MR. IVAN MAYRINA: Simulan ko na po, Mr. President.
PRESIDENT FERDINAND R. MARCOS JR.: Yes please.
MR. MAYRINA: With my first question on your recent SONA. Isa ho sa pinakapinalakpakan doon noong sabihin ninyong pananagutin ninyo, paiimbestigahan ninyo ‘yung mga palpak o di kaya’y non-existent na flood control projects. If I may mention some numbers, Mr. President, our news research came up with a number 980.2 billion na appropriate for flood control in the last three years.
PRESIDENT MARCOS: Yes, that sounds right.
MR. MAYRINA: Okay. First, can you tell us, sir, what exactly did you see and what information did you get to decide to confront the issue of corruption in flood control projects and to hold people accountable?
PRESIDENT MARCOS: It started last December, noong umiikot ako dahil nga sunod-sunod ‘yung bagyo at nakikita natin kung talagang napakabigat ng ulan.
Noong nangyari na naman itong bagyo ngayon, pagpunta ko, nakita ko hindi nagagawa. “Akala ko ba mayroon tayong nilagay dito?” “Hindi pa naumpisahan” or whatever, the usual excuses.
Sabi ko kalokohan na ito. Maliwanag na hindi ginagawa ang trabaho. Tapos pupunta ka sa evacuation center. Makikita mo ‘yung mga tao dikit-dikit. Nagsisiksikan doon sa loob, lalo na ‘yung mga bata natutulog sa semento sa gym. Mainit, mabilis magkasakit, magkahawaan.
Hindi natin ginagawa dapat ito sa kababayan natin. Kasalanan na ito.
MR. MAYRINA: And then you said, “Mahiya naman kayo!” Palakpakan ho sila, standing ovation.
PRESIDENT MARCOS: Oo nga.
MR. MAYRINA: Pero sino nga ho ba ang pinatutungkulan ninyo dito, Mr. President?
PRESIDENT MARCOS: They know who they are. They know who they are. Mayroon naman diyan talagang mga notorious. Matagal ng ganito ang ginagawa.
I’m sorry but they will have to account for their actions and they will have to account for the expenditures that they have made na hindi natin nakikita kung ano ‘yung naging resulta.
MR. MAYRINA: Sa ngayon ho ito ay warning, ito ay order to conduct an audit, to hold people accountable. Ang tanong ho siguro ngayon: Is President Marcos going to crack the whip – really crack the whip on those responsible?
PRESIDENT MARCOS: The key thing here is to fix the problem. I always say this, I’m sure you’ve heard me say it before: fix the problem, not the blame.
You cannot fix the problem without knowing who to blame. So, one thing follows another.
So, for us to fix the problem, we have to know what happened, and where did it go wrong, at sino ang dapat managot.
Mayroong dapat naman managot dahil sa dinadaanan na hirap, na dinadanas ng ating mga kababayan. They have to be told who is responsible and somebody has to answer for their suffering.
MR. MAYRINA: Paano ho kung kaalyado ninyo?
PRESIDENT MARCOS: Sorry na lang. Hindi na kita kaalyado kung ganyan ang ginagawa mo. Ayaw na kitang kaalyado.
MR. MAYRINA: Okay. Naging focus po ninyo dito sa pagpapanagot ‘yung pag-mention niyo sa SONA ‘yung flood control projects. Pero in your own words, sir, sabi niyo: “Alam ng buong madla na may mga kumi-kickback sa mga government projects.”
The World Bank puts it at 20 percent. Iyong 20 percent daw ng annual budget ng Pilipinas napupunta sa corruption. How far are you going to take this, sir? Will this also extend to other projects na hindi mga flood control na posibleng kumi-kickback din na ang mga opisyal ng gobyerno?
PRESIDENT MARCOS: It has to be evenly applied. Hindi naman maaari dito lang tayo nagau-audit, dito lang tayo naghahanap ng mananagot.
Kailangan lahat kung sinoman ang naging kasabwat dito sa ganyang klaseng pagtrabaho, sorry na lang. Kagaya ng sabi ko, sorry na lang.
MR. MAYRINA: May calls ho to have a third party conduct this audit, this review of all these projects. Huwag daw po DPWH. What’s your take on this?
PRESIDENT MARCOS: Hindi talaga. Hindi talaga DPWH. Hiningi lang natin – hindi lang hiningi – kinuha na natin ‘yung listahan. Kaya ‘yung mahalaga doon sa aming pinag-usapan na isasapubliko natin.
So, malalaman ng tao. Iyong taga-doon barangay 1,2,3, sasabihin, tiga-amin ‘yan, wala naman kaming nakitang ganito eh. Eh ‘di isumbong nila.
So, that applies to anything, to all of the projects that will happen. I’m sure maraming magsusumbong diyan.
We already have some names that are coming up, that will be – first of all, corporations that – mga contractor na talagang kitang-kita na hindi maganda ang trabaho nila. So, we will put them on a blacklist. Hindi na sila puwedeng magkontrata sa gobyerno.
Number two, lahat ito, iyon na nga, kakasuhan natin. Sasabihin natin, “Saan napunta ‘yung pondong ito?” “Saan napunta sa ganyan?”
‘Pag hindi sila makapag-explain nang mabuti, we will have to take it to the next step.
MR. MAYRINA: Kaugnay po nung utos ninyong ‘yan na i-audit itong mga projects na ito, sinabi niyo rin that you will return a General Appropriations bill that is not in line with your NEP. Never mind if you have to resort to a reenacted budget.
Two things, sir: one, this early Senate President Chiz is saying na hindi puwedeng hindi galawin ng Senado ang budget, o ng legislature ang budget, we have the power of the purse. Ano hong masasabi niyo rito?
PRESIDENT MARCOS: He’s right. Let’s remember kung ano ‘yung sinabi ko doon sa SONA: “Kung hindi alinsunod doon sa plano.”
Trabaho naman talaga ng Congress ‘yung gagawin nila ‘yung budget. Ngunit trabaho naman namin na magbigay ng plano at humingi ng pondo sa Kongreso para lahat ng ating mga gustong gawin ay ating magagawa. At hindi nawawala, nawawaldas, nananakaw ang pera ng tao. Iyon lang naman ang habol namin.
But that’s the process. The process is the executive – the offices under the Executive department make a budget request. It is then transmitted in the NEP to the Congress, tapos susuriin na ngayon ‘yan.
Mayroon sasabihin – iyon na nga ‘yung mga changes na ganoon.
MR. MAYRINA: Ang tinutukoy niyo po ‘yung mga lantarang insertion na tatanggalin dito, ililipat sa ganyan.
PRESIDENT MARCOS: Oo, ‘yung pinakamalaking naging problema ‘yung foreign-assisted projects, tinanggal halos lahat nung funding.
Kailangan natin ibalik ‘yun dahil importante ‘yung mga foreign-assisted projects. At saka sinisira pati ‘yan ang reputation natin.
And the worst part of this all, ‘yung napupunta kung minsan ‘yung mga project na hindi maganda, napupunta sa unappropriated. Ano ‘yun, utang ‘yun. Nangungutang tayo para mangurakot itong mga ito.
Sobra na ‘yun. Sobra na ‘yun.
MR. MAYRINA: Secondly, I said there are two points related to this question, sir. Are you prepared to reenact a budget?
PRESIDENT MARCOS: Oh, yes.
MR. MAYRINA: Hindi na ho siya responsive sa mga plano ng administrasyon ninyo?
PRESIDENT MARCOS: Well, yes. I am willing to reenact the budget if that’s what we’ll have to do.
Since I made it already – I made New Year’s Day the hard deadline, I’m sure we will find a way. I’m sure we will find a way.
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