SENATOR-JUDGE PADILLA:
(0:00:00) Magandang tanghali po sa ating taga-pamahalang hukom. At sa atin pong ginoong Pangulo, nais ko lamang po magbigay ng isang maigsing manipesto.
PRESIDING OFFICER ESCUDERO:
(0:00:12) The gentleman has two minutes.
SENATOR-JUDGE PADILLA:
(0:00:16) Maraming salamat po. (Islam Introduction). Mga mahal kong kasama, nais ko lamang pong idulog sa inyo ang aking nararamdaman, ang isang damdaming masasabi ko pong nagtatanong, sapagkat ang mga nangyayari po sa ating hukuman sa mga oras na ito, hindi ko po alam kung ito ba ay eksakto lang na nangyayari, o ito po ba ay sinasadya?
(0:00:50) Katulad po ng pagkakakulong ng ating dalawang Senator-Judge na si Sen. Jinggoy Estrada at si Sen. Rodante Marcoleta. At ang kagiyat pong pagdating ng aming mga masasabing galing sa ombudsman sa akin, at kay Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano. At kahapon, pagkatapos pong ng isang araw na mabanggit ang patungkol sa pagpunta ng ating mahal na NBI Director sa Bangkok at ito po ay kinwestyon ni Senator Alan Peter Cayetano.
(0:01:40) Kahapon po ay biglang lumabas ang isang pahayag na iniimbestigahan daw po yung patungkol sa pangyayari noong Southeast Asian Games. Ito po ba ay eksakto lang? O ito po ba ay merong dapat tayong pangambahan? Sa pangkat, alam niyo po, ako din po ay dapat ay pupunta ng Iran. Sa pagkat isinagawa po ang pagbibigay-pugay sa namatay na kanilang leader, spiritual leader. Pero hindi po ako tumuloy dahil may impeachment po tayo.
(0:02:24) Tanong ko lamang po sa ating mga kasama, dapat po ba tayong mangamba? Dapat po ba kaming mangamba? At tayo po ay parang eksakto naman lahat ito? Hindi ba po tayo ay malayang korte? Tayo po ay may karapatan na binibigay ng konstitusyon na magsagawa po ng pagdinig na ito. Yung lamang po. Maraming salamat po. Ginoong tagapamahalang hukom.
PRESIDING OFFICER ESCUDERO:
(0:02:54) The manifestation of Senator-Judge Padilla is noted. What is the pleasure of Senator-Judge Cayetano?
SENATOR-JUDGE ALAN PETER CAYETANO:
(0:03:02) Rule VI of the impeachment proceedings is that the rules of the Senate is suppletory and if there is anything that affects the honor, integrity, or the functions of us individually or as a Senate here as an impeachment court, someone can rise on a question of personal or collective privilege. I won’t do that, but may I just respond to what Senator Padilla said, since my name was mentioned and since the investigation announced by the NBI yesterday seems to be pertaining to this person as Chairman of the 2019 Organizing Committee of the Southeast Asian Games.
(0:03:56) May I maybe in a form muna of manifestation unless the Presiding Officer [and] the Senate President thinks that I should elaborate on a… by asking for time on a personal collective privilege. But I don’t want to start that.
PRESIDING OFFICER ESCUDERO:
(0:04:16) Senator-Judge Cayetano may make his manifestation. For the record, sir.
SENATOR-JUDGE ALAN PETER CAYETANO:
(0:04:19) So, first and foremost, sa sinabi po ni Senator Padilla, I won’t ask na i-play na yung video, but quite exhaustive yung sinabi ni NBI director about the Southeast Asian Games. So, if the intention was to have a chilling effect, we already have that chilling effect. May 11, hinabol dito sa session hall na to ng mga ahente ng NBI, si Senator Bato.
(0:04:47) May 13, nagkaroon ng enkwentro, putukan, pinipilit ng NBI na hindi sa loob ng Senado, but we have all the evidence that it was inside the Senate.
(0:04:58) Other incidents, I do not want to evoke reaction or debate because I want to respect my fellow senators. Much of this has been vented in the media, is in court.
(0:05:17) Director Matibag has promised us that he will give us a warrant issued by the ICC. He has promised us that he will hold his agents na nanggulpi ng isang OSAA. He will be the one to implement the contempt order and hold them in his office. But wala ditong natupad. So when I mentioned his name, his position the other day that it was bad taste, walang personal yun, regardless kung sinong…
(0:05:47) Even if it was a secretary—an alter ego of the president who wrote the execution team or the defense team to say, pwede bang next week kasi may seminar, I would have said the same thing, di ba? Na, you know, look at the gallery, kumpleto parati diyan from Congressman Ace Barbers to many, Congressman Ridon, I won’t name all of you, but you’re busy people.
(0:06:14) But you think this is important, so you take time out and you are here. Of course, the prosecution team, you have to be, you are here. We are here despite of many, many other important things, not only investigations, not only the flood control, not only the BIR, not only, we’re also talking about the nation being prone to volcanic eruption to yung bagyo buti…
(0:06:41) Well, nasalanta pa rin tayo nung bagyong inday. Ibang inday ang pinag-uusapan natin dito sa impeachment. But still, we are here.
(0:06:51) So it was in good faith that I said, as an example, mukha namang masama kapag kayong isang bureau head—NBI director is a very important position, but it is a bureau.
(0:07:04) So if a bureau head, and tignan niyo yung invitation, nakalagay sa invitation, “or your representative”, and we resolved it. So, aksidente ba na yesterday? Suddenly, after I mentioned it, and after, during the weekend, many have been talking about na, “Dapat ata hindi 16.”
(0:07:25) So 21 na lang kami ngayon eh. So, two-thirds of 21 is seven. Pag nabawasan pa kami ng tatlo, 13 na lang yun. Pero some will argue, mabawasan lang kami ng isa o dalawa baka 13 na rin yun kasi wala naman half person or three-fourths person. So all of these issues are valid. Question.
(0:07:48) The chilling effect is there, but am I intimidated? Wala na akong choice. Ilalaban ko na ito, gagawin ko yun ang dapat kong gawin bumaliktad man yung sitwasyon, si President Marcos ang ini-impeach and I felt a certain way, ilalaban ko rin.
(0:08:05) Chief Justice man ang i-impeach, ilalaban ko rin. But for the record, Mr. President, go ahead and investigate. First of all, that’s been investigated many, many times. COA, I’m not sure. I think the office of the Ombudsman, ang nag-file pa ata, Chief of Staff mo eh.
(0:08:23) Senator… inaudible, I’m not sure, but parang may kaso na nun. Senator Drillon quizzed us here. I was speaker of the house, but I chose to appear before the senate to be able to answer all of those questions directly.
(0:08:40) The SEA Games, paulit-ulit yan. Biktima na ng speakership ng 2019 yan. Nahuli namin yung PR na sinabi Kikiam, pinakain daw mga Muslim ng baboy, when it was chicken longganisa na pinakain, pero nasiraan na tayo sa Malaysia, Indonesia.
(0:08:58) The SEA Games gave us so much honor. So far, it is still the biggest event SEA Games in history. Many of our athletes launched their career, even going to gold medals in the Olympics.
(0:09:15) Our athletic and our… yung aquatic natin center in Clark is one of the best in the world. Ang nagsabi nito yung Israeli coach ng isang foreign team doon. But go ahead if you want to investigate. But I just want to put on record, mukhang misfire. Bakit?
(0:09:37) Yung sinasabi niyang infrastructure na walang bidding, first of all, the procurement law has many modes of procurement. So don’t make it appear sa public na just because walang bidding, may anomalya na ito. Okay.
(0:09:53) Secondly, bakit ko sinabing misfire, hindi po sa…, I’m referring to director ng NBI Matibag, I had nothing to do with the infrastructure—the chairman of the committee. In fact, I had to resign from the DFA because I was running for congressman during that time. So dun sa sinasabi ni Director Matibag na may congressional insertion to fund it…
(0:10:20) It’s definitely not me because how could a non-member of the Senate or non-member of the House insert anything? Okay. Dun sa sinasabi niyang infrastructure, it was done by the BCDA. The chairman of the BCDA is one of the closest advisors of the president now.
(0:10:40) The president of the BCDA is one of the closest advisors and is a secretary now. And he said, medyo kaduda tong kumpanya na nanalo walang bidding. If I’m not mistaken, it’s the same company who’s making the city hall of Pasig.
(0:10:58) So, I mean, if they want to investigate, go ahead. But by mentioning the organizing committee of the SEA Games, ako po chairman nun. At paninindigan ko po na napakaganda nung nangyari doon. At kung may anomalya, ako unang magagalit.
(0:11:15) So, go ahead. But my point, Mr. Chairman, honorable members of the court, sa prosecution, to be fair sa prosecution at marami akong kaibigan, I’ve never felt any intimidation from any of you.
(0:11:28) I mean, you’ve continued to be either friends or for those who are former friends but friends. I mean, I don’t know if nagkamali lang ako but on the first day, I nodded ng konti kay Senator De Lima, gumanoon din siya, hindi ko alam kung na-acknowledge. Because we were friends once upon a time and this is a court. We owe it to each other to be professional, di ba?
(0:11:48) So, huwag tayong pumayag na someone like Director Matibag, we’ll do that. My point, Mr. President, Mr. Presiding Officer, he could have not announced it and investigated.
(0:12:02) Edi imbestigahan mo, tingin mo may mali, edi imbestigahan mo, but is it unfair to me and unfair to the court that kung kailan siya patatawag, patatawag siya sa Monday, ano i-intimidate mo ko, hindi kita tatanungin sa Monday, dahil mag-a-announce ka na iimbestigahan mo, tapos sasabihin mo may insertion, tapos sasabihin mo hindi liquidated, liquidated po lahat yun. So, let me talk of unfairness. Hindi ba unfair? Eh kung ako babalik na rin ko, sasabihin ko…
(0:12:30) Inimbestigahan ko na rin kahapon eh. Ang sabi sa akin, mainit ang ulo ni Director Matibag kasi may contractor na daw yung binigay na lupa para sa NBI at gusto niya sarili niyang contractor.
(0:12:42) Or would that be fair to him? No, it would be a marites accusation. So that’s the same thing he announced yesterday, a Marites accusation towards me that affects this court because I am now a Senator-Judge. So I hope this is the last time that I’m gonna have to speak about this but definitely we’ve been speaking about this, binabawasan talaga kami.
(0:13:11) Iniisa-isa, even yung mga vlogger na malapit sa administrasyon, sabi, two down, three down, may kasunod na. Di ba?
(0:13:20) So, Mr. President, I want this impeachment to be a test that the 1987 constitution works and that despite political differences, the prosecution and defense, I saw them after the first or second day, nagkakamayan kayo.
(0:13:44) Nagkakamustahan. After the first or second day nung mainit na baliktaktakan dyan sa pre-trial, nagbabatian, di ba? Even in court. So we can’t help but be emotional, we can’t help but get mad at what we think is disgusting or sometimes crossing the line. But is there any question that for this verdict, whether it’s for conviction or acquittal, to be accepted by the Filipino people.
(0:14:16) We have to make sure that the integrity of the court is intact. I will admit to you, nahihirapan po ako. Wala si Senator Marcoleta. Iilan lang po kaming abogado dito. Si Senator Pangilinan, Senator Chiz. Si Imee is a law graduate, Senator Pia,[Senator] Bam is a second year law student and I’m encouraging him na tapusin niya tutal review na yung nangyayari ngayon. But, It’s not easy. 24 lang kami nabawasan na ng tatlo. So I hope this issue of the integrity of the court becomes an issue for all of us.
(0:15:02) I’ll repeat what I said when I was Senate President. Director, hindi mo kami natibag so ‘wag mo try tibagin ‘tong representation na to o itong impeachment court because what you’re doing is not helping.
(0:15:17) Investigate whatever you want to investigate. You wanna investigate, ba’t ako nagpatubo ng balbas? Investigate mo, no problem with me, pero wag mo nang i-announce kasi nga naaapektuhan yung integrity ng court. Thank you for the leeway, presiding officer.
