all of that. Self-rated hunger galing dun 4 million, ngayon 3 million. Alangan naman nahanap namin lahat ng mga…. JS: Pero sabi nila yung first quarter daw na SWS self-rated hunger survey, you brushed aside sabi nila? PNoy: No, no, I said it. They said 4 million in March, then I said June naging 3 or equivalent to 3. JS: Oo, pero nung pangit daw hindi mo cinite. Nung gumanda cinite mo na? PNoy: No, I was asked that. I think it was your reporter who asked me, 'Sir bakit tumaas yung self-rated hunger?' I said, sabi ko merong statistical issues dito. May sample ka, baka hindi natsambahan. Kasi we we’re concentrating. Yung highest incidence kasi is in Visayas and in Mindanao. So e may weighted syempre, balance Luzon, yung mga ganun. Tama kaya yung proportion? so binatikos ako bakit ko raw kinukwestiyon yung statistics? Ngayon naman na maganda binabatikos ako na hindi ko pinansin yung isa. Nagtanong ako, DSWD: “Dinky, why do you think this is so?" When we are intervening, tumaas yung number allegedly. Then syempre it takes time. Yung 1.3 million na dinagdag namin dun sa CCT is we identify. Hindi yung pag inidentify merong tinatawag na national household targeting. May mga questions para mahanap mo talaga sino ba yung below the poverty line. Hindi yung nirekomenda ni Kapitan, ni Mayor, etc. So sino ba talagang nasa poor? Okay, bakit sila poor? Etc. Medyo extensive yung questionnaire. Natapos na yun. Idi-direct natin yung tulong ng CCT, yung tulong ng PhilHealth dun sa taong klarong naestablish na may kailangan ‘to. So pag nahanap mo nun, pag-eenroll mo sa kanila, pagpapaliwanag nung proyekto, pati na yung mga conditions na dapat nilang ma-meet... it will take a little time. Pero sakin lang, hindi naman tayo dapat magfocus dun. Sila na mismo ang nagsabi 4 million kami nun, 3 million kami ngayon. Tapos maghahanap ka pa ng babatikusin. Masama pa ang loob natin, nabawasan ng 1 million ang hindi na nagsasabing kasi nagugutom sila nun. Yun ang binanggit ko dun sa speech: bakit kasalanan natin magsabing, 'uy thank you, maganda naman yung nagawa niyo.' JS: One last question on this topic. Sa totoo lang po, honestly sinasabi niyo gumaganda ho ang buhay ng mga Pilipino? PNoy: I think so, and I need to point out to so many other statistics. Pero yun ang point, how do I prove it without using statistics? There are 95 million of us. How do I interview each and everyone of them? I don’t know, there’s so many other things kasi that you can use. Pero problema run anecdotal. One of the examples is the mall. I’ll use one thing that I read in the papers today: sabi nung mga vendors dun sa SONA kahapon, yung nagpo-protesta raw kumonti. So problema nila, alas singko na hindi pa nila nabebenta lahat nung paninda nila. So yun ba pwede ko na rin gamitin na pruweba na mas konti ang nagpo-protesta sa estado? Siguro naman may ginagawa kaming tama. JS: You promised in your first SONA yung about sa PPPs. Pero so far wala pang nagbi-bid out? PNoy: Well among the first yung operation management maintenance nung LRT-MRT. Si Mar naman has been in office about 2-3 weeks. And I just gave him time to review. There are 7 kasi under them. Tapos yung buong process. Actually I’m meeting with the economic team precisely on how to fast track that because that is really one of interests. JS: Hindi daw kaya sa sobrang pag-iingat niyo, nasa-sacrifice naman yung speed nung completion nitong mga proyektong ito? PNoy: Lahat naman kasi ng bagay may start up e. Start up palang naman kami. Hintay naman. Hintay naman pag yung medyo nakabuwelo-buwelo ng konti na kung gano kabilis yan. None of those projects are cheap. All of that will tie us up for a very, very long time. Alam mo, one of the other things bakit kayo kailangan mag-ingat? Siguro balikan ko lang yung Laguna Lake na baka naman gasgas na gasgas na masyado. May natatapon kasi dun about 4 million cubic meters of material, yung silt. The proposal was tatanggalin namin 12 million cubic meters, okay, san nagmumula yun? Meron kang upland na wala ng puno, upstream, sorry. Nag-eerosion. Basta dumating yung tubig, wala ng taga-tangan sa lupa, erosion, okay, that’s one. The other is over a hundred thousand families living on the periphery that dump their waste into Laguna Lake. They will remove 12 million cubic meters. So assuming mangyari yun, 3 years tabla dun sa ilalagay nung sa erosion, ilalagay nung informal settler. In 3 years time balik sa 12 million. Okay, at which point in time, we’re already paying the 18.7 billion that doesn’t address the problem, so pinahinto natin yun. JS: But we have to start somewhere? Pano pag ma-Ondoy ulit? PNoy: Hindi naman makakatulong sa Ondoy yun. Payag ka Jess 18.7 billion temporarily relief? At gaano katemporary, tignan mo yung housing na ginawa namin sa pulis-sundalo, 4-point-something billion, mga 4.2 billion produces 20,000 houses. Kukunin ng PAG-IBIG or some other housing financing institute in government. Magbabalik sa gobyerno can build again parang half, then half and half and half. Composite with one intervention, manganganak yan nang manganganak. Ease and ease the housing issue. Yung sa Ondoy, guaranteed, 3 years, gaano katagal yung payment nun? 10 years? 15 years? Babayad ka, wala ka ng pakinabang. So there’s other proposal, merong dike, road dike ang tawag nila. Pero pinag-aaralan yun. Road dike, kakayanin ba? One, para wala kang Ondoy. Ang bayad, bibigyan mo yung mga portions na mare-reclaim. I-reclaim din ang porsyento na ibabayad dun sa magtatayo nitong road na ‘to. That seems a better project. So yun ang point, ang daming project kasing parang mali e. Ngayon binabayaran natin. Nagiging issue natin sa ibang bansa. na akala nila lusot nila. Biglang sabi nila, “oops, teka muna, hindi pwede." JS: Pero bakit kaya may perception dun, things aren’t moving so fast in your administration? Like so many positions are not filled up to now daw…. PNoy: Ayun daw. It’s not a bit easy to get the right people everywhere. I will admit kung minsan nagkamali kami, tinanggal na namin sila. Kung minsan may darating na wrong information. There’s 1.3 million people in the bureaucracy, would you like na what happen to MWSS to happen again? How about PNCC? Yung kahapon baka hindi clear yun. So from 2005 to 2009, they gave themselves bonuses amounting to something like 200 million. In the last 6 months, first 6 months rather of 2010, their last 6 months, they gave them over what they gave themselves 2005 to 2009. So kung 200 ‘to parang 230 dun sa last 6 months, do you want people like that? Tapos 2007 wala ng prangkisa, wala na silang karapitang mag-retain ng kahit anumang income. Dapat diretso sa gobyerno. Now, are we slow? How many of us thought that ano, dengue, hindi ko naman aangkinin na marami na kaming nagawa diyan. Yung intervention is amongst other things, may mosquito trap pero about 16,000 ounces palang. Pero kung sisihin kami kung tumaas yung dengue, yung latest statistics tell us it’s drop by about 13-14%. Siguro pareho lang naman yung mosquito namin saka yung mosquito nila last year. Yung mosquito trap is such a simplistic solution but seems to be initially ha kasi mga 2months palang naka-deploy. May lata ka. Si lata may itim na sticks. Si stick attracts the mosquito, lays the egg on the stick, falls into a solution concocted by DOST. It kills 80% of the larvae, yung survivings have half life expectancy. Kung 4 weeks sila, magiging 2 weeks. Tapos mukhang if you need 4 of those for every house. So it’s 250,000 or so ang naideploy na. Pero dineploy dun sa pinakamataas yung incidence nung four varieties of dengue. And statistics again tell us 13-point something, mga 13.8 yata yung drop e. So mabagal ba kami? Ulitin ko lang kasi analogy namin baka dun mas maintindihan natin. Pinalipat ka sa bahay na ginagamit na negosyo rin. Yung bahay talagang uuga-uga na. Kailangan ayusin mo. Habang inaayos mo, hindi mo naman pwedeng paalisin yung mga nandun. Tapos kailangan mo din tanggapin yung mga parokyanong dumarating para kung kakain dun sa restaurant na itinayo mo dito, all at the same time. So repair the structure of the institution that has been wreathed upon us for 9 ½ years. Go about the business of governing. Third is also getting the right people. And fourth is talagang easing all of the suffering for our people as the soonest possible time. Yung mga nakakapag-isip na may drop na 1 million in 1 year na kinikilala pa tayo ng lahat. About rice, aaminin ko talagang pag pupunta ko ng foreign visits ko, at makakausap kong senior ministers nila, minsan head of state. I studied at UPLB. Tapos malalaman mo na nag-aral sa atin, ginamit yung tinuro natin tapos umaangkat tayo ng bigas sa kanila. Tapos perpetually hindi na natin mababawasan talaga yung 1.3 million na yun. Mataas ang confidence ngayon ng Department of Agriculture saka NFA. Nagkasundo sila 660,000 okay na tayo. So parang, mukha naman marami tayong naipapakita na. JS: One year into office, are you confident na yung mga nakuha mong tao, magagagaling? PNoy: Mayabang naman ako siguro kung sasabihin ko perpekto lahat yan. Pero karamihan kung hindi lahat e talagang nagsusumikap na lalo pang pagandahin yung kanilang performance. JS: Kasi yun yung isa sa mga early criticisms sa iyo, yung mga pinili mo daw na tao yung mga malapit lang sa 'yo, yung may trust ka more than competence? PNoy: I met Secretary Ona when I was interviewing. I was already I think proclaimed by that time. Secretary Baldos, same matter, Paje same matter. Ang mga kakilala ko sa Cabinet, si Rene Almedras kabatch ko. Hindi naman ako sure kung naging kaklase kami. Barkada ko, meron ba tayong reklamo sa energy, sa pag-navigate niya dun sa krisis sa Middle East? I don’t think so. Look at Cagayan Valley, typhoon Frank, sanay ang tao dun buwan bago marestore ang kuryente. 12 transmission towers ang — pano ba i-describe yun — pumalupot, yung talagang wala na. Ang nai-restore nilang power for about 90 something percent e in about 2 weeks. Nagulat yung mga tao dun, kaklase ko yun. Mar Roxas, kapartido ko, Cesar Purisima nakatrabaho ko. La Sallista siya e. Nakatrabaho ko nun, kasa-kasama kami sa oposisyon. Dinky medyo matagal-tagal ko na saka si Gil. Yung si Gil nakilala ko lang yan nung nagi-interview ako for the position of DAR secretary. Ang dami ditong in-appoint ko na I think baka wala man lang ako 2 or 3% na kilalang-kilala ko. Ngayon itatanong, bakit yung nireport mo? Excuse me, bakit ako may comfort? Nung… yung mga na-appoint kong kaibigan ko, kaklase ko, etc., Nakasama ko panahon naaapi kami, martial law. Nakita ko na kung paano sila manindigan. Nakita ko kung pano nila ma-resist yung temptation nung nakaupo yung Nanay ko, etc. So high degree of confidence. Pero in reverse nga actually ang problema namin nung naghahanap kami, kunwari ikaw Jess alukin kitang something, ang taas ng kumpiyansa kong gagawin mo yung dapat mong gawin. Pero pag pinupuno mo na yung 4,000 something, 4,100 plus positions, bigla mong mapapansin, ganun ba ko ka-unfriendly? Parang ang kokonti naman yung mama-match ko, skill sets niya, saka itong requirements ng department. So to a large degree we have a search committee here, they vet. Sino bang mga candidates? Mga stake holders diyan, tatanungin namin. Academe, tatanungin namin, kung sinu-sinong sectors ang tinatanong namin. So may list of names, then ini-interview or titignan yung kanilang CV. Tapos kakausapin ko until we find somebody na mukhang apt for the job. Doesn’t mean na perfect ako, e ang yabang ko naman kung sabihin kong perfect ako. Nagkakamali rin ako. Pag hindi ko gusto yung performance, ipo-point out ko dun sa tao. As those that I have called din na parang binibiro nga ko ni Secretary Ona yata e, oh si Butch Abad, text palang ninenerbiyos na kami pag out of the blue nagtext kami. Iba pa nga yung pinatawag niyo ko’t tatanungin, because may responsibilidad ako sa lahat ng taong umaasa sa atin. Yung nagbigay sa atin nung pagkakataong ‘to, hindi ko pwedeng bara-bara yan. Ulitin ko lang, sana sabihin nila itong inappoint mo talagang walang kakwenta-kwenta. Pinalpak niya yung kanyang trabaho, at ayaw mong tanggalin. Sino nga bang… sinong ituturo mong ganun? May pagkakamali pero yung walang itinulong dun, palagay ko wala silang matuturong ganun. JS: Napikon ka ba nung merong nagsabing KKK? Kaibigan, Kaklase, Kabarilan? PNoy: Siguro mas na-attract ako dun sa okay lang yan, hanap ka nang hanap ng issue, wala ka namang masabing — pano ba sasabihin yun — ikaw ay mali di ba! Next dun: 'mali ka dahil...' Nasaan yung dahil? At sino ngayon yung nagsasabi nitong mga ‘to? Marami dun yung laging kasama nung 'lying, cheating, stealing' na nirereklamo namin nung araw. Dati wala silang kredibilidad, ngayon may kredibilidad sila? Excuse me, napipikon ba ko? Hindi, I don’t have the luxury na mapikon e. Sa totoo lang, I have five years and the five years is not to show you an achievement every year. The five years remaining has to result in yung mindset ng Pilipino. Imbes na tanggap lang nang tanggap ng mga hinagpis. Hindi, meron akong karapatang magdemand ng certain things, natatamasa ko na ‘tong dinemand kong ‘to. Tuloy na ‘to. Yun dapat talagang sobrang laki na ng pinagbago natin na hindi ka na pwedeng umatras, na klaro sila ito yung formula. Demokrasya ang susi. Mag-aral tayo ng tama. May mangyayari s'atin. Yung magtulungan tayo. Bibilis tayong mapunta dun. Yung lahat ng dapat mapasok sa mindset ng Pinoy, yun ang target ko. Hindi yung every year mareport ko, 15% growth last year, ngayon 18, hindi ganun. Talagang seryoso ako dun sa pagbibigay ng oportunidad sa lahat. Hindi ko masasabing pare-pareho ang resulta. Merong sasamantalahin mo yung oportunidad, meron namang ayaw. 92% compliant reach sa CCT, ibig sabihin nun 8% nun hindi ginagawa yung dapat nilang gawin na condition. Paano natin pipilitin yun? Pero yung oportunidad para sa lahat. Yun ang talagang target natin na nagresulta na umasenso sila. Ang layo na ng nangyari sa Pilipinas, hindi na maatras ng kung sinuman. JS: One more criticism about your administration, mahina daw kayo sa crisis management. Quirino hostage crisis. It took you, 2-3 weeks bago pumunta ng Cotabato kahit na malala na yung baha doon. And when you went you offered daw no solutions? PNoy: Hay, oh sige sagutin ko na rin. Kung may mali kami, kasi meron kaming mga responsibilidad. Ginagawa namin responsibilidad namin na hindi kailangan namin yung –what do you call that phrase — pagbandera sa lahat. Yung Cotabato, you could talk to Congressman Bai Sema among others and Toto Mangudadatu. They were the first ones to inform me about it, okay. Tapos sinabi nila ganito, may water lily, etc. Then I put them in touch with Secretary Babe Sison right away. And they were happy with the solution because I followed up within a few hours. When I went there parang nauna pa lahat nung assistance bago ako pumunta e. Then I asked them, may kailangan ba kayo diyan? So DSWD Cotabato may local political fight between the incumbent mayor and the incumbent vice mayor, tutulungan mo. Pag tumulong ang Cotabato, kailangan mong tulungan sila pareho, wala akong na-offer. Yung meron silang dredger yung Cotabato City. Hindi umaandar, kasanalan kong hindi umaandar yun? So what did we do, our nearest equipment had to come from Cagayan de Oro. Took them 16 hours. So 16 hours, idi-disassemble mo, itatransport mo dun, ia-assemble mo pa. So that’s practically a day. Yung equipment ba nila, yung PNP personnel ba nila, yung sundalo ba nila yung nag-ayos ng problema dun? Puro national government assistance yata ‘to from my directions. Kung may kasalanan ako dito, hindi ko binandera. I intend to call up the division commander and order him to ganito, ganyan. Kailangan ko bang gawin yun, e trabaho ko yun e? Kailangan ko bang sabihin sa tao dun may utang na loob kayo s'akin, hindi. May utang na loob ako sa taongbayan na gawin lahat itong dapat gawin. JS: So that’s not your style, but don’t you acknowledge na dahil hindi mo style…. PNoy: Jess, simpleng-simple na lang, kung wala akong ginawa, di wala na yung tulay nila. Dalawang tulay. Yung isang tulay dun hindi pa ayos yung right of way. What are the other two? Hostage crisis. Baka mali ako dun na umasa ako. NCRPO commander at that time, former SAF commander, knew the capabilities of his people. And then they would do something that was demonstrated during my mother’s time 25 years ago. Reasonable expectations. And I was advised, pupunta ako dun? Kasi it was a point may mga kilala sakin talagang alam nilang atat na kong kausapin si Mendoza personal. “Uy, ako ang presidente, ayusin ko ang problema mo, pero hindi ganitong ng paraan, halika na dito, oo." At naghahanda na yung mga alam ganun ako mag-isip na paano ko awatin, what is the other thing? I’m sorry. JS: Don’t you feel the need to be perceived to be more of a take-charge kind of president, as you’re saying it’s a matter of perception? PNoy: Wait a minute, you presume that I don’t take charge. I’ll give you a specific…. JS: No, I’m saying perception? PNoy: I’ll give you a very specific example. Ayoko nang i-embarrass yung ambassador. Meron tayong 8 million plus OFW that figure ranges from 8-10. Ilan kaya satin ang may alam? Hindi alam ng government agencies ilan ba talaga ang nakadeploy elsewhere. Ilan ba ang embassy personnel natin? In a typical place that we are. We’re only 63 or so of the 180 or so countries. Each one maximum mga 25. Yung sa Korea, yun akala ko noon meron tayong system in place. At to a large degree, yung Korea nung nagkanyunan dun sa isla, more or less ready sila. Yung 20 had to take care of 50,000, how do you do that? You take care of yung organizations. May religious, may regional, occupations etc, sila ang nagmo-mobilize ng mga tao para oh ito ang plano magbu-bus tayo, pupunta tayo, etc. Pagdating nung krisis sa Egypt, hindi naman ako na-abisuhan ng certain functionaries of the state na medyo nagkakaproblema ho dito sa Egypt. In all honesty, the very first information I got was watching CNN. At 1:30 in the morning may nagtext sakin, “Sir nagkakagulo sa Egypt." Anong nangyari sa Egypt? Tapos may mga tanke ang unang imagery. Parang nahiya naman ako, secretary natin at that time was over 70, na gisingin at 1:30. So text sa PMS, text sa Foreign Affairs, text sa executive secretary, parang lahat nung kailangan magkausap-usap. Determine ilan ang Pilipino diyan. Nasaan sila? Anong kalagayan nila? Anong kakayahan nila? Binigay ko na. I was expecting a report, they would meet at about 8. I get it by 12. It became worse. There’s another country in the Middle East. Ilan ho ba ang Pilipino natin diyan? Mula ho 13,000 hanggang 26,000. Parang “hindi mo alam, ikaw ang ambassador?" Next question. Nasaan sila? Ang dami kong questions, wala siyang sinagot sa akin na isang definitive. Parating tila ho yata, sabi ho nila, dulo nun hindi sila lumalabas dun. Even to the extent na, “Sir we lost contact to the ambassador." Sabi ko why? Yung telepono, internet, etc. Sabi ko, yung satellite phone pwede sa Everest walang service providers dun. Baka meron diyan sa Bahrain, Dubai, Abu Dhabi. Makakakuha kayo siguro dun. Sila ang experts, after sinabi ko dun palang sila kumuha. So ano pa bang take charge ang kailangan kong gawin? I mean itong mga cases na ifa-file namin dito, pwede naman akong sige let bygones be bygones. Manahimik nalang kayo, okay na rin yan. Pero hindi, so yung interest nila palagay ko mali e kontra sa interest ng bayan. E ako nandito ko. Ako ang chief executive, obligasyon kong maging una dun sa firing line. JS: Go ahead Mr. President. PNoy: Alam mo pag sinisisi ako sa lahat na lang nangyayari o hindi nangyayari sa bansang ‘to, pag may maganda naman siguro may bahagi rin ako doon. So tandaan lang po at palagay ko nakakaraming Pilipino alam naman. Yung kritiko talagang maraming oras ang naaaksaya, pwede siyang mag-criticize. Sa totoo lang parang ako hindi ko na sila gustong i-engage e. Not because I can’t answer their questions, but I am spending time engaging in a useless debate to answer not to anybody’s benefit when I could be spending it even more on the things that concern most Filipinos, on the problems. JS: So you’d rather choose the battles that you would like to fight? PNoy: Marami namang sasagot para sakin e. Pero sa totoo lang pag yung talagang halos idiotic na yung mga points, talagang as an economist yung waste is a mortal sin. So why waste time dito sa resource that is important? JS: But given the problems sa perception that you’re going through that people perceive you to be you are not…. PNoy: Can you clarify “some" people perceive, okay… JS: Okay, some people perceive you to be what you are, you are not and then may problems rin sa bureaucracy like you have incompetent people like people who were citing can’t even figure out how to make calls? PNoy: That guy proved. And that guy is not a member of bureaucracy per se, he’s an ambassador. JS: Okay, but given all of these Mr. President, hindi ba kayo magbabago ng management style na may mga problemang ganyan. Just to even address the wrong perceptions of some people about you? PNoy: Is it important yung PR side or is it important yung result side dun sa tao? As far as the Middle East is concerned, I think nobody can point out na pinabayaan natin ang mga kababayan natin dun. And may I point out also yung stress sa akin and my team is not limited to one area. We started out ano bang nauna, Korea I think was the practice run. Korea, Egypt, Libya, then later on may ramblings in Oman, Bahrain. Syempre Syria, Lebanon. Ay Lebanon, hindi masyado, Syria, Tunisia. Nung nagkaproblema tayo sa Libya, one side was Tunisia, the other side was Egypt. Yung pinaka-safe tatawid ka ng buong disyerto sa Chad. Tapos now, I have a very competent foreign secretary. 2 days, 3 days after he takes his oath, he’s there. In fact I have to tell him “it’s not my ambition to be negotiating for your release by some of these factions." Look at that guy in Yemen. Yemen wala tayong embassy, wala tayong consul pa rin e. Kinidnap with the Sri Lankan I think. Napa-release natin yun without any ransom. Ang nagpressure within communities dun, yung kompanya where the guy work and we coordinated with them. JS: Seryoso ho ba kayo about the possibility of us filing case before the international tribunal? PNoy: Wala naman tayong ibang choice e. Nung nagprotesta ang China sa Service Contract 72 which issued previously and 3 and 4. If you look at the map, the way it was demonstrated to be, yung 72 is 80 nautical miles from Palawan. Yung 3 and 4 are closer than 80 nautical miles when you look at it in the map. So may nagrereklamo na sa, kunwari sa AFP natin. So yung inaangkin nila palapit nang palapit sa Palawan. So what choice do we have except to bring it to the tribunal that settles disputes regarding the UN Convention of Law of the Seas. That’s 8 laws. JS: But China is parang Goliath to our David? PNoy: Mabalik tayo, they made pronouncements. Ito nga yung factor, kung pantay tayo dun baka iba usapan. Pero hindi tayo pantay e. Magiging pantay ba tayo? May parity, may rough parity o may at least a reasonable ration anytime in the future? That would not happen. Pero kung dito, punta tayo sa 8 laws, magkaliwanagan. Ano ba ang application ng UNCLOS dito? Sino ba ang nagmamay-ari saan? Tapos nangako silang adherence to international law. Yun lang naman ang hinahanap natin e. I-define, ano na ang karapatan ng bawat isa? Posisyon ko lang meron silang binabanggit na exclusive economic zone na 200 nautical miles. Yung Recto bank is 72… ay sorry, 80 nautical miles from Palawan. And yung closest point is the Chinese island called Hainan which is 570 plus miles. So paano naman naging exclusive economic zone nila yun? So I think kung meron silang resistance to bringing it to 8 laws, it’s an admission na stronger yung ating position. JS: Going back to the SONA Mr. President. People were looking for the visioning. Kasi sabi daw kayo nang sabi ng tuwid na daan. Pero saan daw papunta itong tuwid na daan na ito? Hindi niyo raw ma-spell out yun. PNoy: Yung mga nakausap ko naman na some people are parang hindi talaga nakinig naman. Diba may tuwid na daan, specific, literal. May kalye dito sa baranggay ng Laguna. Pag sinabi mong tuwid na daan, nung araw na walang portable water, umaagos na doon sa Romblon. Yung communities na walang kuryente, na impraktikal na maglabas ka ng kawad mula sa generating plant hanggang sa kanila, solar power, nakahanap tayo ng paraan para meron silang kuryente tabi ng ilog yung kanilang tirahan. Ano ba yung vision? Yung vision is yung demokrasya para sakin pinakamagandang sistema. Magbibigay ka ng gobyerno na yung umaandar. Sorry, ang hirap i-translate yung “government that works." Anong ibig sabihin nun? May problema ka for instance sa jobs. Ano ba yung isang issue? Nag-ga-graduate tayo na walang papasukang trabaho. So anong solusyon? TESDA, CHED, DEPED saka DOLE nag-uusap, gumagawa ng plano. Paano maga-guide lahat ng ating mga estudyante? Saan ba kayo magkakaron ng trabaho pagdating ng oras? Ano ba yung vision? Yung kaban ng bayan, tamang paggugol. Ano ng na-save ni Babe Singson sa DPWH. Yung isa sa mga plano na for instance. Taun-taon gumagastos tayo ng 3 billion pesos para dun sa slope protection, tama ba yun? Slope protection kasi may slope, chicken wire, semento. Yung lupa nagkocontract, nag-eexpand. Nagmo-moist yung content depende sa temperature. Si semento hindi sumasabay. So guaranteed pag kinabit mo yun, some point in time, magka-crack. Anong innovation nila? Coco coir tulad nung ginamit sa SCTEX. Anong savings? Between 2.2 to 2.5 billion out of a 3 billion project. Saan natin dadalhin yun? Things like CCT, enroll sa PhilHealth, etc. LGU na mas responsive. Yun ang daming variations how government works. Ang pinagmulan nito yung Pilipino parang nagkaroon ng mindset wala ng mangyayari satin talaga dito. Hindi na tayo aasenso, etc. So umaandar nga e. Ang manifestation nito yung opportunities to be provided by all. So it might be in education. It might be in health. It might be in jobs that we are generating. And government plays a central law in laying all these out. So yung tourism is a low-hanging fruit. Pero wala kang facilities. Yung infrastructure mo kulang-kulang so yun yung hinahabol natin dito. May plano. Ano ba yung priority areas for tourism? Ano ba yung infrastucture na kailangan diyan? May issues ka sa relocation. Pag sinabi ko sayo lahat ng details baka naman tatlong araw tayo dito pero even. Bakit ako nagdi-dream dun sa mono rail for instance ng DOST? Meron kang 560,000 families na informal settlers sa Metro Manila. Nagpunta rito baka may trabaho raw. Wala namang tirahang matiyak. Yung significant number live in so-called danger sites. Pag meron kang mono rail na mas mura kesa dun sa present na gastos, magiging praktikal na manirahan kunyari sa San Jose del Monte, Bulacan. Makaka-commute ka dito na maayos yung community mo dun. So ang central vision hindi ko tanggap yung nangyayari. At pwedeng paniwala ko kaya nating palitan ‘to. At ang paniwala ako ang ginagawa na nating pagpapalit ngayon palang. JS: May mga nagsasabi honest nga si PNoy pero mapapabuti niya ba tayo? PNoy: Well mapapabuti natin lahat ang ating sarili. (inom tubig) Ulit no, ARMM. Sakin parang napaka-classic na example yun. Yung nangangampanya ako palagay ko nung senatorial, kinuwentuhan ako yung niyog, kopra. Binibenta raw sa Gensan 15 pesos per kilo. Yung lugar kung san tinatanim, 3 pesos per kilo. Bakit ang laki ng disparity? Wala raw kalsada, walang makapuntang buyer dun. Yung nangangahas lang sumugod dun siya magdidikta ng presyo. So nakagawa yung LGU ng kalsada. Hindi ko pa time as president noh, isang kalsada lang. Yung 3 pesos per kilo, naging 10 pesos per kilo. So mapapabuti na ba lahat? Yun ang masasabi kong opportunity. Kung yung budget mo, tulad ng 3 billion dun sa slope protection, nagiging 500 or 800 million na lang ang kakailanganin mo. Ilang eskwela yung napagawa mo dun sa 2.2? Ilang teachers ang pwede mong na-hire? Ilang livelihood ang mapopondohan mo sa micro-finance? Ilang kuryente, kawad ang maiano mo? Dahil you did it more efficiently. So yung hindi maabutan nung kalsada nung araw, mas mabilis maabot na ngayon. Yung hindi maabutan ng kuryente, mas mabilis. Pag merong kalsada, may kuryente, may komunikasyon, etc. May paraan para pasukan yung mga livelihood na hindi pwedeng pasukan na wala lahat yan. Balik tayo sa ARMM. Totoo naman yung nirereklamo sakin ng mga governor dun. Yung allocation namin sir ng teachers, wala, pero pag tinignan niyo disbursed. Yung allocation namin ng nurse, wala, pero pag tinignan ninyo meron sa plantilla. Ngayon, wala rin ho kaming eskwelahan. Wala rin ho kaming rural health unit. Kaya nga paano ngayon yung bata? Napanganak ka dun. Gusto mong mag-aral. Pupunta ka sa lugar kung saan nakalagay dun may eskwela, nakita mo empty lot o masukal na lugar. E di ghost school. Syempre yung binabayaran na teacher dun wala naman talagang ganun, kaya ghost teacher. Yung panaginip mo na totoo, yung pangarap mong totoo, walang paraan para magkaroon ng katotohanan. Yun ang gusto naming i-reverse. Ulitin ko, kakayanin ko bang baguhin lahat ng Pilipino? 95 million e, mag-isa ako. Medyo malabo yata yun. Kaya kong bigyan lahat ng opportunity given enough time. We have already given 2 million families in CCT, a leg up in trying to address their plight. We have given this first 4,000 soon to be 21,800 policemen and soldiers an ability to resist temptation more. Because we in effect increased their disposable income without increasing their salaries by reducing that rental portion. And so on and so on. JS: Mr. President you are saying marami kayong ginagawa. But the perception persists especially from of course your enemies na you’re not doing enough. Laid back daw kayo. Nobody home. And some people say, sorry for the word, pero tamad daw kayo? PNoy: (tawa) Well balik na lang natin sa kanila. Saan nanggaling lahat nung nangyayaring resulta? And why couldn’t they do it in 9 ½ years that they were there? So kaya nga sinabi ko kahapon sa SONA: 'Nakita niyo istilo nila, nakita niyo istilo namin, nakita niyo resulta nila, nakita niyo resulta namin.' So mas type niyo yun? Kunyari NFA. 12 billion to 12 something billion ang utang na dinatnan ni Ginang Arroyo. Iniwan niya sakin 177 billion. Ganun bang kasipagan ang gusto niyo? O yung kape na isang bilyon? Ganun bang kasipagan ang gusto niyo? Or ang pagsisinop ng gastos namin at paglalagay sa tama? Ulitin ko lan, para fair. Kung pangit, automatic sisisihin niyo sakin, siguro ganun talaga ang buhay ko, chief executive. Pag may maganda bakit naman wala akong kabahagi dun? May nagsabi, yung mga secretary mo ang nagtatrabaho. Aba! Isama niyo naman ako sa namili sa kanila. Ang sa akin, ulitin ko, tanggap ko na itong mga ang dami pa diyang walang ibang ginagawa kundi mag-criticize, may pagkakataon kayo dati. Mahaba yung pagkakataon niyo. Yung pinalitan ko, 9 ½ years will never happen under a constitution. 6 years na ang sagad, what they have to show for it? And we think we have a lot to show in our one year. JS: One last na medyo strong criticism. Bakit daw ba ayaw niyong tantanan yung dating presidenteng pinalitan niyo? Yung dating administrasyon? Ba’t hindi niyo na lang kasuhan but you know, stop criticizing her or stop obsessing with her as some people would provoke? PNoy: The problem kasi still persists e and that wwas discovered dun sa 4B and that was not just 4B. There were other places. Pero ganun pa rin ang sistema. Baka makalusot. Yung mga patakaran hindi nga susundin. Diba sinabi natin wangwang. Just file the cases? No, part of it is you want closure in all of these things at inavoid nilang magkaroon ng closure. Part of it is hindi ba yun kailangan natin tanggalin yung mindset na normal course of business. No, it is not a normal course of business that transpired and and brought us to this level. That can be changed. Who will change this? We will change this. Ngayon, doon sa am I obsessing with her? No. there are so many things that she’s left me with to contend with. She is just but a part of the spectrum that I have to deal with everyday. For instance, sabi niya, ano bang pinagkakaabalahan ko ngayon? Bago magtag-ulan, I think it was the first month in office. Isa sa dream ko, ayoko ng mag-Ondoy e. Ayoko ng inutil yung gobyernong makatulong sa mga kababayan natin. Asan napunta yung mga boats para mai-rescue? I remember my staff was between 12-24 hours on top of the roof and we were in Mindanao that time campaigning. Parang we’re all about to campaign. Kung sinu-sino nang nilapitan namin para matulungan, walang makatulong. And her situation was repeated so many instances. So what are the first things I want to do? Ayokong maulit yun. Government has to be prepared, ano yung preparation? Pre-position natin relief goods, pre-position natin itong equipments etc. Regional idea. Regional centers kung saan yung pinakamataas yung prevalence ng flashflood, etc, landslides. Unang briefing sa akin, “Sir there are 44 provinces out of 180 who are high risk." Sabi ko: “ang taas naman yata nun, that’s practically everywhere, kalahati, paki-check." They vetted it, nung natapos, 66 of our 80. Sabi ko, patay yung prepositioning. Actually prepositioned everywhere na, so pano mo gagawin yun? Pinaliwanag naman, “sir hindi naman yung buong probinsiya, may portions na talagang very high risk." So ulitin ko, yung contrast sa kanila may Ondoy sila, baka kami, may super typhoon kaming Frank. But diba, parang rumaragasa yung typhoon yung ating kasundaluhan, kapulis talagang nandun binabantayan yung mga kalsada to keep it open. Yung electric cooperatives that help us, yung bring back the electricity were on the move, I think within 6 hours after Frank hit. And so on and so forth. That’s one aspect. Yung debt natin 2010, 2011 magpi-peak, talagang wala ka ng pano bang sabihin elbow room dun sa GAE. Hinanapan ng solusyon. Nakahanap yung Econ team. Maganda yung interest rate regime ngayon. Napalitan natin yung interest rates na ating binabayaran. Nag-save tayo ng 23 billion compared to last year or 21 against projection billion this year. So yun, kailangan ko rin tutukan yan. Papano naman ‘tong kasundaluhan natin na pinadala yung Philippine fleet dun sa disputed area? Isang barko, si Humabon. Fleet of one, tulungan naman natin sila para maiayos yan. And lahat ito, parang philosophy ko, lahat itong mga problema, when I was in the private sector, even when I was congressman or senator, I could concentrate one problem at a time. Now, I feel I have yung whatever time is alloted to me for each and every concern like today I think I have 7 engagements. Hindi bale sana social services sector ba lahat ‘to, hindi. Merong ambassador na nagpresent ng credentials, aalis na. Meron naman si Harry Tomas and Commander of the Pacific Command made a call. Susunod nito yung process, bago nito yung budget, bago nun yung league of provinces, tapos yung ating mga family matters. JS: So it’s always a full day for you? PNoy: Dati kasi sabi ko siguro naman meron akong Sunday. May weeks, multiple pati Saturday, Sunday panay. Yung Holy Week, the only break I got from Holy Week was Good Friday and the only reason I have that was because everybody was not moving. JS: Pero… Mr. President sorry ha, pero yung tanong is, okay, why don’t you just file cases against the previous administration and I think what the question is begging to point out is it’s becoming counter productive for you to keep pointing out all of these exposes or anomalies against her. Why don’t you just file the cases in court? PNoy: We’re in that process but part of it also is there was this ano ba, writer, philosopher by the name of I think it’s Carlos Santayana, and he made an impression on me when I was a lot younger. Sabi niya in English, I think the paraphrase is something like 'those who forget the mistake of the past are condemned to repeat it.' So babalik lang ako dito, I never envision something would come in and do what has been done in the past 9 ½ years. Her actions have made me rethink my position in constitutional change, although I still think the risks outweigh the gains or the potential gains. So pag may nahanap ka, kunyari ikaw, worthwhile bang kalimutan? Pag hindi nakatutok tayo na nakita ito nagawa, so hindi natin masasabing forget the mistakes of the past. Hindi mo nakita yung mistake e. Ikaw ba, hindi ba siya… ako nagulat ako sinabihan ako ng 1 billion na kape. Ako nagulat ako nung debt natin is 170 billion sa NFA. Pag inignore natin lahat yun, sino kayang susunod na makakalusot? Magkakaron ba tayo ng GOCC governance act kung hindi natin nadiskubre yung MWSS, PNCC, LWUA etc.? Yung sakin, personal sakin na maging tama itong bansa natin. Personal sakin na nagkaroon ng saysay yung lahat ng nagsakripisyo. So pag yung binabanggit ko sa kanya, alam mo dapat siguro… Parang mali yung tanong e. Hindi ba natin dapat tanungin siya, binigyan ka ng pagkakataong ganito. Bakit ito ang ginawa mo? Bakit kami? Parang yung nagmumungkahi niyan halos one step ka na lang. Ignore niyo na siya, ignore na ninyo yung kaso. Let bygones be bygones. Eh pano ang lahat na naapi na mga kababayan natin na dapat sana gumanda ang sitwasyon in 9 ½ years? And yesterday, I really have difficulties trying… parang blowing my own horn. Yun bang nangako ako sa inyong paglilingkuran kayo. Nung naglingkod ako sa inyo uy puruhin niyo ko, pinaglingkod ko kayo — hindi ko talaga style yun e. Yung kino-contrast ko lang, 9 ½ years opportunity, 1 year naming opportunity. Anong nagawa namin? Anong nagawa nila? Yun ang sayang dun sa 9 ½ years na sanang nagawa nila. JS: Sorry Mr. Presidente, she’s going to undergo daw spinal surgery, would you send her you well wishes? PNoy: Well I extend to her that I hope what’s necessary or what’s needed will redound to any improvement of her health. I will have to ask through intermediaries if she will feel even more discomfort if I send her well wishes. But I’m extending the same, if not to her and also to her family and hopefully everything goes well. JS: Malapit na yung death anniversary ng iyong ina, your thoughts? PNoy: I still miss my mother. And there are days na talagang pag overwhelmed ka, kasi literal naman talagang 24/7 ang nangyayari sakin sa trabahong ‘to. Meron tayong problema rito, may problema tayong kababayan natin elsewhere. Talagang at some point in the chain talagang lahat nakatutok sakin yan. So parang I draw inspiration still from both of them, syempre minsan exasperation na mag-isa ka, sasabihin mo, Mom. And naalala ko tuloy kinukwento niya… JS: Kinakausap mo Mommy mo? PNoy: Yung ganun lang, Mom. Pano ba Mom, tignan mo ‘tong… Pero siguro parang motivation factor na kung matatapos ko yung inaasam-asam ng aking ama, lalo yung mga ibang hindi naman umabot diba nung pagbaba nung martial law. At talagang ang layo na nangyari sa Pilipinas, edi lahat ng ‘to sulit na talaga. Parang kung inumpisahan ng tatay ko, pinagpatuloy namin so sana gusto kong masabi to a large degree matapos ko na. JS: You’ve lived with her the longest di ba among all of your siblings. So ikaw yung pinakanami-miss ba siya? Have you gotten over her, over the loss kasi ikaw yung medyo… PNoy: I’ve come to terms with it even when she died. Nandito siya, she’s sick. She’s in pain. Parang paano magiging okay yun? So kung andito siya, she comforts all of us, pero at a tremendous discomfort to her. She has carried a burden for such a long time. Hindi ba may time naman na kung may justice in this life, in this world, in this system, meron man siyang sila ng tatay ko ang magkasama at wala ng problema kung san sila naroon ngayon. Namimiss ko talaga pero pag inisip ko, sinabi ko sana nandito, dating sakin parang swapang rin ako. Parang puro interest kong personal. Yung selfish interest lang yung pinaiiral ko. Ngayon I live with her the longest. The only thing I can claim I’m the favorite son. JS: Pero nasanay ka na she’s no longer around kasi the comings and the goings diba medyo kayo yung magkasama? PNoy: Siguro a lot of the good moments had to deal with the food that she made. Yesterday I was in a place na may corned beef na what you call it, fresh, yung, what do you call it. Yung style ng nanay ko ganito, may cabbage na ganyan, may mustard na ganun. Merong magpapakain naman ng spaghetti with meatballs — uy nagluluto siya ng ganito. Mahirap i-avoid na yung things that she really made. Then you suddenly see elsewhere and even the food that they eat. Maraming natuwa dun sa ginawa niya. May pinuntahan kaming isang lugar sinerve yun. May bersyon yung nanay ko nito. Mahirap na hindi mo mamiss. Pero at the same time okay na rin na, I really think she and my dad are in a place that’s a lot better. — ELR/GMA News