FULL TEXT: INQ&A with Senator Ralph Recto

Senate Minority Leader Ralph Recto weighed in on the administration’s controversial drug war, the national budget and proposals to shift to a federal form of government during an hour-long INQ&A interview on September 13.

The senator is the weekly show’s 8th guest since it started in July.

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

Below is the full transcript of the interview with Recto:

John Nery, INQUIRER.net Editor in Chief: INQ&A, the Inquirer question and answer program comes to you every Tuesday. And every week we sit down with a leading newsmaker to discuss the issues of the day. We are brought to you by inquirer.net. We are carried live on Radyo Inquirer 990, also live on Facebook. We are also carried on the various Inquirer social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook and the different chat apps, including Line and Kakao.

My name is John Nery, I’m editor in chief of Inquirer.net, and it is a pleasure to host yet another program of INQ&A. With me is my co-host, Ms. Kristine Sabillo, chief of reporters of Inquirer.net.

Kristine Sabillo: Thank you John, and thank you to everyone who is watching right now on Facebook and on the website. So before we introduce you to our special guest tonight, we have three things you might not know about him. So we got a reliable source to give us a bit of trivia about our resource speaker tonight.

So number one, this is something you often see in his profile, he’s the youngest elected member of the House of Representative during the 9th Congress. He was also the youngest senator at the 12th Congress at the age of 37. Number two is he plays the piano. And the third one is, this is very interesting, he did not call for a press conference in six years, in 2010 to 2016. Ladies and gentlemen, Senator Ralph Recto.

Senator Ralph Recto: Thank you for having me. Salamat!

Nery: Thank you, senator, for making time for us. How interesting, no press conferences and yet you were re-elected in 2016.

Recto: I think it should be by merit eh unless they have something to ask you. I’m not in a habit of calling for press conferences to promote myself, basically. So, like I said, I don’t think I’m a newsmaker as you mentioned earlier. If I were, then a lot of media would always be knocking at my door, right?

Nery: Well, we’re knocking on your door and we’d like to ask the first question, if you don’t mind. Your most recent press statement was about Mary Jane Veloso. What is your take in the case?

ON MARY JANE VELOSO

Recto: Well, basically, ang pagkaalam ko diyan, posibleng inosente na ginamit lang as a drug courier na hindi niya alam. She seems to be an OFW, wanted to be a maid in Indonesia at may illegal recruiter—kung hindi ako nagkakamali—at yung illegal recruiter ata yung naglagay ng drugs doon sa kaniyang maleta at nahuli sa Indonesia. ‘Yun ang pagkakaalam ko, so dapat tulungan ng ating pamahalaan. Lahat ng OFWs, ‘no? At lalo na in this case, laban sa droga nga. Mas mabuting buhay siya para maituro niya kung sino yung mga sindikatong involved sa droga kasama yung mga illegal recruiter.

Sabillo: Senator, there’s been a lot of talk and a lot of controversies surrounding President Duterte supposedly told the Indonesian president. The latest is that he just told Jokowi that they should just follow their laws, and they didn’t actually discuss in detail. Do you think the president should have given a stronger appeal for Veloso?

Recto: I think it’s incumbent on our president na humingi ng clemency din palagay ko kay Mary Jane Veloso bilang isang Pilipino. Like I said, magagamit din nila ang kaniyang testimoniya dito sa problema laban sa droga. 

Nery: What do you think happened? So President Jokowi had a different understanding of their meeting and the Palace says no, the president didn’t give the ‘go-ahead’ or the green light for the execution.

Recto: What I can say is hirap na hirap siguro yung presidential spokesperson at si Martin Andanar na ipaliwanag ang mga bagay-bagay na ito. So you will always have news items every day.

Nery: How can we resolve this? So keeping the welfare of Mary Jane in mind. What do you think should Philippine government do to resolve this issue?

Recto: Well, like I said, that’s precisely why we issued a press release today, ‘no? Sinasabi ni Mary Jane, biktima siya dito. She’s probably a victim here by an illegal recruiter na ginamit ng drug syndicate, so on and so forth. Magagamit natin ang kaniyang testimonya. If at all better, I think nahuli na yung illegal recruiter dito. There’s a case already filed in Philippine courts. I think the reason why she hasn’t been executed in the first place was because the Philippine government was successful in the past, informing the Indonesian government that she will be used as a witness in these cases here. So she hasn’t been executed precisely because of that. So I think that’s the most important, urgent issue today. So we follow that up as well. Maybe we should send our lawyers there and find out what can she testify on, if at all, magagamit ba sa mga cases natin here.

Nery: And to impress upon the Indonesian government that she’s still needed for the case here.

Recto: That’s precisely why we issued the press release here.

Sabillo: Do you think, senator, that the President is also careful because of his strong stance against drugs that he doesn’t want to seem sympathetic, maybe, of a case like that. It’s such a complicated case.

Recto: We understand where he’s coming from here, ‘no? But there’s no justifiable reason for the President to say na, assuming he did say it or allegedly what they say, na puwede nang patayin ‘yan or whatever, whatever that was. That’s the point. There’s no justifiable reason to my mind, at least.

ON SENATE DYNAMICS

Nery: Senator, on July 25 you were elected the Senate Minority Leader. What is the role of the Senate minority in the Duterte era?

Recto: To provide contrast. To provide contrast and to provide an alternative point of view, basically. Today, we had a first vote on the first bill on the postponing the barangay elections.

Nery: That’s right and you voted no?

Recto: I voted no.

Nery: But before you explain that, I was there when you were elected and you gave your acceptance speech and you talked about the role of minority is both to stand your ground on certain things but also to see common ground.

Recto: Correct, correct, tama ‘yun. We’re not here naman para pahirapan ang administrasiyon. In fact, ang dapat sumuporta tayo sa mga polisiya na sa tingin natin makakatulong, ‘no? But we also have to provide some alternative insights and some contrast as well. There are many points of view and I think the role of the minority is to provide an alternative point of view in some instances. In some instances naman suportahan natin yung programa.

Nery: And you had a lengthy speech explaining your no-vote against the postponement of the barangay and SK elections. Can you talk more about that?

ON POSTPONEMENT OF BARANGAY AND SK ELECTIONS

Recto: Well, number one, ang sinasabi nila i-postpone natin yung barangay elections para makatipid. Hindi totoong makakatipid tayo. Because we’re just postponing the expenses for next year. In fact mas tataas pa yung expenses next year dahil uulitin yung ginawa ulit this year. Halimbawa, registration of voters. Diba? So dadagdag pa yung gastos. That’s number one.

So number two, I don’t think it’s right for politicians to extend terms of other politicians. Can you imagine if we were discussing extending terms of mayors, governors, congressmen and senators. Siguro kagabi napanood ko yung “Train to Busan” with my wife. So siguro maraming mga pupunta sa kongreso, sabihin ‘wag niyong gawin ‘yan. Ito, dahil barangay elections, parang… barangay elections lang naman ‘yan, SK elections lang naman ‘yan kaya postpone na natin yan, ‘di ba? Parang ‘di tama. Remember the Constitution also says that what is unique in Filipino form of government is the barangay system, including the participation of young people in the SK. We just passed the law in SK reform at nangako tayo magkakahalalan. Ngayon sinasabi natin ‘di gagawin yung pinangako natin na magkaroon ng halalan sa SK. At maliwanag yung term of office na three years lang for barangay officials. That is the contract with the people when the people voted for them. Ngayon babawiin natin, hindi tama ‘yun.

Pangatlo, sabi nila nakakaantala daw ito sa war on drugs. To me, the contrary, it will be better because the issue of corruption, crime and drugs will be fought in center of this election. If they’re saying that 13 thousand or 14 thousand barangays are affected with drugs and 92 percent of barangays in Metro Manila are infected with drugs, all the more you should have elections. Para yung taumbayan makapili to kick them out of office, there will be candidates running on the platform of the anti-drug campaign. It’s front and center today. And for those who fought drugs naman, the barangay officials, what better way than to to reelect them into office. Of course yung sabi nila yung PNP hindi raw makaka-focus sa anti-drug campaign. Like I said, to the contrary, mas mabuti na yung PNP nasa lahat ng barangay as it is during elections, embedded inthe barangay nang sa ganoon, mapagpapatuloy nila yung Tokhang program nila sa mga barangay. So all the more magagamit nila yung anti-war on drugs or yung war on drugs in this case. 

And they always use the reason also na magkaka-underspending daw ang gobyerno because there is a law. Well, apparently if you read the newspapers, they’re saying parang presidential elections yan na hindi ka puwede mag-public works project, you cannot appoint people for the duration of the campaign. 45 days. Eh hindi naman yun ang nakasulat sa batas pagdating sa barangay. 10 days lang. This is not a marathon, it’s not a 90 day or 45 day-marathon. It’s just a 10-day sprint, so to speak. Siyam na tulog lang to.

Sabi nila may election fatigue din daw. In 2007, you had the national elections at the same time the barangay-SK elections also within the year. Walang election fatigue, manual pa noon. 2010, you had the presidential and barangay elections, same year, wala rin fatigue yun. 2013, you had the same so why now may election fatigue?

Nery: What is the reason for postponing?

Recto: ‘Yun ang dahilan nila. The four F’s I mentioned. We pointed out that their excuses are flimsy. Hindi tama yung mga excuses na binigay nila for not having elections.

Nery: Mayroon pa kayong sinabi na maybe now is the time to drive the barangay captains who are also drug captains.

Recto: Precisely, precisely.

Sabillo: Are you going to come out with a drug list for the barangay.

Recto: I think the President has a list but the point is this, that’s why you have barangay elections. So those who fought the drug war can be reelected and those who allowed themselves to be drug lords in their barangays, eh di matanggal din yan sa posisyon nila. Why extend every one, why give every one a free pass? Basically. So those are the reasons why we’re against the postponement of the barangay elections.

Nery: What do you think will happen?

Recto: Pero dalawa lang kaming bumoto diyan ha, na against the administration.

Nery: So I think na in the House, it was also passed on third reading today. The postponement. So it looks like a done deal.

Recto: It looks a done deal. So that was the first bill that we voted on.

ON WAR AGAINST DRUGS

Sabillo: Senator, there are a lot of discussions now on the Senate, a lot of big topics. One of them is the hearing on the summary killings related to the drug campaign. How is that going? What is your thoughts, do you agree with those saying that it is not helping the drug campaign of the administration, the actual hearings and investigation?

Recto: First of all, we should support the President in the anti-drug campaign. Anti-drug, anti-crime, anti-corruption campaign of this administration. But we should not condone extrajudicial killings or vigilante killings for that matter. I forgot the number already but something around 3,000 people have died already. One-third of that or a little less than half with police operations. Ang claim, siyempre ng police, lumaban. I’m sure pinang-aaralan ngayon o may mga imbestigasyon na ginagawa tungkol diyan. I hope so. To me the bigger issue is the vigilante killings. You may win the war on drugs but if people lose respect from the rule of law, walang panalo diyan. And then you will eventually have copycat killings. There’s an excellent article today in the Inquirer regarding that. So the most important is law and order, kailangan sundin ang batas. And I pointed that out during the hearing in the Senate when Bato was there. I think we should the support the police. 16,000 of our police do not have firearms. Many of them have not even shot their firearms, so on and so forth. Kulang na kulang ang mga sasakyan ng pulis. You may have 9-1-1 pero ‘pag kulang ang sasakyan para rumisponde, baliwala yung 9-1-1 mo. I’ve also had bills that I think we should be hiring 25,000 policemen yearly at least for the next six years. To improve the police-to-population ratio. You have more police in the streets, that would be deterrent to crime. Maliwanag yun. So ‘yung mga ‘yan dapat sinusuportahan natin yan no. But I think you can’t make shortcuts and you can’t allow vigilante killings. I think they should concentrate their investigations also and to show that their serious against vigilante killings. After all, yun sinasabi ng Presidente rin naman ngayon eh na yung state of lawlessness, not only is it the drug war, not only is it the terrorism, but also the vigilante killings, if I’m not mistaken.

Nery: Senator, yung sa Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights, they will resume the hearings on Thursday and I think as Senate minority leader, you’re in all committees. What should we expect from the third hearing on Thursday?

Recto: You know, I’m not sure if that’ll prep the invited resource persons on Thursday. I think it will be a follow up on the hearing that should’ve been conducted when the President was in Cambodia…there might be new witnesses, if I’m not mistaken, I think that would be the same lineup. I can check on that tomorrow. But basically we want to hear the testimony of these witnesses, what they have to say. At the same time, be fair to the police as well. It’s a tough balancing act. Para sa akin, like I said, let me reiterate, it is the vigilante killings that I’m more concerned about. I think we need to give the police the tools to be able… for them to do their job properly. But then we should make sure also na people don’t take the law into their own hands. Black eye din yan sa police natin.

ON SENATOR DE LIMA

Nery: That’s true. Senator, what about… there is an ethics case against Senator Leila de Lima, how do you see that playing out?

Recto: There is a discussion earlier, I was just monitoring it while I was working in my office. Then I just received two sealed envelopes earlier, because I’m still a member also of the ethics (unclear). I’ve not read those two documents yet. It’s in a sealed envelope but having said that, I think Sen. Drilon was correct also na jurisdiction muna siguro. Pag-usapan before form and substance.

Nery: Okay, but I think the other day Sen. Lacson pointed out that the maximum penalty would be expulsion. But it’s too early to…

Recto: Too early to talk about this, oo. Jurisdiction pa lang nga eh. Form and substance. I don’t think we should jump right away and speculate (unclear).

Nery: You’ve been on the record just pointing out that Sen. de Lima must be presumed innocent just like all the others. You know, accusers must come up with evidence, just like any other. Have you ever heard from her after you gave that statement?

Recto: No, not really, not really. But you know, it’s hard for me to think that she’d be involved in any of these.

Sabillo: What is your personal take on that?

Recto: I’ve not seen any evidence eh. So I don’t know. What I know is what I read in the papers. That’s basically it.

ON TRAFFIC

Nery: Senator, another high-profile inquiry in the Senate. Emergency powers. What is your…

Recto: Transportation?

Nery: Yeah, transportation.

Recto: You know from the very beginning, I’ve been asking for the DOTr to submit a wish-list. Ano ba ‘yung mga proyekto na gusto nila because at the end of the day, many of these, as far as these projects are concerned, would be negotiated…That’s what the emergency powers is all about, na wag gamitin yung procurement law para mapabilis natin. To a certain degree, I’m amenable. Because it’s a no-brainer to me. You’re losing P10.5 billion a day to traffic. Sometimes the cost of incompetence is more than the cost of corruption, inefficiency, ‘no? Having said that, tingnan din natin yung emergency powers (unclear) must submit a wishlist, ano ba yung mga proyekto niya? Kung papaano makakatulong iyan, that’s one. And two, do they have an actual bill? So I think a week ago, they submitted it already. Now there’s an initial list of P1.1 trillion na binigay. Initial lang ‘yun so tingin ko first figure yan. Wala pang program of work yon.

Nery: And I think your own estimate was originally 1.5 trillion.

Recto: Hindi naman, they submitted a 1.1 trillion so posible minimum yun. Not all of them are super urgent, sa tingin ko. Halimbawa, training center ng DOTr. Palagay ko di makaktulong sa traffic yun, training center yun eh. So tanggalin natin sa listahan yun. Yung mga ganun. Ano yung pinaka-urgent, especially yung longestation period. (unclear) It’ll take five years to complete. What are the most urgent to begin with, yun ang unahin natin in that list, also. That’s one. And two, ano yung pinaka-immediate na puwedeng gawin. Halimbawa, pagbili ng mga tow truck, ambulansiya. You have 95,000 accidents in Metro Manila every year according to the MMDA. That’s something like 250 people dying every five and a half minutes, ‘di ba, or every day. So tow truck, bakit? Kasi ang tow truck mo, pinalalaki mo yung kalsada, magpa-park naman yung kotse dun. Kahit paglawakin mo pa ng mas malaki pa yung kalsada, magpapark din naman yung sasakyan, ‘di useless din. Even before we think of making tunnels, eh di tow truck muna. Tanggalin natin yung illegally-parked vehicles, yung mga simpleng, commonsensical solutions that you can do right away. So yun yung gusto kong makita in that list or in the emergency powers that they want. Not all are concrete-related nga pala.

Nery: But in principle?

Recto: In principle, I think we should be open to the idea. Like I said, it’s a no-brainer. 2.5 billion a day and growing. Not doing anything about that is even worse. We’re losing 2.5 billion a day to traffic.

Sabillo: Senator, you also talked about an expiry date.

Recto: Incidentally, 2.5 billion a day is 700 billion a year. That’s what? four, five percent of GDP? Not to mention yung lost family time. Kawawa yung mangagagawa natin. Umaga, gabi. It takes them, what? Three hours to get to work, three hours to get home.

Nery: It’s also a quality of life issue?

Recto: It’s also a quality of life issue so why not? Pero ipaliwanag nila ng mabuti and then set certain parameters. Halimbawa, dapat tanggalin natin yung premium payments to the government. Tataas yung cost to the user eh. Okay. Dapat yan user-centered kasi they’re gonna build a tall road. So what is the least cost for the user? That’s how we should do the bidding. Hindi who will bid highest, may premium payment to the government. Are we naïve to think na you give a premium payment, the proponent will not give it back to the user. Yun ang ginagawa nung nakaraan eh, di ba? So I think our bidding should be the other way around. You win this tall road if you can provide the least cost. Or you build an MRT-LRT, improve the PNR. How much will it cost the user? Affordable ba yan? That’s how we should look at it. Hindi yung palakihan ng bid, na kikita ang gobyerno. This is all about public service. What is the least cost, ito yung quality that we want, what is the least cost to the user. That’s how we should look at it. So dapat FOI-compliant yan or this contract should be open for review my Congress, and the public and media. So yun ang dapat ilagay sa emergency powers, among others. Marami yan. There’s gonna be a lot.

Sabillo: Senator, you talked about a need for an expiry date for the emergency powers. How long do you think should it take for the government to finish everything that they need to finish?

Recto: I think the President should… emergency powers for DOTr ‘to?

Sabillo: Yes.

Recto: Two years, three years, maybe even less.

Sabillo: So just enough for the bidding, the purchase?

Recto: So on and so forth. Right of way issues. So halimbawa, right of way issues. Normally ang valuation niyan is BIR-zone valuation. So you’re saying hindi na puwedeng mag-apela yung may-ari ng lupa, kukunin mo yung right of way niya eh. Baka naman mababa masyado yung BIR-zone valuation. That’s why he files the case in court. So why not do it, para simple nalang, times two the BIR-zone valuation.

Sabillo: Automatic computation…

Recto: Maybe something like that, we can look at something like that. And then you put it (unclear). Marami diyan right of way. Kakailanganin mo. You need to build more roads, more bridges, so on and so forth. Not only in Metro Manila. That goes for your trains as well. So on and so forth. So these are examples of what probably can be included in the emergency powers of the DOTr. And remember, if you want the economy to continue to grow, you need to make these investments in infrastructure. So importante yan.

Nery: Senator, let’s say hi to the people following us from Taiwan, from Qatar and also from the Republic of La Union.

Recto: Binabati natin ang mga kababayan natin sa Taiwan, La Union, Qatar. Nakakatuwa. That they’re monitoring news developments in the Philippines. So ganun kamahal ng Pilipino ang Pilipinas.

Nery: Senator…

Recto: Concerned sila sa mga balita.

ON ECONOMY

Nery: Yes they are. In fact, yun ang laman ng mga comments namin. All these OFWs, for instance. Senator, you spent a year as Neda General, how did that experience shape your views now, for instance, on infrastructure development?

Recto: One, I could say there’s a lot of bright people in Neda. Maybe one of the brightest government agencies that we have. We have a lot of people there. They have a lot of work to do as well. Uh, well, hindi lang naman infrastructure ang mahalaga. Most important to me is the human capital to begin with. No matter how many airports, sea ports, trains, highways you build. If you’re not educating our citizenry, only the educated will use that infrastructure to his benefit productively. So that the challenge is to also invest in human capital. And that’s why the title of (unclear) is social economic planning. Importante yung human dimension din yan yung human capital din. You provide them the opportunity, getting a good quality education, make sure that people are healthy as well. Then you’re able to do that, build the infrastructure, every one will have, will be able to utilize that infrastructure better, more productively for his own benefit, di ba? So ang makikinabang sa magandang imprastuktura yung marunong gumamit ng imprastuktura na yun eh. Kung hindi ka edukado, hindi mo magagamit more productively that infrastructure as well. So I think that’s something Neda has taught me as well. Now, in many of our projects also, dahil ang problema anman is employment. So during my time in Neda, we put an (unclear). We should be bin counting, how many jobs will this create? In everything that we do, when we borrow money, when we invest that money, ilan yung economic rate of return and how many jobs will this create?

Mayroon nang employment odometer. That’s what I call it, employment odometer. Binibilang mo dapat yan. And it helped out because today, our unemployment rate has gone down. Nakakatulong yun. And there’s a lot of more things that need to be done. So, Neda is also the economic-planning agency. It’s very well-known that you do the Philippine development plan. Not only should we have a six-year plan, but we also have to have a twenty, fifty-year plan as much as possible. If insurance companies do that, why not the economic planning agency of government, ‘di ba?

Nery: Senator, we’re gonna take a one minute break. When we come back, we’ll say hi to the other audiences following us from different countries. And we’ll also ask questions about ICT, about Globe and Smart from the sponsor of the Department, of the bill you created, ICT. This is INQ&A and we’ll be back with Senate Minority Leader Ralph Recto after a short commercial break.

Nery: Good evening and we’re back to INQ&A. Tine?

Sabillo: Yes, good evening to everyone watching. Welcome back. Senator, could we greet our viewers from different countries. We have people from the US, from New Jersey. We have viewers from Hong Kong, Geneva, Switzerland, Dubai as well as Batangas.

Recto: Marami akong fans na galing sa Batangas, palagay ko. So binabati ko lahat ng mga kababayan ko sa Batangas. Lahat ng kapwa Vilmanian ko sa New Jersey, Hong Kong, Geneva, at Dubai. So halos buong mundo na ito. So yup. One-tenth of our population all over the world, no? So, nakakatuwa that they’re tuned in to their program.

Nery: Thank you senator. So I think let’s start reading some of our questions from social media.

ON TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Sabillo: Yeah, so this one is from Facebook. Si Angelo Nobleza. Ano po ang plano ng Senado sa telecom na walang pagbabago? This is a consumer-concern a lot. People are complaining about drop calls and other…

Recto: I’ve filed many bills. The first one, napasa na. Napirmahan na dati ng pangulo. Mapapakinabangan ni President Duterte ngayon. We have a new department. Department of Information and Communication Technology. Tinanggal natin yung ‘C’ sa DOTC dati, na hindi nila magawa yung transportasyon and komunikasiyon. Nagtayo tayo ng bagong department. Department of ICT. But that’s just the first reform measure. The other is, we’re strengthening the regulatory powers of government… Marami pa eh. So we’ve filed all these bills. And I would be writing the chairman of this communication to prioritize these bills. I think that the new Cabinet secretaries also. Sooner or later, I think September, we will have a… I’m hoping they include some of our proposals in the minority as priority legislation. This is, what I’m talking about, common ground. So regardless if you’re administration, minority or opposition. Faster internet speed, lahat tayo may gusto neto.

Nery: Sabi niyo nga, broadband is the third utility.

Recto: Correct, it’s the third utility next to water and power, ‘di ba? Incidentally, I also mentioned a few days ago. One-fourth of all our schools lack water, walang tubig. So can you imagine sanitation? One-sixth of all our classrooms nationwide, walang kuryente. So papaano natin lalagyan ng broadband yun kung walang kuryente to begin with? So that’s why I say, water, power and then internet. The third most important of public utility now. So, yeah, marami tayong panukala para pabilisin natin yung investment in the ICT. Palakasin natin yung regulatory powers of the NTC. Palakasin pa natin lalo na yung DICT. For us to leap from development also, in the information age. Maraming magagaling na Pilipino naman dyan sa ICT eh. So this is another leg which our economy can stand on later on. You know have the BPO sector. In a few more years, mas malaki na ang makokolekta natin sa BPO, sa foreign exchange kaysa sa OFW remittances. But can you imagine if you had faster internet. Can you imagine what we can accomplish to break that digital divide in the rural area na walang access? So I think government should make the necessary investments also for the last mile. To connect houses, parang electricity din yan, through the grid, so to speak.

ON HEALTH OF CANDIDATES

Sabillo: Another question, the first question listed there, it’s an interesting question, he was asking, should there be an age limit and should we require health permit perhaps for those running for public office?

Recto: Qualifications to run for president, nasa Saligang Batas yan. Mayroong edad yan. Nakalagay 40, 41. May minimum age din yan. So read and write lang.

Nery: Health permit.

Recto: Yan naman tinatanong pag dating ng kampanya yan eh. Yung opponent, bibirahin ka, you may not be healthy enough or mentally fit enough to run for public office or to run for the presidency. So there will always be pressure, katulad sa America ngayon with Hillary. Front and center ngayon, at least this week, yung health ni Hillary. Lahat naman to pinag-uusapan during the campaign.

Nery: Tine, maybe question number four?

ON BEING MINORITY FLOOR LEADER

Sabillo: Okay, so, oh this is a good question from Bryan. What are the challenges being the minority floor leader especially since the President’s very popular?

Recto: Very challenging. Unang-una you have to be one of the first, if not the first, to be in the session hall every day. And you have to be the last to leave the session hall every day. So ang trabaho dun magbantay din. Hindi ka palulusutan ng mga panukala na hindi naintindihan. You’re job is to make sure, you’re the bantay ng taumbayan dun sa panukala na inihahayag ng administrasiyon sa Senate. So tiga-bantay ka diyan. And to provide a contrast, another point of view as much as possible. Depende sa panininindigan at paniniwala mo. That is your job as minority leader. We might only be three in the Senate now. There are 24 senators and three in the minority. But we will make sure that our presence is felt during all the debates and issues being discussed in the Senate. Particularly next one would be the budget, the emergency powers, aside from the investigation or inquiry…

ON NATIONAL BUDGET

Nery: Speaking of the budget, senator, when the proposed budget was turned over a couple of weeks ago, what were your first impressions?

Recto: Good question. Number one, there is a departure from the previous administration so mas malaki yung uutangin. Number two, so therefore mas malaki yung deficit. And then part and parcel of the budget will be forward are the tax measures being proposed. So they plan to reduce taxes by roughly a hundred seventy five million. Individual and corporate income taxes. But in return, want to collect six hundred billion more in taxes. That’s important because these revenues will fund the budget. And how to raise the taxes is an important issue because of fairness. Pag-aaralan natin lahat yan. Same thing with the budget. So to me, the first job of a chief executive, be it in government or in the private sector, is to cut cost. Yung mga waste. Hindi ko nakikita yan sa ngayon. Anong parte ng budget yung pwedeng bawasan? Yun ang unang trabaho eh. Ano yung mga duplication… ano yung mga, so halimbawa, administrative expenses. Why is it so expensive for our government deliver service? So tanggalin muna natin yung mga waste. Or halimbawa, yung mga aircon lang or office supplies, sobra sobra na yan eh. Tingin ko. Ang laki ng pwedeng bawasan diyan. So we can put that money into good use. 

After all, these are taxpayer(’s) money. It’s so easy to increase the budget and to impose taxes. Remember government is a monopoly. Walang kalaban ang gobyerno eh, so unang trabaho niya is tanggalin yung mga waste at tsaka red tape. Kasi may gastos din yung red tape eh. You know, if you’re a small business, incidentally, your tax return, you have to file… you have to file, what? Monthly, quarterly… 36 times in a year. You’re a small operation, a small restaurant. How much is the cost of that red tape, huh? May compliance officer ako just to work with the BIR. So ang laki niyan eh. That’s why we rank very low in setting up a business. Pahirap ang gobyerno. So tanggalin natin lahat yun. And uh, delivering a service. Halimbawa, DSWD, magandang pakinggan. Magbigay tayo, may CCT… magbigay din tayo ng dalawampung kilo ng bigas quarterly. The cost of administering that program might be more expensive than the bigas na binigay mo. So we have to take a look at all of these and we will look at every department once we start discussing the budget. Not only in the committee… Anong waste and pwede nating putulin?

Sabillo: Senator, about lump sums. Why do you think is has long been an an issue?

Recto: Not only because of corruption. Basta’t lump sum iyan, discretionary yan. So may corruption yan. Posibleng may corruption yan. Pangalawa, even worse, kung lump sum iyan at hindi identified, that is the primary reason why hindi nagagamit yung budget. That is the primary reason. It’s a lump sum, ibig sabihin, hindi nakaplanong mabuti.

I’ll give you an example, DepEd for next year. We keep on saying that the budget of DepEd will increase to 500 plus billion. Ang lump sum dun, school building is 118 billion. Sa ngayon walang listahan in the budget [kung] saan ba ilalagay yang classroom na yan.

Sabillo: But what are the basis of those numbers?

Recto: Table-top computations o siguro, when they discuss with the DBM, ano yung freed-up space in the budget, oh sige, let’s increase the budget of education, let’s build more classrooms. So I filed bills, halimbawa, for example, dapat lahat ng school sites natin… lalo na ngayon may K to 12 tayo, kulang na kulang ang classrooms sa senior high school. Wala tayong land… site development plan in all our schools. Wala ngang titulo yung iba eh. So each school, dapat yan may site development plan. So that when you build classrooms, you know where to build them. Hindi yung kung saan-saan lang. You’re not maximizing the use of your property. In the private sector, pinaplano yan. Let’s say, Ateneo, La Salle at UP… I’m sure, pinaplano nila where to build the buildings, the classrooms, so on and so forth.

Nery: Or the next Senate of the Philippines?

Recto: We don’t even know (kung matutuloy yan)… So same thing with our, especially our schools. Wala tayong site development plan. You have roughly 42,000 elementary schools, if I’m not mistaken. Almost one in every barangay. You only have 7,000 high schools. So kaya malaki ang drop-out rate from elementary to high schools, or grade six to grade seven, or six to first-year high school. Because in effect, you need to walk seven barangays to get to the next high school. So I filed also bills, sabi integrated schools. Lalo na ngayon may K to 12. Incidentally, I’m I think I’m  also the principal author of K to 12 and Free Kindergarten Act. Ganun ka-importante, we all know how important education is. 

So moving forward, you have to have a site development plan for each school. So what’s the relationship now to the lump sum ng DepEd? Hundred-eighteen billion yan. So they just look, okay, ganito karami estudyante natin, they’re located here. Ergo, dapat ang budget dito sa ganitong lugar. Ito ang value, ito ang classroms na dapat. Incidentally, hindi na (unclear). In Metro Manila or in Lipa City, the population is getting bigger all over the country, especially in Metro Manila, let’s say Lipa City. The lapse are not getting any bigger. The cost per square meter of every property is getting expensive. You have to build upward. So vertical na yung mga buildings mo, mas mahal yun. All the more, you have to plan. Do a site development in all your school.

Nery: Senator in previous budgets, the budget for school building was not a lump sum?

Recto: Lump sum din yan. And that’s why the absorptive capacity of the DepEd is very low. That’s why we’ve not built as many as we need to. That’s why there’s always a catch-up mod. Walang plano eh. Like I said, wala ngang titulo, walang site development plan. Walang… puro hula.

Nery: What about the red flag in the budget that is new to this administration? May lump sum na pala dito doon sa ano…

Recto: Mas malaki ang lump sum dito. Marami pa ring lump sums. Health-enhancement facility, lump sum din yan. Health naman to. Where are you gonna build the new bed capacity? RHUs, rural health units? Maraming kalokohan pagka-lump sum iyan. Mas mabuti naka… kung puwede nga lahat ng proyekto mo ilagay mo sa Facebook eh. Para ma-monitor ng tao. Yun ang pinakamagandang FOI compliant for me.

Sabillo: In the past, has Congress succeeded in forcing these agencies to give itemized…

Recto: To a certain degree, yes, especially after the Supreme Court ruling. Now, the budget is thicker nowadays. But remember the budget is getting bigger. Next year it’s gonna be 3.3 trillion. The deficit is, aside from being 2 percent of GDP, will be three. That’s 150 billion more in borrowing, more or less. Plus we will have more borrowing and more taxes ha. So dapat pinag-aaralan. And that’s our job in the minority. To make sure that we spend the budget properly. Kailangan may taga-bantay, hindi puwedeng wala eh. Hindi puwedeng lahat ng congressman, lahat ng senador, hallelujah!

Nery: Senator, Tine, before you ask that question. May isang tanong from social media. Can you bring that up? Number five. From Angel, uhm, yung sinasabi mong somebody has to make bantay. I think in this day and age, you’re prone to being or vulnerable to being misunderstood. Parang bakit naman kailangan, aren’t we all behind this particular president. So the question is, how does it feel to often be misunderstood by your fellow Filipinos?

Recto: It’s part of the work. You cannot… you know, in public service, you cannot be onion-skinned. Kasama sa trabaho yan eh. You have to make tough decisions and when you decide to be in this field also, be ready. Not everyone will agree with you. Kaya tayo may demokrasya. The people will judge you. You know I’ve passed unpopular laws in the past, ganun talaga. I paid the price for it but that’s part of your job. Pero kailangan may paninindigan ka. Well, like I said, the war on drugs should be supported. Pero bantayan natin yung vigilante killings, hindi tama yun. You know, you will be unpopular if you go against that, I suppose, possibly. But that’s part of the work.

Sabillo: So just briefly senator, what are your prioritiy items? What do you want included in the budget that you think are insufficient in its current form right now?

Recto: Marami, it’s a lot. But you know I have a program called HEARTs—Health, Education, Agriculture, Roads and Infrastructure, Technology, Tourism, Security and Shelter. So I look at it in that respect, among others. Governance issues and others. But importante rin, like I mentioned the other day also in a press release, yung food feeding. We are spending 13 pesos, the DSWD has a 4 billion budget for 2 million kids na pinapakain natin. We’re not of age for school health, no. But DepEd also has another roughly 4.5 billion for 2.1 million kids, five years old up to 11. Okay. So tingin ko kulang na kulang yung pondo niyan. Dagdagan natin yung food-feeding program. We have so many malnourished children and, uhm, what do you call this, yung di tumatangkad? Stunted growth. Yan, binabantayan natin yan. Especially now you have this demographic profile that majority of your population will be of working age. Kailangan binabantayan natin yan. You’re gonna hit this demographic spot. What you don’t want, so yung numero yun. You see that the population, a large number of the people, will be able to work. Okay? But then if these kids are not educated or unhealthy, we did not take care of them, ano mangyayari? That’s gonna be a ticking time bomb. Magiging malaking problem yan. So now that we have more resources, finally, okay? Now that interest rates are cheap also, that’s why I don’t mind having a deficit naman to a certain degree. Now’s the time to make these investments which should pay off later on. Now’s the time to do that, let’s not waste this opportunity. Let’s not wait till oil hits a hundred dollars a bottle again. Or interest rates hit again double-digits, so on and so forth. You have this window of opportunity now to make these investments in human capital and infrastructure. And you’re looking in the next 30, 40 years of that demographic sweet spot. So you know theoretically you can grow for the next 30, 40 years. If you do it right in a few more years, you can be part of G-20. We’re probably now the 45th biggest economy in the world. Pero living standards, 126.

Nery: That is sad.

Recto: That is sad. But, you know, moving, if you can grow double digits, get our acts together, make the right investments, inclusive growth, so on and so forth. You can be part of G-20 in no time, because you have a big population din eh.

Nery: That’s right. Senator, there’s so many questions to ask. This has been very instructive. But we only have six minutes left and we’d like to reserve two to three minutes for a little gfame called, “The Good, the Bad and the Maybe.” That’s just ten quick questions, quick answers. But before that, can you, I mean we’ve talked about the president, extrajudicial killings and all that, is there a major issue that mainstream media has failed to cover properly, in your view?

Recto: Well, there’s a lot of issues to cover now. But it’s always gonna be the sexy issues. Yung away, away, away. A lot are covered naman, ‘no? Pero yung, the most important would, kami legislators kami so, the most important is actually the budget and taxes. Revenue and spending. So it’s not a sexy issue and media will not cover that much. But you wanna educate the people and the public. In other countries and jurisdictions, people understand the left and the right. People understand conservative, liberal. Dito walang ganun eh. So that is not discussed in media. And in other jurisdictions also, media is either conservative or liberal. Dito hindi masyado maliwanag ang distinction niyan.

THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE MAYBE

Nery: So Tine maybe…

Sabillo: We can start our segment. So to those tuning in, listening to us tonight, we’re still at INQ&A with Senator Ralph Recto. We have a very short segment we call “The Good, the Bad and the Maybe.” It’s basically us giving you ten issues or ideas, and you’re only allowed to answer if it’s a good idea or a bad idea. You can say maybe only once as an escape if you feel that it’s a hard question.  Although if we still have time later, you can explain some of your answers if you want. So let’s start, the first item is kicking out US from Mindanao.

Recto: Bad idea.

Sabillo: Official Gazette Facebook post on Ferdinand Marcos.

Recto: I’ve not seen it.

Sabillo: The controversial.

Recto: I’ve heard about it but I’ve not seen it.

Nery: So that qualifies as a maybe?

Sabillo: No answer. 

Recto: I’ll say bad from what I’ve heard because lack of sensitivity.

Sabillo: Andanar as presidential communications head.

Recto: (laughs) He’s trying his best. Good.

Sabillo: Social media as part of government budget. So including spending on social media.

Recto: Good.

Sabillo: Peace talks with the CPP.

Recto: Good. Very good.

Sabillo: The new iPhone 7?

Recto: Don’t plan to buy it so, I’m not sure if, good pa rin.

Sabillo: Increase office of the president budget.

Recto: Walang ano ah. Intelligence fund ba yan?

Sabillo: Maybe you can say which particular one…

Recto: Good naman. Good naman. Increasing the budget of the Office of the President…

Sabillo: Marcos burial at Libingan ng mga Bayani.

Recto: Maybe.

Sabillo: Replacing “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” as tourism slogan.

Recto: Bad.

Sabillo: Last one is federalism for the Philippines.

Recto: Ugly. That’s easy.

Nery: Really?

Recto: From day one, I already said eh.

Nery: What are your main reasons against federalism?

Recto: Dagdag bureaucracy, dagdag red tape, dagdag taxes, dagdag gastos lang yan.

Nery: And you’re speaking also as a former representative?

Recto: Yes. Fortunate enough to have the experience of being a congressman, a senator and a member of the cabinet. My wife was mayor and governor. So full circle na yan. I think all you need is amendment of the local government code. I don’t think you need to tinker with the constitution and revise it to have a federal system of government. Now, I understand that the position of the president is that because he’s a mayor from Mindanao, particularly Davao, I understand that. But I think in the next few months, now that he’s sitting in a different saddle, as president to this country. Yeah, he will have a different view. It’s a different saddle eh, different perspective now. And if you look at the positions that they are… he seems to favor unitary, more authoritarian nga eh. So will he be willing to give up powers? I don’t think so.

Nery: Is your view shared by the other members of the Senate minority?

Recto:  I don’t, I think so.

Nery: What about other senators in the majority?

Recto: I think so. I think it will be a difficult debate in the Senate. At yun pinaghahandaan din namin. The debate on federalism.

Nery: Senate Majority Leader Tito Sotto was with us and he said the earliest you can start debating the constiutional convention or assembly would be in January after the budget. So maybe passions would’ve cooled by then. The situation might be very different come January.

Recto: The situation will definitely be different. Yeah, things will change, i’m sure between now and then. But you know, principles don’t change eh. I think you can just amend the local government code. If they’re really serious in federalism, you take baby steps towards that, if at all. So the first, it’s amend the local government code and then, what about, apparently mining is very much centralized today. So why are they willing to allow that, the provinces? I don’t think so.

Nery: What maybe just one last question, what about Bangsamoro question?

Recto: That’s different. That’s in the Constitution.

Nery: No but it seems that proponents see federalism as the end goal and I think that’s what the president…

Recto: The ’87 Constitution talks about an autonomous region for Muslim Mindanao. And we try to do that. In the first place, I think it was wrong to be put in the Constitution. Nevertheless it’s there already and we swore to uphold that. So anyway, nagkaroon ng problema sa ARMM. Let’s amend it to improve the situation. Fine with me. At the end of the day, Metro Manila, Region 3, Region 4. These three regions alone is 65 percent of GDP. Who pays for the subsidy of ARMM? 65 percent comes from these three regions. Ano, mawawalan ng subsidy? And from what I hear from what I hear them talking about? 80 percent ng national government, ibigay natin sa federal states? 20 percent na lang sa central government. How are you gonna divide the debt of this country? Interest expense on your debt is already what, 13, 15 percent? Who’s gonna… matitira na lang 5 percent na lang. You know, the pesos and cents to their proposals, you add the numbers to that. The math is wrong. 80-20, 20 sa national, 80 sa baba. Eh yung interest, expense, debt pa lang eh. 13 percent na yun eh. Paano mo didivde yan? There’s so many things.

Nery: The math is wrong. You know if you hear those words, you know it was spoken by Senator Ralph Recto. Senator, we’re three minutes overtime. This has been an interesting discussion. We look forward to the debates on federalism when January rolls along. But for now, we’ll have to say goodbye.

Sabillo: Thank you senator. Thank you to everyone who watched us tonight. Who’s next on the hot seat? Follow us on Twitter @jnery_newsstand and @KSabilloINQ to learn who our next guest will be. Thank you again and good night.

Nery: This has been INQ&A. Thank you and good night.

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