VICKY MORALES: Thank you so much for having us today, Mr. President. Thank you so much.
PRESIDENT FERDINAND R. MARCOS JR.: Thank you.
MS. MORALES: Okay, we’ll get into the flood control projects first.
PRESIDENT MARCOS: Okay.
MS. MORALES: Okay. Mayroon kayong binubuong independent body ‘no para imbestigahan ‘yung mga anomalous flood control project. Can you tell us sino ‘yung mga kasama dito sa independent body na ito?
PRESIDENT MARCOS: Well, what I can tell you is that unang-una, nagbubuo nga tayo ng tinatawag naming independent commission.
Wala pang formal name pero ‘yun ang – ‘yun ang binubuo namin. Independent commission para imbestigahan ito ngang mga lumalabas na anomalya sa mga flood control project.
‘Yung mga personalities, ayaw ko namang maunahan ang actual na announcement dahil hindi pa solid talaga pero malapit na.
MS. MORALES: Pero paano sila maiba po sa mga existing agency like COA, Ombudsman? I mean –
PRESIDENT MARCOS: They are completely separate from government.
MS. MORALES: But how powerful will they be?
PRESIDENT MARCOS: We will give them all the powers that are necessary for them to come to a conclusion, to come to some findings, para mayroon naman – alam natin kung ano ‘yung nangyari.
At isa pang bagay dito na napakahalaga para sa akin, dahil ang lalim na ng problema. Ang nais ko talagang malaman, papaano ba tayo umabot sa ganito?
MS. MORALES: Paano nga ba?
PRESIDENT MARCOS: Hindi nga –
MS. MORALES: Bakit naging ganitong ka-massive ‘yung corruption?
PRESIDENT MARCOS: Kahit – sa…Noong ako’y governor, hindi ganito. At bukod pa sa laki ng halaga ng nakukuha ng kung sino-sino na tao na wala namang karapatan na bulsahin ang pera na ‘yan. Bukod pa roon, ay hindi nila tinatago.
MS. MORALES: Garapalan na po. In your words, it’s economic sabotage? Yeah.
PRESIDENT MARCOS: [unclear] kasi ngayon sila, wala – walang pakialam.
MS. MORALES: But how did it become that way? Why?
PRESIDENT MARCOS: This is what I really think –
MS. MORALES: Why so brazen? Yeah.
PRESIDENT MARCOS: How did we evolve? How did the system evolve? So, it became like this. It did not happen overnight. This happened over many decades.
And we have to figure out kung ano ba talaga ang nangyari para hindi na mangyari ulit. If it’s – it requires legislation, if it requires restructuring the government, lahat ‘yan kailangan natin gawin. Pero kailangan natin malaman kung paano tayo…
Ako, nasho-shock ako. Hindi ako – hindi ako makapaniwala na nandito na tayo na ganito na ang gobyerno na…
MS. MORALES: But so many regimes and it just keeps getting worse. So…
PRESIDENT MARCOS: It did.
MS. MORALES: So, how did we get here and what can we do now to – ?
PRESIDENT MARCOS: Well, I cannot give you a complete answer to how did we get here. The simplistic answer will be, paano tayo nagkaganito dahil pinabayaan.
And what can we do? What we can do is to find out how this happened? Who are the people that are involved? Make them answerable for their – for their wrongdoing. And fix the structure, so this is not allowable.
MS. MORALES: Okay.
PRESIDENT MARCOS: That’s the word that I think that I…It became allowable. “Okay lang.”
MS. MORALES: Yes.
PRESIDENT MARCOS: “Hindi problema ‘yan. Hindi krimen ‘yan. Sige lang.”
MS. MORALES: It was normalized.
PRESIDENT MARCOS: Yeah, It was normalized.
MS. MORALES: People have come to accept this.
PRESIDENT MARCOS: Yes.
MS. MORALES: But to the level na 30 percent na lang ‘yung naiiwan sa mga proyekto? Astounding ‘yun.
PRESIDENT MARCOS: That’s the part that talagang hindi ako makatulog ‘pag iniisip ko. Paano tayo nagkaganito?
MS. MORALES: That’s why we’re really looking forward to this independent body which you will be forming.
PRESIDENT MARCOS: Yes.
MS. MORALES: And we’re just wondering how powerful will this body be? Will they be able to even investigate the Congress people? The Senate? The – will have subpoena powers?
PRESIDENT MARCOS: They can – they will have the authority to investigate anything and anyone.
Otherwise, then, what will – they will have… Sasabihin, may sacred cow na naman o may pinaproteksyunan dahil kasama sa politika, whatever. Pagka nangyari ‘yun, eh wala rin ang – wala ring kabuluhan ‘yung kanilang imbestigasyon.
MS. MORALES: Okay, Mr. President. Pakiramdam ng marami, talagang nalulunod na po tayo sa korupsyon ‘no. Sometimes, you know, ‘yung mga ordinaryong mamamayan, medyo we ask ourselves, ano bang magagawa natin? Nag-launch po kayo nitong initiative na puwedeng magsumbong directly sa Pangulo ‘yung mga gusto magreklamo. How effective has this been?
PRESIDENT MARCOS: Since we created the website, we have 12,000 plus already reports that are coming in. And these reports, hindi lang ito –
MS. MORALES: Hindi lang flood control projects?
PRESIDENT MARCOS: Ay, hindi lang. May mga paving, mga road widening, marami, maraming dumadating. Of course, it was supposed –
it was…We started talking about only flood control. Pero siyempre, nagkaroon ng tao ng line of communication sa akin na para makapagreklamo sila, ginagamit talaga nila. That has been very effective.
And that’s why I encourage everybody to – lahat ng ano, hinihikayat ko kayong lahat. Pagka mayroon talaga kayong gusto ireklamo, ireklamo ninyo.
MS. MORALES: I would think it’s heartbreaking when you see all these Filipinos working so hard. Tapos on the flip side, nakikita ko niyo ‘yung massive corruption na nangyayari ‘no? I mean –
PRESIDENT MARCOS: No. I’m not disheartened. I’m not disappointed. I get very, very angry. How can you do this to people that have worked every day of their lives? Walang ginawa ito kung hindi magtrabaho.
Nagsakripisyo nang mahirap for very little. Just to be able to send money home. Just to be able to feed their family, send their children to school. That’s all they want in life. Kukunin niyo pa sa kanila ‘yun para bumili ng Rolls-Royce.
MS. MORALES: Mr. President, masakit na nga ‘yung mga ganyan.
PRESIDENT MARCOS: Oo. Horrible. Horrible situation.
MS. MORALES: Actually, ako, nasasaktan ako ‘pag nakikita ko – ‘pag naririnig ko, may mga nag-a-apply ng Portuguese citizenship, Spanish citizenship, at kung ano-ano pa, ‘no?
Parang, I guess, sometimes people are feeling hopeless when they see the massive corruption and, you know, but what would you like to tell them?
PRESIDENT MARCOS: There’s hope. Have hope. We’ve seen all of what people are complaining about or having to live with.
‘Yung kailangan ninyong pagtiyagaan, pagtiisan na araw-araw niyong mga buhay, alam namin ‘yun. At lahat ng aming gawin na kayang gawin, ginagawa namin pero ‘yun na nga ‘yung na – babalik na naman ako doon sa nasabi ko kanina na ang lalim ng kalawang. Ang lalim ng bulok.
They keep saying, “How about if these are your friends? How about if these are your kaalyado?.” They said, “What can you do?”, you know.
And I said, we’re making an omelet. We’re going to have to break some eggs. There’s just no way around it.
MS. MORALES: Even if they’re relatives as well.
PRESIDENT MARCOS: Well, they – who’s more important? Your friend? Your political supporter? Or every single ordinary Filipino citizen? Who’s more important? To me, it’s the Filipino citizen.
Nobody is more important than Filipinos. Nobody, nobody, not one person is more important. Not me, not anybody is more important.
Whatever it is that’s going to be good for Filipinos, you sacrifice that for the Filipinos. That’s what being a good Filipino means. You make sacrifices for the country, you make sacrifices for your people.
MS. MORALES: You’re teary-eyed.
PRESIDENT MARCOS: Yes, because I’m very upset. No, because I see people having a hard time. And it – and they don’t deserve it. Mabuti ba kung masamang tao ‘yan, dapat parusahan. Hindi naman eh. Walang ginawa ‘yan kung hindi magtrabaho. Kung hindi mahalin ang pamilya. Ba’t mo paparusahan? Para magpayaman ka? Makes no sense to me.
MS. MORALES: Sa dami ng sakit ang ulo niyo po, do you ever regret being president?
PRESIDENT MARCOS: No. Not for –
MS. MORALES: You didn’t even pause to think.
PRESIDENT MARCOS: Not, no, not for one moment.
MS. MORALES: Why?
PRESIDENT MARCOS: Because I am given the opportunity to actually – the privilege, the opportunity and the chance to actually do something. All of the things that I complained about all my life, now I can do something about it. And that is the greatest privilege that anyone can be granted. So no, I don’t regret it.
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