FULL TEXT: INQ&A with Senator Tito Sotto

Elected Senate majority floor leader for the third time in his career, Senator Vicente “Tito” Sotto III continues to play an important role in the upper chamber, especially after he helped secure the position of the current Senate president.

Sotto, who has also weighed in on the reimposition of the death penalty and plans to amend the Philippine Constitution, sat down with INQUIRER.net through the weekly interview show INQ&A on Tuesday to discuss Senate dynamics and the prospects of certain important legislation.

INQ&A is broadcast live every Tuesday, 8 to 9 p.m. via the recently launched INQ 990 Television (Digital Terrestrial Television), Radyo Inquirer 990AM, and INQUIRER.net’s Facebook and Youtube accounts. It is hosted by INQUIRER.net Editor in Chief John Nery and Chief of Reporters Kristine Sabillo.

Inquirer 990 TV can be viewed on ABS-CBN’s TV Plus, RCA and Godan digital TV boxes.

Below is the full transcript of the interview with Sotto.

John Nery: Good evening, and welcome to INQ&A, the Inquirer question and answer program that comes to you every Tuesday. Every week, we sit down with a leading newsmaker and we discuss the issues of the day. And tonight, we have indeed a very special guest.

We are, of course, on Radyo Inquirer, 990. We are live on Facebook, we are also live on the Inquirer news channel on Youtube, as well as Inquirer.net. We are carried on the Inquirer social media and chat app platforms, on Twitter, on Viber, on Kakao, on Line, and last but not the least, we are also on Inquirer 990 digital TV. My name is John Nery, I am Editor in Chief of Inquirer.net and with me is our co-host, Kristine Sabillo, Chief of Reporters of Inquirer.net

Kristine Sabillo: Good evening to our viewers in different platforms. So I’m sure everyone is excited for our special guest tonight. I just have three things that we would like you to know about him. The first one would be that he drives himself. In fact he drove here. He was so early, we didn’t expect him to be that early, an hour before this interview. Number two would be that he was a composer of Magkaisa, it’s like the anthem of the People Power Revolution. And then he is the most senior senator.  In fact, he is the only one who served during the 1992 Senate. So ladies and gentleman, Senator Tito Sotto.

Tito Sotto: Good evening. Thank you for this invitation, John and Kristine. Thank you for this opportunity to be able to experience the Radio Inquirer experience.

Nery: Thank you, Senate majority leader Tito Sotto. We have an hour, we have a lot of questions. Pwede nating simulan na?

Sotto: Sure, fire away. I’ll answer to the best of my capability.

Nery: Salamat po. This morning, you were in a meeting with the senate delegation, led by Senate President Koko Pimentel. You met with the congressional delegation led by Speaker Alvarez, to speak about the arrangements for the constituent assembly. Ano pong nangyari kanina?

Sotto: Well, to be very accurate about it, the meeting really was more of a fellowship. And a way of opening lines of communication between the house and the senate. We discussed the possibility of a mini-Ledac if the main Ledac will not be called, so we may facilitate the priority bills or the legislative agenda of the present administration. So more or less, that was the idea, which is why we had to break bread with each other.

Nery: Ah so hindi lang tungkol sa?

Sotto: Hindi pa. Hindi talaga. Pero we browsed through it. Sabi nga, napag-usapan yung possibility of a con-con or a con-ass, and anong sa tingin naming timetable, and what are the possibilities, whether the Senate will agree to this or to that, you know, like the issue of voting separately or not, but nothing was really technical. Nothing was really, no commitments in other words, from both group. Just opening up on the ideas. And then the emergency powers that the president is also asking for, we also discussed the possibility of having it, or passing it, as soon as possible.

READ: Sotto: House-Senate meeting yielded no agreement on federalism

Sabillo: Senator we before we get to the charter change, for the mini Ledac, what were the priority bills that you discussed with the congressmen?

Sotto: The budget. That was the main bill that was really discussed. The possibility of a con-con or a con-ass, will be discussed after the budget, that was the agreement, more or less. If there was an agreement, that was the only agreement that we reached. So perhaps, as far as the House of Representatives is concerned, that would be October, first week of October, they might be able to pass the budget already, so they may start working on the con con or con ass issue. Now the Senate, we will be passing the budget by December, the earliest possible that we may look into this priority, if it would be a priority, would be January.

Sabillo: Senator, I think you said in previous interviews that you wanted con-con, but you were amenable to con-ass.  If the two houses would vote separately, it’s like you’re leaning towards that, the whole body is leaning towards that.

Sotto: I think a good number of the members of the Senate would be elaning towards con-ass if we would be voting separately because there would be enough check and balances that would be necessary. And the voting jointly would be like the House of Representatives eating up the Senate.

Nery: Overwhelming?

Sotto: Overwhelming. Earlier, also, Congressman, Majority leader Rudy Farinas was showing us a study made with the present constitution, referring to the Congress on whether.. There were four instances wherein voting separately was mentioned. And only one instance sa voting jointly, and the voting jointly is about martial law. Really, there is a tendency that voting separately would be the possibility. And it’s only today that I realized, I didn’t really browse on that particular portion of the constitution. So it’s only today that I saw, that in Article 17 of the constitution, the first form is con-ass. Constituent assembly. The second form is the constitutional convention. And so, we didn’t really delve into it. We just pointed it out, well actually, it was Rudy Fariñas who pointed it out, and we concurred to some of these perspectives.

Nery: So, Senator, kung tama yung rinig ko, the earliest you can actually start working on the constituent assembly would be December?

Sotto: That would be really, that would be tough to do, we might be really busy with the budget by, it’s possible. But it’s very difficult. The possibility would be January.

Nery: Ah talaga? If I understand, si Speaker Alvarez is looking for something this year, for something to happen this year.

Sotto: Yes, as far as the HOR is concerned, I think so.  I think they may be able to do that. I think their timetable is to approve the GAA (General Appropriations Act) by September 30. So magpi-printing pa yun, and then they will approve it on third reading, before they transmit it to us. And then there will be a break. Because of the international parliamentary union. That would be, I think, from October 22 to November 6. So by the time that the Senate comes back, tanggap na namin probably yung GAA, then it’s only the time that we will be able to take it up in plenary, although before that we’ll be doing hearings already. But plenary November, approve it by December, we’re going to bicam by the middle of December, uhm I really think it would be difficult for the Senate to work on a resolution of the con-con or the con-ass by December.  But the house, after September 30, pwede na. Specially when they come back on November 6.

Nery: That’s interesting. So the earliest we’re looking at, is next year, if you know, if you convene yourselves…
Sotto: Yes. Earliest would be first quarter of next year.

Sabillo: Senator did you discuss particular parts of the Constitution that you would like to amend?

Sotto: No, we didn’t really. It was like, you know, dinadaanan lang naming yung, because if ever there was a mention of president Duterte favoring the 1973 constitution, eh unicameral yun, parliamentary, presidential, but without amendment number 6. So yun ang mga pinag-uusapan. If ever it becomes a constitutional assembly, nahihiligan ng iba, that would be a good skeleton to start with, mas mabilis kung ganun. But then again I’m talking, I’m just saying this because I overheard some of us mentioning it earlier.

Nery: Senator, kasi ang dami pa nating pag-uusapan, ano, maybe one last question about the constituent assembly, issue, so kung the earliest is January,dahil marami pa kayong gagawin, yung, may criticism kasi nab aka hindi dapat constituent assembly, kasi ang dami niyo nang ginagawa. Kaya nyo ba, to be actually two bodies in one, during the day perhaps you’re working on legislation, then maybe at night maybe working on the constitution.

Sotto: We can answer that after we’ve discussed the calendar. Sa ngayon, madaling sabihin na pwede kami ng Thursday, Friday at Saturday.  Monday Tuesday Wednesday yung Senate, madlaing sabihin yun, but perhaps when we sit down and plan the calendar, we can answer that. The thing about the Con-con, that will really take long. You have to pass a law calling for it, then there must be budget for it, and then pag naapprove ito, mageelection. After elections, ihahanap mo ng opisina lahat ng nahalal, bibigyan mo ng staff lahat yan, Bibigyan mo ng staff lahat ng staff nila, para mong dinoble yung Congress. So matagal yan, and they have a life of their own, so we cannot give them, say, a timetable. Oh in one year tapusin nyo yan ah, we can’t do that. So that is the, some of the cons, on a con-con. And earlier also, you know, you should guest or invite Rudy Fariñas. He led a very compelling argument on why it should be a constitutional assembly. Oo, parang, mabigat yung, I’d rather not you hear it from me, I’d rather you hear it from him. You should invite him one of these days.

Nery: So sir sasabihin naming na sabi ng Senate majority leader, yung house majority leader dapat mag guest dito. Senator, speaking of the calendar, you are responsible for this because you are the Senate majority leader. This is your second time as senate majority leader.

Sotto: Third time, actually.

Nery: Sorry, third time. I remember on July 25, senate president Koko Pimentel  gave a speech and specifically mentioned three senators. Nagpasalamat siya. Senator Frank Drilon, Senator Loren Legarda, and last but not the least, Senator Tito Sotto.  Ang pagkakaintindi ko dun, ng marami, you helped him form a new majority. Paano ba nangyari yun?

Sotto: After elections, there was a group, an old group, a senior group of ours that met, si Loren si Ping Lacson, si Greg Honasan and myself. We started talking about what we want to happen in the Duterte administration and in the 17th Congress. We discussed the budget reform agenda of Senator Lacson. Ping has this, PRAVE, it’s a budget reform advocacy that would be very good for the country. Napagkasunduan naming na, let’s work on a leadership in the senate that would push for a budget reform advocacy para wala na problema sa PDAF na yan, sa DAP na yan, so bring the money down directly to the people, yung mga ganung programa. So yung mga LGUs, para di na nanghihingi sa Senator and Congressman.

So with that, we started talking to the other members of the Senate.  Yung mga kaibigan namin Grace Poe, Chiz Escudero, ganun. So we had a group of 9, and we said, let’s see who would make a good senate president to pursue the budget reform agenda. And we started talking to the rest, and of course the members of my group. I don’t know, medyo nasilaw siguro, they wanted me to become senate president. I was not too keen about it, but given my experience naisip nila because I was most senior. So sige kako, bahala na, pag-usapan natin. So I started talking to Alan Cayetano, because he’s close to the new president, so he started talking ano bas a tingin niyo ang programa ni president Duterte. And nung nag-uusap kami, okay naman. Generally, ayos naman. Except that hindi kami masyadong nakasundo nina Alan when we were talking with Senator Lacson, because there were two or three items on the table na hindi, medyo hindi namin maintindihan eh. He said that the Davao group wanted the finance to go to somebody, and justice to somebody, or avoid somebody for Justice, so sabi naming sige we’ll talk to our group.

We went back to the group. And we talked to Koko (Pimentel), because he is the president of the political party of the President. So when we talked to Koko, parang ako naman kasi, huli ko yung ugali ni Koko kasi matagal kami magkasama ni Nene eh. Kasi yung bunga ng mangga siguradong mangga din eh. Wala siyang ano, dos and donts. And he believes in the budget reform program. So maganda.  So one of us said, you bring in four, including yourself, thirteen tayo, then we can get the senate presidency.

Nery: Kasama ba sa 9, may mga LP members, or wala pa?

Sotto: Wala. Loren, Sotto, Honasan, Lacson, Grace, Sherwin Gatchalian, Chiz Escudero, Manny Pacquiao and Nancy Binay. Magkakadugtong yan eh, because Nancy and Manny and Greg are UNA. Sotto, Legarda and Gatchalian are NPC. And the independents, Ping Lacson.

READ: Sotto bares role on Senate presidency

Nery: Did you reach out to the liberals? Sina Frank Drilon?

Sotto: After that, Koko started talking to Frank. And Frank was reaching out to us also. So, mas madali yung naging usapan, di naman naging problema, so we made Koko do the talking. SO sabi nga ni Koko samin, oh I’m not bringing in four. I’m bringing in 8.

Sabillo: So your group was the deciding factor in the race for the Senate President?

Sotto: Yes. As a matter of fact, nung una nga, nagtatalo pa kami nila Frank eh, nila Koko, kung sinong mag SP. Frank and some other members fo our group will join us if I’m Senate President, but most of us agreed that it should be Koko, mas hindi magmumukhang oposisyon ang Senate. Ayaw naming magmukhang oposisyon. So magandang timpla yun, ang tingin name nmagandang timpla with Koko as Senate President.

Nery: So meron nga ngayon, mga allies ng president, they are against the Libingan ng mga Bayani rites for the former President Marcos.

Sotto: Ganun talaga eh, you cannot please everybody. Everybody has their own thinking about certain issues, yun ang, one thing that is necessary in the Senate, you must master the art of compromise. So, kung di kayo magkasundo sa isang issue, sa isang issue magkasundo kayo, ganun talaga eh, so let’s work on it.. As long as it’s good for the Senate, it’s good for the country, go.

Nery: If I’m not mistaken, meron ding isang grupo, ano, sina Richard Gordon, Migz Zubiri, they were also trying to form,  if not a majority then a…

Sotto: Together with Allan.

Nery: Were they ever close to getting a majority of 13?

Sotto: I didn’t think so unless they would be talking to the group of Frank.  But between those groups, tingin naming, opinion lang naming to, hindi magkakasundo eh. Mas mabigat yung bangga dun. We would provide the neutrality. Yung group naming, magpo-provide ng neutrality.

Nery: But in the nomination of the new Senate President, was that carefully chosen? Your role, as nominator and si Migz Zubiri as second nominator. Yeah, Koko and I talked about it. It would be good, we said. Yun nga, some of our members wanted me as SP.  So it would be nice for me to endorse our new senate president.t I believe in his capabilities.

Sabillo: Senator, how different is this senate’s majority from the previous one and how would you say your role as majority leader different from the previous senate as well?

Sotto: That is really a tough question, kasi iba iba ang timpla ng mga senador eh, kaya they always say we are 24 different republics eh. When I was majority leader during the time of Erap, and that was short-lived, Nene Pimentel was Senate President and I was majority leader, although short-lived, hirap kami noon.

We were treading on thin ground. Kasi konti lang kami, we were 12. Nagtwelve kami dahil meron kamign isang pabalik balik eh. Mahirap, kaya nga we lost the Senate Presidency. During my time as majority leader of the 15th Congress, with senator Enrile as senate president, the first two years was really easy. It was during the last year that we had difficulties because there were two or three members of the senate that were against Senator Enrile, so I really had to master the art of compromise to still produce the legislative agenda or the output of the Senate. And as much as possible, work with the House of Representatives. Today as I said, it’s very difficult to answer your question now because we’re barely a month into it.. But what I noticed is that this time, we will not have difficulty with the quorum. Most of the time during roll call, 14, 15, and then mababawasan yun.  During deliberations na, pag may salbahe at tinawag ang quorum, siguradong wala kaming quorum. But I was able to work on that as majority leader. This time, I noticed that from the day we started up to now, pinakamababa naming 21, during roll call.

Nery: Bakit kaya?

Sotto: Ewan ko, mukhang  masipag itong mga to.

Nery: How many new senators do we have, five? Is it part of the reason?

Sotto: Five new senators. Siguro, malaking bagay yung five eh. And then the, comebacking, yung mga returnee. So, masisipag yan. And then, ilan sa amin ang reelectionist.

Nery: Saka mukhang mabibigat talaga ang usapin ngayon eh. Death penalty, extrajudicial killings, South China sea, hindi lang basta..

Sotto:  Whatever we decide on in the next few months would have a very important, ika nga, what do you call this, impact on the country. Kaya mabuti na rin yung ganyan, na lagi kaming, almost 23, 24, there was a time na 24 eh present.

Nery: Except for July 25, absent si Senator Alan Peter.

Senator, the reason why we asked you about the senate dynamics…First of all, ang interesting paano nabuo itong bagong majority. Pero I think mas interesting para sa mga nakikinig, sa mga nanonood: How will the new dynamics impact on the  issues you’re tackling. So maybe we’ll start with death penalty bill. Sa tingin mo, paano baa ng timpla nito, the factors that are in play.

Sotto: The death penalty bill will refer to the Committee of Justice and on Public order. If the chairman of the justice, Senator de Lima, and other members are against it, we may have the second committee, the secondary committee, come up with a committee report that is favorable to the bill. SO it’s really, it’s just a matter of using or making use of the parliamentary rules and procedures, and the rules of the Senate, and we can still come up with the necessary legislation.

Nery: Can you say now, na there is a majority of senators favoring it, or against it, or it’s too early?

Sotto: I have not tried to find out. Wala akong ano. I can sense 3 or 4 na against. And I could also sense that there are 4 or 5 that are in favor. The rest, wala pa akong ano…I guess it will boil down to the debates. Baka ganun, tyaka kung anong klase. Baka ganun. Pag death penalty for high level drug trafficking, like my bill, I think we will get a majority. But if we include other crimes, baka mahirapan tayo ng konti.

Nery: So depende talaga?

Sotto: Oo, depende talaga.

Nery: Senator, yung grupo niyo ng 9, how would you classify your group? Do you only have one stance?

Sotto: Ay hindi, iba iba na. Chiz went to the minority. Ganun ang pananaw niya eh. So yung 8 namin, Manny has sworn to PDP Laban. But Manny is in favor of death penalty. Siguro majority samin. Wait, I have to be very candid, John, Kristine. I was the principal author for the reimposition of death penalty for drug trafficking in the 9th Congress. Somewhere along the way, 2 or 3 years ago, I think I lost it. I think I was favoring more on not reimposing the death penalty.

Meron akong mga nakitang mga crimes na mga ano e, o mga nakulong na talagang mga inosente. So kako, nakakatakot. Then, I noticed, nakita ko ri nsa mga research ko na pag gusto mo talagang pahirapan, ikulong mo na masama. Ikulong mo ng hirap na hirap. Diba. Imbis na.. Pag pinatay mo, wala na, tapos na eh. But then again, medyo nag-iiba eh. SO if you ask me now, if I am in favor of death penalty or not, I filed the bill so we can discuss it, I still have to make up my mind.

READ:  Sotto, death penalty bill author, now thinking twice

Sabillo: Senator that’s a very interesting topic, and I think we would return to that after the commercial break.  Again we would like to thank all of the people who are watching right now, INQ&A with Senator Majority Leader Tito Sotto would be back after a few commercials.

Nery: Maybe we can ask the senator to talk about the yung bill niya tungkol doon sa high level drug trafficking. But before that, Tine, actually may mga tanong na tayo na pwede nating matanong muna.

Sabillo: Siguro unahin natin yung medyo related rin doon, we have a question from Issa Tambuyok from Facebook. Sabi niya you have been in the anti-illegal drugs in the Senate for several years, but nothing happened, the government was not able to eliminate it. What can you say about Duterte’s campaign against illegal drugs and proposed death penalty?

Sotto: Unfortunately, for us kasi, in my last six years in the Senate, I have been delivering probably two or three privilege speeches against illegal drugs every year, and the, probably the point that she would like to raise is that, well I would like to clarify for her, executive department ang may problema don eh. They executed eh, kami we gave them the laws. We gave them Republic Act 9165, the dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, and it’s complete. It even includes a section, wherein section 92 says that bungling and delay of cases, the prosecutor must be charged, the judges should be charged. Not a single one in the last six years eh, so I hope they do not blame Congress or the Senate or my membership in the committee on Dangerous Drugs for the problem in the last six years because it was not up to us. We gave them the ammunition; we gave them the wherewithal to do it. So what is happening now is very good for the fight against illegal drugs but I mentioned this to the president also and I think they are doing it now, it is not all enforcement and it is not all prosecution.

There are four ways of handling this social malady, it’s a complex crime eh, it’s the only crime wherein the criminal is victim and the victim is a criminal. Ibang klase to eh, ang rapist alam mo kung sino nang-rape eh, murder-murderer, robber yung ninakawan. Pero ang tumitira ng illegal drugs, you’re committing a crime when you’re using illegal drugs pero you’re a victim. So ibang approach ito eh, therefore if enforcement is doing well and we should do well now, unlike what’s happened in the past, prosecution should be also maintained. What happened in the last six years? 74 percent of drug cases dismissed. This is an accurate figure coming from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, so what happens?

Nery: For evidence, for case work?

Sotto: Whatever, tinatanong ko kung meron bang na-file na ng kaso on section 92, which is bungling and delaying of cases. Wala, there was a circular order from the time of President GMA, saying that all drug cases that are dismissed should be automatically review by the office of the president. Pagdating ng 2001-2012 there was a circular from DOJ removing it. Eh talagang hindi magiging successful ang sa prosecution nila, and so therefore after these two concerns of enforcement and prosecution, we must have probation, we must have a preventive education program in all the schools dapat yung mga grade 6, grade 7 they must be prevented from being curious and using and trying. If we’ll do that we’ll be successful, and those who are already, ika nga eh lulong na, rehabilitation program. Otherwise, kahit maubos ang droga, maubos ang pusher, patayin natin lahat yan pag may adik hahanap yan ng aabusuhin. Eh andaming pwedeng abusuhin na hindi dangerous drug, na hindi illegal drugs pero dangerous drug like cough syrup, mga rugby, kung ano ano eh. SO it’s not our fault, the bottomline eh what she’s saying, it’s not our fault. We did our part.

Sabillo: Senator yung second question natin medyo lalayo tayo, pero magandang tanungin kasi baka hindi na natin madiscuss. From Marvin Adolfo Bergornia from Facebook, yung West Philippine Sea nanalo tayo sa permanent arbitration at pabor po sa Pilipinas ang UNCLOS. Paano natin mapapaalis ang China sa Scarborough shoal at yung mga mangingisda po wala silang kabuhayan, ano pong alternatibong solution para sa mangingisda natin. And I guess what can the Senate do to address this and to help out.

Sotto: Sa amin kasi the Senate would be, pampalakas lang ng loob or moral support for the executive. We can give them what they would need if ever they would need anything, pero ang tingin ko mahihirapan tayong basta paalisin ang kahit sino doon because of our capabilities, so the best talagang approach is diplomatic. Diplomatic pa rin, wag nating isipin na basta kalaban talaga totally ang China kapag ganyan because they’re closer to us eh. Mas kung tutuusin nga eh mas marami tayong lahi eh na Chinese. So baka madaan ito sa diplomasya, madaan sa diplomasya ito. Wag tayong, maganda yung strategy ng gobyerno ngayon na wag nating iyabang na nanalo tayo sa tribunal at dapat eh lumayas kayo diyan. Madaling magsalita ng ganon pero paano natin gagawin yun. And then also, perhaps, there could be programs from the Bureau of Fisheries or Department of Agriculture, or Department of Environment to be able to help the fisherfolks who are in the are of the West Philippine Sea mismo.

Nery: Mabalik tayo sa Senate dynamics, very interesting talaga itong the Senate of the 17th Congress. Tomorrow, Senator Grace Poe will start her committee hearings on emergency powers for the president as far as traffic problem is concerned, what can we expect from here senator.

Sotto: Perhaps, we would be able to find out tomorrow yung ano yung programa ng executive department o ng DOTC on how they want to handle this. Maraming kwento eh, pero wala pang concrete. Wala pa kamingnakikitang concrete on how they will be able to handle this. So perhaps tomorrow baka magkakalinawan yan. Mayroon kaming mga suggestions so far on our own, perhaps they can consider it o baka naman they are already considering it.

Nery: You are looking for specifics?

Sotto: Oo.

Nery: Pero ang sense mo of the Senate, senators are willing to give the president emergency powers?

Sotto:  Oo I think so. Majority of the members I’m sure.

Nery: So specifics na lang?

Sotto: Yah, specifics lang kasi baka medyo mayroong overboard.

Nery: Tapos next Wednesday naman, Senator Leila de Lima naman will start her committee hearings on extrajudicial killings again ano pong sense of the Senate?

Sotto: Well I can probably give you my sense na lang kasi I cannot speak for the others as far as that issue is concerned. Ang tingin may kahirapan because how many extrajudicial killings happened, 200? 300? 500 plus kasama yung sa pulis doon eh, nasabi naman ng pulis may mga dahil kung bakit nangyari. Sa vigilante killings mga 200 something. So, madaling mag-imbestiga sa senado kapag mayroon kang specific na kaso na pinag-uusapan. Pero pag 200 plus, anong sasabihin sa amin ng pulis? Iniimbestigahan pa namin, sasabihin nila. Alin dito sa mga kasong ito? Medyo may kahirapan eh. If you understand what I’m driving at. My sense really was, before, baka premature tayo. We must allow probably allow muna na […] NBI, not only the PNP but perhaps […] or the DOJ to investigate and find out what’s happening here. Who are responsible? Just so they can have something to report to us.

Nery: You’re not saying naman that you don’t want the committee hearing to push through.

Sotto: No, no. We can go on to that.

Nery: It’s possible to have one hearing and then wait for the…

Sotto: Yun ang sakin, ganon ang sinasabi ko. I don’t know how we will be pinpointing.

READ: Sotto: Senate probe into vigilante killings might be premature

Nery:  Pero diba nakakabahala rin talaga na sabihin na nating there are 200 vigilante killings in one month…

Sotto: Nakakabahala yun especially kung may masisingit doon na hindi naman talaga involved sa drug trafficking kasi karamihan sa mga kababayan natin kapag involved sa drug trafficking, they are looking the other way. As a matter of fact, noon minsan mayroong kasi nagsabi nako kawawa naman yung ano, diba may picture nung isang araw sa diyaryo niyo, so maraming naaawa. Pero may kwento, maraming kwento, hindi lang may kwento, maraming kwento bigyan kita example like sa Barangay Tatalon meron don isang pousher, adik na siga siga din. Walang gumagalaw doon. Lahat ng kapitbahay takot sa kanya eh. Noong sinusumbong nung ibang tao sa barangay don at sa magulang niya, eh pati magulang niya takot sa kanya eh. At saka galit pa yung magulang eh, dahil, bakit hindi niyo ganon. Takot sila marahil kung anong gawin ng adik. Noong isang araw napatay yung adik, aba yung nagwawala eh yung magulang. Kawawa daw yung anak. Eh yung kapitbahay nakanganga, eh kami hindi kami kawawa noong inaapi kami niyan? See. Kailangan talga hanapan natin ng balanse dito eh. Oo, hindi natin gusto yung extrajudicial killings pero karamihan sa mga kababayan natin nakikita na yung tunay na drug pusher, na namemerwisyo ng ano, kapag sila’y nanlaban sa pulis at napatay, talagang ganon.

Nery: Siguro dapat lang pagtuonan ng pansin yung mga inosente. May nasangkot, halimbawa yung honor student sa Dagupan na nasama lang dun sa kaibigan niya.

Sotto: The other day mayroon silang sinasabi na, professor ata sa Ateneo yun, pero mayroon namang report na sinasabi na robbery daw yun hindi daw tungkol sa drugs.

Nery: Wala pa eh.

Sotto: So ayun kailangang tutukan. Perhaps yun, kung ganon, magce-center yung committee hearing sag anon, specific cases may mapupuntahan. Pero kung general lang, in general lang, basta ganon na extrajudicial killings lang, ang hirap ng pupuntahan niyan. You will be just involved in the debate, because ang debate diyan will be human rights. When you debate against human rights mahirap yan kasi when does human rights end? Does it ever end? Mayroon mga thinking na pag ikaw marami kang pinatay at heinous criminal ka, you have lost your human right.

Nery: You will lose your civil rights, political rights pero yung human rights…

Sotto: Pag kasi, pag ikaw yung kamag anak.

Nery: Pero naintindihan ko yung punto mo Senator na mas maigi nga siguro na mag-focus on one or two cases, talagang magtataka ka bakit nangyari yun ano ba yung rules of engagement mga ganon. Very specific. Maganda nga sigurong suggestion yun for Senator De Lima.

Sabillo: Senator would you agree with the critics who say that a Senate investigation would undermine the president’s campaign against illegal drugs?

Sotto: It depends on how the investigation or inquiry is handled. And then ang mga kababayan natin at saka kami naman sa senado will be able to sift through the rubble kung ito ay political lang o kung ito ay talagang may pupuntahan. Siguro naman we’ll be able to thresh it out.

Sabillo: Senator, I remembered you interpellated Senator Pacquiao the other day. You were talking about the death penalty. I thought at first, actually the other people were saying na, you just ask just to ask those questions, but you were saying kanina nga there was a shift in your own preference for death penalty or specific ano.

Sotto: Medyo, nasa neutral ako ngayon. Sometimes I’m convinced na dapat, sometimes I’m not. But if we’re specific about high level drug trafficking only, then I most probably would be in favor kasi doon maliwanag ang guilty, ang isang high level na drug lord maliwang na guilty. There is no such thing as inosenteng high level na drug lord. Ang innocent murderer meron, ang innocent rapist meron, maaari, possibility, pero yung maco-convict ka dahil ikaw ay high level drug lord imposibleng hindi totoo. There is no such thing, ibang klase yun eh.

Nery: Saka yung sinasabi na kahit na sa preso na sila…

Sotto: Nasa preso na sila dapat i-inhibit na sila eh, kaya yung word na deter sa akin eh yung second meaning ng deter. Deter kasi is to inhibit. So inhibit him from committing the same crime again, ngayon doon sa kay Manny Pacquiao the reason I stood up to interpulate Manny because I was glad that he was a new senator. A young senator, he stands up delivered a privilege speech and he’s ready for interpolation. Kasi sa amin hindi namin type yung ayaw pa-interpellate eh. Kasi lalo na I have the record in the Senate, the only senator who was interpolated by the 22 senators in my maiden privilege speech in 1992.

Nery: I wanted to ask about that Senator Sotto. Yung 1992, in fact the topic of your privilege speech had to do with dangerous drugs also?

Sotto: Exactly.

Nery: So parang going back full circle ano bang nangyari don?

Sotto: Kasi I was vice mayor for four years of Quezon City, hirap na hirap kami. During that time I was head of the Quezon Cty anti-drug abuse council, and I was having difficulty putting behind bars those drug pushers. Eh shabu during that time is a regulated drug. 1992 until I became a senator. So in 1992 the reason I ran in the Senate I said was because I wanted to upgrade the dangerous drug act of 1972, which we did. It became the dangerous drug act of 2002 and included all the other dangerous drugs. I also was pushing for the creation of drug enforcement agency in that privilege speech of mine. Sabi ko nga pag tumayo ka kailangan panindigan mo yung mga pinagsasabi mo. Kung hindi mo kayang panindigan yung mga pinagsasabi mo, huwag ka nang tumayo, Kaya natuwa ako kay Pacquiao, so nag interpolate ako sa kanya. Ako naman yung akin namang interpolation sa kanya eh patulong, hindi pabara. Patulong yun kaya gusto ko lang I wanted to pick his mind, gusto mo ng death penalty anong klaseng death penalty ang naisip mo parang ganon. Yun yung nangyari noon.

Sabillo: Parang kilala ko po yung Senator na hindi nagpa-interpellate. Balik po tayo sa questions natin from social media. Question from Linda Rabes, sustainable po ba ang 14th month pay ipatupad kahit madami pa rin na walang trabaho. Hindi muna dapat yun ang pansinin.

Sotto: Narinig ko na yan pero ang problema kasi, sabi nga nung iba eh, pag iniisip mo, I think it’s a different issue. Yung mga may trabaho muna pag-uusapan natin, marami kasi tayong kababayan na pagdating ng June hirap na hirap eh. Yung 13th month pay, kaya ko naisipan yung 14th month pay, yung  13th month pay which is presidential decree by president Marcos is given during Christmas. Ang kailangang kailangan na tulong ng mga kababayan natin during enrollment, kaya June dapat. Yung gusto kong 14th month pay magiging dapat midyear na para makatulong sa enrollment tuition fee ng mga kababayan natin and education is one of the most important for the Philippines. So ganon yon.

Doon sa ika nga bakit hindi daw asikasuhin nalang yung pag-create ng trabaho, bigyan niyo ko ng batas na magagawa namin para gawin yun. Trabaho ng executive department yun eh. Perhaps siguro makakatulong kami kung babaguhin natin ang constitution. Amendahan natin, luwagan natin ang economic provisions para maraming investments, mas maraming tumaya dito, mas maraming ma-create na trabaho. Pero walang kinalaman yung pagcreate ng tranaho doon sa 14th month pay na dapat nating ibigay sapagkat karamihan ng malalaking kumpanya ngayon, nagbibigay na ng 14th month pay. Doon nga sa kompanya namin nagbibigay ng 15th, 16th month pay nagbibigay eh. Pero marami tayong mga kababayan na hindi nakakatikim ng 13th or 14th month pay. Kaya dapat yung may kaya naman, dapat ibigay nila. Now, hindi ito anti-employers because in the bill that I proposed or that I’m proposing, nilagay ko yung exceptions ng presidential decree na original which is kapag hindi mo kaya, hindi ka magbibigay. May BIR naman para humingi ka ng petition. Ganon din yung sistema don, file ka ng petition ‘di ko kaya naulugi ako eh, bakit ako magbibigay ng 14th month.’ Good, eh hindi mo pala kaya eh. Pero yung may kaya naman ibigay naman natin, kawawa naman yung mga kababayan natin eh. Siguro yung naiisip nila sa creation of jobs eh, akala nila puwede naming basta gawin yun. Hindi namin pwede basta gawin yun eh, nasa executive department mas kaya nilang gawin kaagad.

Sabillo: From Mark Libe, what do you think of your critics on social media? How do you defend yourself? I’m sure marami namang personalities in politics, you have a lot of critics but I guess it’s very different now that we have social media.

Sotto: Oo nga pero nung una, somehow medyo naapektuhan ako eh. Gusto ko nga dapat sinasagot yan kasi mali ang context ng iba eh. Pero lately naisip ko, hindi na ako nagwoworry kasi alam ko na mali yung thnking eh. Alam ko yung mga iniisip kaya yung mga tanong nila talagang hindi maganda sapagkat they don’t really know the context of what they’re asking. Like there was a time that they were asking about Pepsi Paloma mga ganon, anong kinalaman ko ron? Hindi ata nila alam eh. They are probably not born in 1982 that’s why. So all they have to do is look up the journals of what happened. It was Pepsi Paloma who said that there was no rape it was only a gimmick of Ray Dela Cruz. Malinaw yun eh. And the question is parang nakikita ko na parang hindi nila alam yung storya kaya ganon yung tanong nila.

READ: Tito Sotto on Pepsi Paloma case: ‘Anong kinalaman ko doon?’

Nery: We can actually do a story about your…

Sotto: Oo. I even have clippings of the newspaper, tabloids during that time.

Nery: The controversial Rey Dela Cruz. Senator when you were interpolated, balik po tayo nung 1982 nung napag usapan po natin ito bago yung programa, tuwang tuwa ako nung na-imagine ko eh. Some of the big names in the history of the Philippine Senate, you’re already a colleague of, Arturo Tolentino, Neptali Gonzales, Ernesto Maceda, what was it like? Alberto Romulo, Blas Ople.

Sotto: Andami, they were 22 who interpellated me. There was only Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo who did not. To me, if you ask me for a shining moment in the Senate for me, that is my shining moment. It was my baptism of fire, but I think I carried myself well. I was able to answer all. There were some researchers, they were looking at the journal. Sabi ko good, good, good bring it up para Makita nila yung mga questions at yung mga sagot ko.

Sabillo: How long did it last, the whole interpellation?

Sotto:  More than five hours. Gloria Macapagal was the only one who did not interpolate me, so the following day even Neptali who was president went down, gave the floor to Butch Aquino, went down and cast me about my thinking about the sense of illegal drugs and things like that. So the media asked Gloria Macapagal the following day why she did not interpolate. She was the only one who did not interpolate the number one senator, I was the number one senator in 1982 eh showbiz pa kaya sabi siguro sarap bugbugin nito. Siguro yun iniisip ng iba eh.

Nery: Anong answer ni Gloria Macapagal?

Sotto: Her answer I distinctly remember you do not interpolate someone who is an expert in his field.

Nery: So talagang shining moment ha.

Sotto: I think it was my most shining moment in the senate.

Nery: If I remember correctly, Gloria was number 13 and in ’95 was number one when she ran again.

Sotto:  Andaming nakakatuwang tanong noon, sina Joey Lina, sila Boy Herrera…

Nery: But why did it take ten years for the dangerous drugs bill to become law?

Sotto: We could not do it this mill. It was really difficult. The 1972 dangerous drug act was outdated, so it was almost a complete overhaul. And then the creation of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and the upgrading of the Dangerous Drug Board really, it was gruelling. It was gruelling. I’ll give credit where credit is due. Senator Bobby Barbers and Senator Juan Ponce Enrile helped me, but also mayroon kaming hindi napag-kasunduan but again you have to use the art of compromising the Senate so may tatanggapin kang suggestion nila, mayroong hindi. Like for example in the case of Senator Nene Pimentel, mayroon siyang input diyan sa dangerous drugs act, marami actually. Pero mayroon siyang maraming safeguards. Alam niya ito eh, maraming safeguards sa section 21 kaya medyo, kasi natatakot siya sa planting of evidence, ganon so ako naman tingin ko hindi msyadong kailangan pero si Nene ang napropose eh so, I accepted it.

Nery: So that’s why it took ten years. One last question from me and maybe one last question from Tine. Senator, as majority leader, you actually ran the Senate on a day to day basis because of the committee on rules and all that. Napag-usapan natin mga high profile issues or proposed legislations and committee hearings, pero what are you excited about? A measure that one of your colleagues has proposed na hindi pa namin masyadong napapansin, mayroon ka bang naiisip?

Sotto: Because of the hundreds of bills, madami, pero perhaps in my case ano, yung anti-drug penal institution. If we do not pass the death penalty, I have an alternative. The alternative is to remove, segregate the high level drug cases and old drug cases, remove it. Remove them and place them in a different prison. No signal, no cell site, no nothing, no communication. At saka super higpit ka. Hindi mangyayari yung nangyari sa National Bilibid country club. Spa and country club, may recording studio pa yung drug lord.

Sabillo:  Unfortunately, we don’t have anymore time for another question. It’s 9 p.m. Andami pa sanang gustong tanungin. Iba’t ibang issue pa but at least we were able to discuss the meat of the hot topics right now.

Sotto: Thank you very much.

Sabillo: So thank you to our multiple our multiple audiences on TV, radio, Facebook and Youtube and other INQUIRER.net social media accounts.

Who’s next on the hot seat? Find out through our social media accounts on Twitter follow @jnery_newsstand and @KSabilloINQ, as well as the accounts of INQUIRER.net on Facebook and Twitter.

Nery:  We would like to thank our guest of honor, Senate Majority Leader Tito Sotto. Thank you very much very enlightening, sana we can continue this some other time.

PREVIOUS INQ&A:

FULL TEXT: INQ&A with Senator Joel Villanueva 

FULL TEXT: INQ&A with Senator Leila De Lima