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Boy: Good evening, and welcome. Our guest tonight is Senator Bongbong Marcos. Senator Bongbong, magandang gabi. Welcome, and thank you for being here.
Bongbong: Thank you very much for the invitation. Magandang gabi sa inyong lahat, and thank you for having me.
Boy: Let's begin the interview, and let's talk about the environment, specifically, the issue of mining which is one of the most controversial environmental issues. Noong Abril 2021, President Duterte lifted yung siyam na taon na moratorium on granting new mining permits. Ito'y ginawa niya through Executive Order 130. December 2021, ang DENR naman, ang Department of Environment and Natural Resources also lifted the ban on open-pit mining. Ito nama'y ginawa nila through Administrative Order No. 2021-40. Pinuri po ito ng mining industry, samantala, binatikos naman ito ng mga environment and human rights defenders. Ang aking tanong, Senator Bongbong, you're applying to become the next President of the Philippines. If elected, pagtitibayin mo ba ang mga desisyong ito ni President Duterte at saka ng DENR, o ipapawalang-bisa?
Bongbong: Well, ang mining talaga ay very controversial pero dapat ang tingin natin diyan, that is also very valuable source of revenue for the government dahil anlaki ng ating mga natural resources dito sa Pilipinas. Dapat siguro, lalo na in these difficult times, we should take advantage of that. However, we have seen some of the disasters that have happened when it comes to mining, ay, kailangan lang talaga nating iwasan 'yan, the effect on the environment. We have sufficient regulations and we have sufficient monitoring but hindi nasusunod. This is always the problem. We have the laws but we are not able to implement them, we are not able to fully enforce them sometimes, so if we can do that, if we can take care of making sure that the environmental impact is in accordance with the law, then I think we can carefully exploit the natural resources to help the recovery of our economy. Now, when it comes to open-pit mining, I think I'm a bit wary about that because it is very difficult to control, the pollution that's caused by open-pit mining, the leaching that occurs in open-pit mining, there are many occurrences that even after the mine has been closed, and they have covered it up, and they have planted trees, or they've built houses on it, lumalabas ang lason, may lumalabas na kung anu-anong mga chemical that are bad for the health of the people who are around it kaya't siguro, pag-aralan ngayon natin 'yan. Baka naman meron silang iniisip na bagong teknolohiya na puwede nating gamitin, na sasabihin na safe ang open-pit mining but again, I have been studying this environmental problem that we have had since I was still in school, and open-pit mining is one of those operations that talagang it raises alarms when it comes to, specially when it comes to exploiting natural resources and allowing the use of open-pit mining.
Boy: Okay. You're wary about open-pit mining but you are open to sustainable mining.
Bongbong: Absolutely, absolutely. I think it can be done. It is done in very many countries. We will just have to make sure that we are cooperating with the private companies who are involved in this operation, and I think that there are great opportunities to be had, so long as I say, we are very careful about it. One of the things that we have in the Philippines is nickel. Nickel is an essential part now of batteries, of battery technology, so that is going to explode, and it already has actually, and that is something that we can take advantage of. We have sources of lithium, also battery technology, so there're really so many, there's so much potential in all of that so I think we have to look at everything because we have been left by the COVID in a very precarious economic situation, and therefore we have to explore everything that we can do to revitalize that economy.
Boy: Kung sa'n tayo puwede kumita in terms of revenue because napakalaki ng contribution din ng mining industry to our economy.
Bongbong: Absolutely, and the estimates are in the billions of dollars...
Boy: That's right.
Bongbong: Per year. We cannot just ignore that, and we should make sure that, like in any other industry, that the value and the profits are, stay within the community, and those that are working in the mines have, take advantage of this windfall.
Boy: So, Senator, to be more specific, doon sa ban na nilift ni President Duterte, dun sa new permits ng mining, that's not a problem to you.
Bongbong: Not, no.
Boy: Your problem is the open-pit mining.
Bongbong: Yes.
Boy: Kasi if we talk about mining, yung mga nagsasabing responsible miners, ilan naman sa kanila, 'di ba, may mga nangyayari pa na water pollution, yung mga displacement of the locals, at marami pang iba.
Bongbong: Yes, but those are the things that we can remedy because if the mining operation, if we keep it away from, I suppose, the congested communities kung sa'n ang maraming tao, e, we can make it, make things a little better. Another issue about mining that's not spoken about very much are the benefits and compensation of those who are working in the mines. They work in a very difficult and dangerous situation.
Boy: You're talking about salaries, not just people who were displaced.
Bongbong: No, and I'm talking about the people who actually go into the tunnels, and marami tayong nagiging casualty diyan. Kailangan natin na balikan, tiyakin... naman ang kanilang kalagayan.
Boy: Let's talk about COVID-19. Senator, sa kasalukuyan po, dalawang bagay ang alam natin tungkol sa COVID-19, tungkol sa pandemya. Ang una, pinadapa na tayo ng pandemyang ito. According to DOH, over three million cases sa bansa, over fifty thousand deaths as of today. Sabi naman ng John Hopkins COVID-19 dashboard, more than three hundred million cases around the world, and over five million deaths. Maraming mga Pilipino ang nawalan ng trabaho, kabuhayan, at mga mahal sa buhay. Pangalawa po, Senador, aside from being vicious, this virus is unpredictable. Maraming mga variants na ang ating narinig, Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, may Delta Plus, may Omicron. The virus acquires genetic changes. It mutates, in other words. How, ano ang form niya sa susunod, kailan, nobody knows. Ang aking katanungan po, kung ika'y papalarin manalo bilang Presidente ng Pilipinas, and given the unpredictability and the viciousness of this virus, ano po ang iyong programa pagdating sa COVID-19?
Bongbong: Well, when it comes to COVID-19, ang lagi kong sinasabi diyan, ang, 'di, I summarize it very simply, I call it jab to jobs. What we first have to do is to get vaccinated, and we have to roll out the vaccines properly, we have to make sure that the vaccines are effective and safe, have been handled properly, and now, we have gotten to the point, the last statistic that I saw was fifty-four million Filipinos have been nabakunahan na, fully vaccinated na. Hindi pa tayo umaabot dun sa tinatawag na herd immunity. Kailangan talaga natin paabutin ng seventy, seventy-five percent, at sana, yung kalagayan na nakikita natin sa Europa, sa ibang bansa, kahit tinatamaan ng Omicron, nagpositive, hindi na nila masyadong pinapansin kasi parang flu na lang para sa kanila dahil ninety-five percent sila vaccinated so dapat iyan ang habol natin. Once we get ourself in a safer condition, that we manage the pandemic, or we have to now be thinking, even now, even while we're just slowly working our way through the pandemic, ngayon pa lang ay dapat iniisip na natin kung papa'no, pa'no natin ibabalik ang ekonomiya. Kagaya ng sabi mo, madaming walang trabaho, andaming nasira ang plano, lahat, and palagay ko, I would even amend that. I would say hindi marami, lahat ng, kahit sino, lahat ng tao sa buong mundo yata ay naramdaman itong COVID na ito, and so we have to come back to give our people, get them back to work, and how do we do that? We do that, in my view, we do that by revitalizing the MSMEs, the small businesses, that comprise ninety-five percent of our businesses and sixty-two percent of our employment in businesses. They have been very hard hit. We must, the government can help them with the lower taxes, or tax holidays, amnesties, et cetera. The private sector can come in with microfinancing and all that. Agriculture also needs to be looked at because it's a creator of jobs, and if we...
Boy: Is this what you mean by the jabs to jobs concept?
Bongbong: Yes. The idea is just once we are in a safe condition, then we have to get people back to work. 'Yan lang naman ang habol. 'Pag tinanong mo ang Pilipino, 'Anong palagay mo sa COVID?'
'Ay, yung COVID, wala akong trabaho, wala 'kong pera,' so yun ang talagang dapat na priority. Ngayon pa lang, pinaghahandaan natin. So, agriculture, tourism, and we should do this, we should go back to the concept of PPPs, public-private partnerships, and that way, we can bring together different segments of government, working together so that the economy will come back, and hopefully, come back even stronger than it was pre-COVID.
Boy: Of course, we're hoping na sana'y e wala nang bagong variants na dumating but sabi ko nga kanina, this is so unpredictable, we don't know what's gonna happen next. Pagdating doon sa vaccination, hindi pa tayo nakakaabot doon sa seventy, seventy-five. What is your message to people who refuse to be vaccinated?
Bongbong: Well, they must understand that it is, if we cannot force people to be vaccinated, karapatan ng tao 'yan, hindi mo puwedeng pilitin na magvaccinate, ngunit na sana naman maunawaan nila na kapag sila'y hindi nagpapabakuna ay yung lahat ng nakapaligid sa kanila pati na yung kanilang mahal sa buhay, kanilang pamilya, mga kaibigan, yung kanilang kabarangay, lahat 'yan ay nilalagay nila at risk 'yan dahil kung sila ay tamaan ay ikakalat nila 'yan. Ang statistic ngayon, ang mga nasa ospital na tinamaan ng Omicron, 'no, eighty-five percent are not vaccinated kaya't maliwanag na maliwanag naman ang science na sinasabi, malaki ang itinutulong ng pagvaccinate kaya't sana hikayatin natin sila ta's sabihin natin, ipaliwanag natin. Ngayon, that will also, yung nangyayari ngayon, it will also limit their own options when in their everyday lives. Hindi makapunta sa restaurant, hindi makapunta, yung ngayon, hindi makasakay sa public transport, all of these things, so, but rather than punish them, I think we should really convince them that this is important. It is important for your work. It is important for your community, for you family.
Boy: You spoke about the socio-economic recovery of people. Very briefly lang, yung lockdown nang lockdown nang lockdown, your comment.
Bongbong: Oo, 'yon. No more lockdowns. Hindi na kaya ng Pilipino ang maglockdown. Hindi na nila kaya. It is too hard. They're going to too much hardship already. They just cannot do it. Marami ngang sinasabi, yung labag sa protocols, sinasabi, ''Di na baleng magkasakit, basta may kita ako.'
Boy: Let's talk about poverty. According to Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), October nang 2001, 3.27 million ang walang trabaho. October 2010, 2.79 million Filipinos had no work. October of 2016, 2 million. October of 2021, 3.5 million ang walang trabaho. Ayon naman sa SWS (Social Weather Station), ang mga kababayan nating nagugutom in percentages, taking into consideration the fluctuation of the population, ang third quarter of 2001, 9.3% ang nagugutom, or people who identify themselves as hungry. Third quarter of 2010, 15.9%. Third quarter of 2016, 10.6%. September 2021, ten percent, or around 2.5 million Filipinos ang nagugutom. Ang aking katanungan, Senador, sa kasalukuyan, sabi ng PSA, mayroong 3.5 milyong Pilipino na walang trabaho, 2.5 milyong Pilipino naman ang nagugutom, 'pag ika'y nahalal na Presidente ng Pilipinas, with these urgent problems of joblessness and hunger, ano po ang inyong gagawin?
Bongbong: Well, of course, ang haharapin ng bagong administrasyon ay talagang we have to create jobs because we cannot just leave the situation as is. You know, we, also nag-uwi tayo ng mga OFW, we are up to about seven hundred thousand. Those people, they have come home, e, wala na silang trabaho dahil nawala yung trabaho nila sa abroad, tapos yung mga ginagraduate natin na mga estudyante, kaya talagang ang pinakaimportante ay maparami natin ang trabaho, at para pasiglahin natin ang ekonomiya, and again, as I started to enumerate it earlier, I think the way to do it is to go to the MSMEs, and give them the support that they need so that makabangon ulit sila, makatayo na naman ang mga maliliit na negosyo na 'yan. Ang agrikultura is a big creator of jobs so if the government invests publicly in agriculture, marami 'yan e, kasi hindi naman pinag-uusapan yung nagsasaka lamang e. Pinag-uusapan natin ang mga support systems, for fisheries, for livestock, so marami kaagad ang maiinvolve diyan, and it also will take care of the problems that we saw during COVID na ang lack of food supply. The other area where we have a big advantage is tourism. Madaling-madali ipagmalaki ang Pilipinas because we have a beautiful country, we Filipinos are a beautiful people, and it's very easy to bring the Philippines to foreigners and to explain to them that this is a good place to be but in the meantime, 'no, habang hindi pa lumilipad ang mga eroplano, habang hindi pa nakakabiyahe ang mga turistang galing abroad, unahin na muna natin ang domestic tourism. Marami naman sa Pilipino, because ang napuna ko is that every time that may area na may tourist destination, magbukas lang nang kaunti, dagsaan kaagad ang tao, and so that is I think ay one of the possibilities that we can enter into...
Boy: Sir Bongbong, dun lamang sa hunger, pupuntahan ko lang, dahil 2.5 million are hungry right now. What is your, I know you're talking about long-term doon sa paghahanap ng trabaho, we'll talk about it, the small and medium enterprises, pero ano ang immediate na solution mo doon sa mga nagugutom na tao?
Bongbong: Ngayon? Ayuda pa rin. Yung TUPAD pa rin. Yung AICS pa rin. Diyan nabubuhay pa ang tao sa ngayon e. Hangga't yung mga trabahong pinag-uusapan natin, hangga't lumabas na 'yan, at hanggang may pagkakataon na sila na makapagtrabaho ulit, umaasa talaga sila diyan, at...
Boy: Can the government afford that?
Bongbong: The government, not forever, certainly not forever but we still have to find ways. That's why the government, talagang nagrealign ng pondo, nalipat from other departments para iconcentrate dito, but it is, but even Filipinos understand that hindi ito forever kaya kailangan, may trabaho, ngunit sa ngayon, hangga't wala pa 'yang trabaho, talagang umaasa ang tao sa ayudang nanggaling sa mga...
Boy: May pagkakaiba ba ang ayuda at saka ang dole out?
Bongbong: Hindi.
Boy: Pareho.
Bongbong: Hindi. It's a transfer payment as they call it in economics. It's not, but it's, you know...
Boy: So, magkaiba po yun?
Bongbong: Hindi, ganun din.
Boy: Pareho rin.
Bongbong: Pareho lang e dahil it's walang kapalit. For example, yung basta't nagbibigay ka lang ng ayuda, but it is not the same, it is something that is, it is not the same as yung sinasabi nila, pagka nagbigay ka lang ng pera, walang mangyayari diyan. Kailangan, lagyan mo ng sistema, et cetera, et cetera, pero dito ngayon, iba yung usapan dito, it is an emergency, and so we have no choice, we have no choice.
Boy: It's an immediate solution to an urgent problem.
Bongbong: Right now, unless you provide jobs, unless we're fully vaccinated, that's the only solution.
Boy: Senador, mabilisan lamang, because you talked about pagbigay ng suporta doon sa mga small, medium enterprises, very brief lang para maintindihan ng taumbayan, paano gagawin 'yon? It comes from the government? Magbibigay ng kapital ang gobyerno?
Bongbong: I think you'll find lahat ng aking mga solution, it will involve many sectors of the economy, many sectors of society. In this case, I think the private sector has to be involved. The government cannot do it by itself. Hindi kaya ng private sector na nag-iisa, so kailangan talagang magsama at magtulungan ang private sector, kailangan din naman ng private sector yung mga MSMEs, kailangan ng magandang agrikultura, kaya't basta't tayo'y pareho ang ating ninanais at makagawa tayo ng magandang partnership, sa palagay ko, magkakaroon, tinatawag, what we call synergy between the two forces that are helping the Philippines.
Boy: Okay. Punta naman po tayo sa OFW, the Filipino migrants. As of September of 2019, ang estimated number of OFWs ay 2.2 million. Ang remittances na naibibigay ng mga OFWs sa Pilipinas ay ang sumusunod, 28.9 billion US dollars noong 2018, 30.1 billion US dollars noong 2019, 29.9 billion US dollars noong 2020, and 25.9 billion US dollars as of October 2021. Sa 2018, remittances sent by OFWs accounted for eleven percent of the total GDP of the country. Sa kabilang dako naman, Senador, may tinatawag na social cost. Ito yung unquantifiable social cost that contributes to the destruction of the Filipino family. Kung ika'y papalarin maging Presidente ng Pilipinas, how do you balance the economic contributions of the OFWs and this unquantifiable cost, social cost that contributes to the destruction of the Filipino family?
Bongbong: The ideal is that nobody has to go, that we have enough jobs here in the Philippines, na hindi na nila kailangang magbiyahe sa abroad, unless, talagang, not by necessity, anyway, that they can, they have a choice to remain here in the Philppines, baka may magandang puwesto, 'di puntahan nila para mas malaki ang kikitain nila, but we have to be, give them, the ideal is to bring them all home if they want to come home, but, of course, that we have, we are a long way from that, and you are very right, it's not spoken of very much but we should speak of it more because there is a tear in the social fabric pagka matagal na nawawala ang OFW and with all the problems that it brings, so, again, it boils down to jobs. It boils down to jobs here in the Philippines, and the only way to bring those people home, to bring our workers home is to provide them with jobs. The seven hundred thousand or so that have been repatriated from other counties, they left the Philippines because they could not find jobs. Now, we have to find them jobs here in the Philippines, and so patung-patong talaga ang naging problema dahil dito sa COVID. The original concept of OFW was in the early '70s, after the oil crisis, when the Middle Eastern countries suddenly found themselves loaded down with plenty of cash because tinaas nila ang presyo ng langis, and so they went into a building spree and were spending, I think Saudi Arabia was spending ten to twelve billion dollars in 1974-75, a year on infrastructure. We wanted to take advantage of that, and we did, but the idea was they were contractual workers. Pagka natapos yung kontrata, natapos na yung building na ginagawa nila, natapos yung kalsada na ginagawa nila, uuwi sila. Hindi sila maiiwan habambuhay, dun na sila magtatrabaho, unless gusto nila 'yon, so, that is, that was the concept then but we have become so dependent, as you say, eleven percent of the GDP is provided by the remittances of our OFWs, that has recognized the contribution that they are doing to the economy and to the country. Marami mga nagsasabi, ayan, mga bagong bayani, sila talaga ang dapat na, malaki ang utang na loob natin sa kanila, ngunit hindi natin sila tinutulungan. Now, they have just passed the creation of the Department of Migrant Workers. I think that is an excellent solution because pagka nagkakaproblema ang ating OFW, DFA ang pinupuntahan, foreign affair, ang embassy ang pinupuntahan. Ang embassy, wala namang, walang budget 'yan para kumuha ng abogado, para iuwi yung namatay, o para, whatever the problems they might have.
Boy: This department will take care of that?
Bongbong: They will, 'de, kumukuha na lang sila kung saan-saan. DOJ, baka meron sila, yung abogado.
Boy: Department of Labor...
Bongbong: Yeah. Now, the department of OFW will institutionalize that, so...
Boy: You are for the creation of this?
Bongbong: Oh, absolutely.
Boy: Well, it had been created. Puntahan ko lamang, Senador, yung bagong bayani, because, you know, I have had conversations with, you know, with teachers, kasi 'pag tinatawag nating bagong bayani, tama naman talaga, mga bayani naman talaga sila, but somehow, it normalizes the risks of working abroad. Parang, you know, when you say, 'Oy, bagong bayani ang mga OFWs,' totoo, but it normalizes and it also negates, it also denies the very reason why they went abroad. Tama ho kayo doon na wala namang trabaho kasing maibigay dito, so ano ho ang inyong, again, it's that balance that I'm trying to say, na bagong bayani ka nga pero napakadelikado naman ng trabaho, karamihan, at least, 'no?
Bongbong: Well, we have to grow the economy well enough so that we can say you have a choice kung nais ninyong magtrabaho sa labas dahil...
Boy: At kung dito sa Pilipinas...
Bongbong: O, kung gusto niyo sa Pilipinas, may trabaho naman dito.
Boy: Pero pakiulit lang, Senador, tama ba ang aking pagkaunawa, that the ideal for you is that.
Bongbong: Yes.
Boy: Walang aalis sa bansa na naghahanap ng trabaho.
Bongbong: Not by necessity.
Boy: Not by necessity.
Bongbong: May sasabihin na, 'May trabaho dito pero may nakita akong mas maganda. Six months muna yung kontrata.'
Boy: It's a choice.
Bongbong: It's a choice, that they must have a choice. These people that have left have no choice because they could not find jobs here in the Philippines. I know it is a difficult ideal to achieve but we must always work to the ideal, and hopefully, one day, we will at least mitigate the problems that we are seeing. Hindi na siguro because it's the ideal, never natin aabutin 'yan but we can mitigate all of that, and in the meantime, also mitigate the social problems that you referred to earlier.
Boy: That's right, the social cost na pinag-uusapan dahil maraming mga pamilya ang naaapektuhan, walang nanay, walang tatay.
Bongbong: Nabibiyak talaga ang pamilya e.
Boy: That's right. Okay. Senator Bongbong, let's talk about social media.
Bongbong: Alright.
Boy: Noong 2021, ang year-in-review, yun ang tawag nila, report ng Pornhub, isang online adult video streaming website, sabi dito, ang mga Pinoy daw spend eleven minutes and thirty seconds watching porn, making the Philippines top one, beating Japan and France, at saka ngayon, some of the known media sites, apps, Twitter, Snapchat, Facebook groups, ay ginagawa nang alternative porn sites. There's a story about this young American songwriter-singer Billie Eilish. In an interview, she revealed that eleven years old, she, you know, she was exposed to porn, hanggang naging addict siya sa porn, she was addicted to porn, and she hooked up with multiple sex partners thinking that it was normal because yun ang kanyang napapanood, and she thought that sex was violent because yun ang kanyang napapanood paulit-ulit. She revealed in her words, 'Porn destroyed my brain. I was devastated. I had nightmares. I suffered from sleep paralysis. My mental health was damaged.' Last December, she turned twenty, and she is on the road to recovery with the help of family, and the community, and a lot of experts. My question is this, hypothetical, nalaman at naconfirm mo na ang iyong menor de edad na anak is addicted to cyber porn, ano ang iyong gagawin, number one, bilang magulang, at ano ang magiging polisiya mo pagdating sa welfare and protection of children?
Bongbong: Well, I happen to have approached this problem. Talagang pinag-isipan naming mag-asawa ito kasi alam naman natin na, we hear of these stories that you have read out, at kinausap namin yung mga anak namin, and to understand, so they understand that this is not normal. Maybe you'll find it entertaining, especially with all your hormones raging as a teenager but this is not real life, and this shows, you know, for you to indulge in all of that, shows a little bit of a lack of self-worth because sa palagay mo, 'A, puwede rin ako diyan. Puwede ko ring gawin 'yan. Ganyan pala ang tao. Ganyan ang ginagawa ng normal na tao,' but, you know, what is being done while you are watching pornography really is violence against whoever is involved. It's a form of violence, and that is why we want to be, we are lucky that we have been able to have that talk with our children when they were younger, and I hope that other people will take that example na kausapin ang ating mga kabataan para ipaliwanag, hindi naman talaga totoo 'yan, pero puwede, Boy, yoon 'pag tawanan kayo, 'Tignan natin,' ayon, that's okay, that's fine, pero yung sasabihin mo, eto talaga, yung it's been normalized, that there, we have the same problem with violence, there's too much violence hurting people in games. People think that that's normal, and that people go around shooting everybody, or in the case of pornography, that people go around doing the things that they see in pornographic films, and so, it really, again, it's a social problem, and the parents have to be involved in this, in explaining that this is harmful. We have to, the teachers are involved, all of the mentors of children have to tell them, have to explain to them that this is not the way we live.
Boy: How will you put it into policy as President of the country?
Bongbong: Oh, that is very, very difficult because that is something that really comes not from government. Government has very little control over what is put over the internet.
Boy: But this is internet and social media.
Bongbong: Yes, that's the problem, you cannot stop the internet, and you cannot turn it off, perhaps, if you were China, but then, because they've closed off all kinds of portals, but it's not something that the government can legislate. I don't believe that the government can legislate. It's a social problem that needs to be dealt with at a social level, at the familial level, at the teacher level, and also, we expose them to what we think are normal, and what we think they should emulate, and say, 'This is what you, eto yung gagayahin ninyo. Eto yung mga magagaling, eto yung masisipag, eto yung mababait. 'Wag 'yang mga kalokohan na 'yan.'
Boy: How much can government do?
Bongbong: Only so much but you can make sure, for example, that sex education classes are done properly in school, that it's taught in a way that young kids can understand. The other problem about pornography that is, for me, might be even a little more worrying, is the source of child pornography. We are always cited as one of the largest sources of child pornography. This, for me, is the most reprehensible crime that is possible to commit. It's maybe...
Boy: What will you do with it dahil laganap ito, Senador? Ginagamit ang mga bata para pagkakitaan ng pera.
Bongbong: Sinasaktan mo yung bata e. It's the same thing as hitting a child. It's the same thing as hurt...
Boy: Or even worse.
Bongbong: Possibly even worse because yung bali ng buto ay gumagaling 'yan pero pagka yung sinabak mo yung maliit na bata, ginamit mo for child pornography ay hindi na mawawala sa pag-iisip nila 'yan so this is a terrible, terrible problem.
Boy: What would you do as President?
Bongbong: Oh, habulin natin silang lahat. I'm sure that we have enough IT people, we have enough technical people who can find where all of this is coming from. There is also another root problem, walang pinagkikitaan yung magulang.
Boy: At kadalasan, ang magulang ay involved sa ganitong klaseng negosyo.
Bongbong: Yun na nga, yun ang pinakamalupit sa lahat. Nakikita natin, yung mga nahuhuli, nandiyan yung nanay, at alam nila yung nangyayari kaya't siguro, also, if we are public servants, if we are leaders, tanong din natin, how did they get to that state na ibebenta nila yung anak nila para sa ganyang klaseng gawain.
Boy: Let's go to abortion, pero rape-related abortion. Sabi ng PINSAN, ito yung Philippine Safe Abortion Advocacy Network, at EnGendeRights, Inc., isang Filipino woman at girl, raped every seventy-five minutes, about one in every eight Filipino women, who resorts to abortion, is a rape survivor, seventy women induce abortion every hour, complications from unsafe abortion is one of the five leading causes of maternal death and a leading cause of hospitalization in the Philippines, 2012 alone, six hundred ten thousand Filipino women induced abortion, over a hundred thousand women were hospitalized, and a thousand women died due to unsafe abortion complications, since there is no access to safe abortion in the country, at least, three women die everyday from unsafe abortion complications. Ito po ang aking katanungan, bilang Presidente at kung ika'y papalarin maging Presidente ng Pilipinas, do you think, Senator Bongbong, is it time to enact a law on abortion that would allow pregnant rape victims the choice of legal and safe abortion?
Bongbong: Yes, I think, for very severe cases, like, you say, the most, the majority of cases are rape victims, and I think if it can be shown that they were raped, it was not consensual sex, and that got them pregnant, then they should have the choice to abort or not. The other is incest, perhaps. If the mother, who is usually quite young, is not capable, has mental deficiencies, or is just not capable, emotionally or mentally capable to take care of the child, to have a child, maybe those are the cases where we can say that abortion might be justified, but still, for me, the bottom line is, when it comes to the subject of abortion, it is the woman's decision because it is her body. Meron din unusual cases ng nararape pero they keep the child, and they raise them as their own. Again, they must be given that choice, and I think, well, all the women in my life, always, when we talk about this subject, when we talk about abortion, say, 'It's my body. I should decide,' and I subscribe to that notion, and I think that's correct, but, so that we will not go and get stuck in the moral issues of playing God, et cetera, or when life begins. All of those debates that have been happening around the world coming to abortion, to avoid all of that, we can make it very distinct, and say, rape victims, victims of incest, if the mother's life, health is in danger, if they take the pregnancy to full term, maybe that will be another possibility, but beyond that, I don't think we need to do more than that when it comes to abortion.
Boy: Senator Bongbong, this is totally against the position of the Catholic church. E, tayo'y eighty percent or more Catholics in this country, at ang sinasabi ng ating relihiyon ay walang conditions, abortion is not allowed, it is killing an innocent human being inside the womb of a mother. What do you say to that argument?
Bongbong: Well, I cannot argue theology. All I argue is what the statistics that you have given me. Sixty thousand people, sixty thousand are hospitalized, is that the figure?
Boy: Yeah.
Bongbong: Because of the botched abortions. How many women die. That's more what I'm...
Boy: That's a more important consideration to you than, you know, religion.
Bongbong: If you're a public administrator, that should be the concern. Is this death rate so high, and we can do in one fell swoop, maybe we can avoid, what, the large percentage of that, we should do it.
Boy: Kasi maraming mga kuwento, halimbawa, I read a story about a woman na merong dwarfism na hindi kayang manganak. Meron naman isang doktor na nagpaaral sa kanya. She was raped. There are incestuous rapes, so, kasi ang inaallow dito sa Pilipinas ay yung tinatawag na therapeutic abortion na, halimbawa, ang mga doktor ay nariyan, at between the, if you are choosing between the life of the mother, to save the mother, you know, ay you are allowed to do it, yun ang aking pagkakaunawa, so, in severe cases, katulad nung sa mga minention ko, you are okay with abortion.
Bongbong: Oh, most certainly because we want to save the lives of people, we want to save lives of women, and that's, that, what, in effect, we will be doing if we allow these critical cases to avail of that therapeutic abortion that you mentioned. Again, as a public administrator and as a public servant, what you are looking to, is to avoid all of these tragedies, every single one of these statistics that you have read is a tragedy in itself. It affects the woman involved. It affects the entire family. Generally, it affects the community. It affects them for the rest of their lives.
Boy: Senator Bongbong, walang batas dito sa Pilipinas na naglalaman ng iyong mga sinasabi. As President, would you initiate a law that clarifies your position on abortion?
Bongbong: Well, if the Congress will pass a law, and that is the will of the people, and people, the majority of the Congress as representing the general populace, if it is their will that we have that, then if it, that...
Boy: Let's talk about drugs, Senator Bongbong. Pupuntahan ko yung sinabi ni President Duterte in a speech sa Ozamiz City, August 2017, and I quote, 'I feel so bad about all of these things kasi nalaman ko, paano ko makokontrol in three to six months. Ang mga generals na pulis, nandiyan tapos yung mga Bureau of Customs na inaasahan ko, PI, nasa droga. How will I succeed e nasa droga? Alam ko na nagkamali ako. Nagkamali talaga ako. Now, magtanong kayo, ang Pilipinas, are we or are we not a narcotics country? Yes, we are. Sabi ko, tama yung silang mga kritiko ko e, 'Sabi mo, noong nag-Presidente ka, three to six months.' Hindi ko alam. Pagpasok ko ay Davao lang kasi ako so ang template ko, Davao. May droga pero sabi ko, maglaro ka doon, patay ka talaga. Give me another six months. That self-imposed time of three to six months, well, I did not realize how severe and how serious the problem of drug menace in this Republic until I became President.' My question, you are applying to be President of the country. Senador Bongbong, how much do you know about illegal drugs in the country? Gaano kalala ito? Are we or are we not a narco-country? Depende sa iyong kaalaman tungkol sa problema ng illegal drugs, ano po ang programa mo laban dito?
Bongbong: Well, nakita natin, unang-una, kailangan natin ituloy ang war on drugs kung tawagin because the problem continues to exist. Nandiyan pa rin ang problema. Kung itatanong mo, are we, I don't know what a narco-state is but we have seen, I think everybody can see the influence of the drug lords in our everyday lives, in our political lives, in our economic lives, and so talagang insidious kaya't, actually, yung nag-uusap kami ni President Duterte noon, sabi niya, 'Talagang hindi ko naimagine na ganito kalalim at ganito kabigat ang problema ng droga,' kaya't para sa akin, kailangan nating ipagpatuloy ang laban kontra sa droga, ngunit, siguro, nakita natin na talagang sinagad ni Pangulong Duterte ang pag-enforce ng mga batas against drug dealers and drug addicts, and I think we are beginning to realize that enforcement only takes you so far. Kailangan natin din pag-aralan ang prevention at tsaka ang cure. Ang prevention ang pagtuturo sa ating mga kabataan na 'wag silang papasok diyan sa ganyang klaseng bisyo, sa ganyang klaseng buhay, at masisira at mawawasak ang kanilang buhay. Kailangan, paulit-ulit natin sinasabi, all the way through grade school, paulit-ulit through high school, na naririnig talaga nila 'yan, and the other thing is yung cure. Pagka sumabit na talaga yung tao, naaddict na, meron tayong rehab naman, when we treat them properly, na we should expand our rehabilitation facilities, not just regional, which, hanggang bawat probinsiya siguro, dapat meron, dahil malala talaga ang problema, and I think, you know, people are, we cannot, it's not a problem that will be solved by only the police, only maybe the military, because we see, tingnan mo ang example ng United States, trilyun-trilyon na ang ibinayad nila, ang ginastos nila para tanggalin ang, para labanan ang drug war. Nandiyan pa rin, even more than ever.
Boy: Do you consider it a health issue or a crime?
Bongbong: Oh, most certainly because talaga naman, hindi tumatagal ang mga addict e. They don't, their health is always at risk. They are not productive. They are not productive members of society. They do not even help themselves. What they are doing is destroying themselves, so yes, it is a health issue, it is a social issue, it is one of the great problems that we face in the modern world.
Boy: When does it become a crime?
Bongbong: When does?
Boy: The drug problem become a crime?
Bongbong: For me, I think that we should treat addicts as patients and as people in need of a cure. It becomes a crime when you are involved in the distribution, the sale of illegal drugs. That's when it becomes a crime.
Boy: Okay. You discussed kanina yung implementation, sinagad 'yon, pero kailangan, merong prevention at tsaka cure. Policy-wise, anong gagawin niyo po?
Bongbong: Ganun talaga. Patibayin natin yung rehab kaagad dahil, yun na nga, yung sa rehab...
Boy: That's cure, ang rehab.
Bongbong: Yung cure ang rehab kasi marami na tayong addict kaya't the President often quotes the statistic of he has four million addicts in the Philippines, and if we take that at face value, that's four million people who need our help so we have to give them that help, and so we have to put into place the system of rehabilitation. There are many, many ways of doing it. There are plenty of lessons to be learned from other countries, and let us learn those lessons and apply them. What is applicable to the Philippines, let us apply them quickly.
Boy: The President's figure of four million was I think when he was beginning as President because right now, the latest data that we have is at about 1.7 million. Kanina, Senador, tinatanong mo kung ano ang narco-country. By definition, it is a country where the economy is controlled by drugs.
Bongbong: I don't think we are there yet.
Boy: We are not.
Bongbong: Yes, but we could be if we do not do something quite effective in the next few years.
Boy: Sabi niyo po, 'Ipagpapatuloy ko ang war on drugs.' Is it going to be bloody?
Bongbong: Well, even in the enforcement side, my idea is to make it more focused because medyo wholesale ngayon ang enforcement e. Ifocus natin dun sa mga malalaki talaga. Doon, kilala naman ng lahat 'yan e. Malalaman talaga e. Even a normal person, they know who the drug boss is in their community so yun ang itarget natin. 'Wag na yung pangkaraniwan na tao.
Boy: Senator Bongbong, let's talk about utang, Philippine debt. I'd like you to listen to these statistics from the Bureau of the Treasury. Nang matapos ang termino ni President Erap, ang utang ng Pilipinas ay 2.6 trillion pesos. Nung natapos si President Arroyo ay 5.1 trillion pesos. Umabot sa 6.5 trillion pesos noong matapos ang termino ni President Aquino. As of end November 2021, ngayong administration of President Duterte, total Philippine debt is 11.93 trillion pesos. Naririnig natin 'yan na, hindi pa ipinanganganak, nagbabayad ka na ng utang dahil sa laki ng utang ng Pilipinas. Katanungan po, ito, kung ikaw ang papalaring manalo bilang Presidente ng Pilipinas, how do you intend to pay the national debt of the country?
Bongbong: By revitalizing the economy, there's no other way. There is no other way to do it. We have to create value in our economy, and that value will be what we will use to service those debts. Hindi naman siguro kailangan, lalo na ngayon na medyo hirap tayo, although, if you look at the overall statistics globally, we are at about under sixty percent ratio to GDP.
Boy: Debt-to-GDP.
Bongbong: Debt-to-GDP. There are other countries that are close to a hundred. Meron pa ngang lampas sa isandaang, one hundred, nag-oone hundred twenty percent, so we are in a relatively good position but we find ourselves in this quandary now because of COVID, and we really had to fund a lot of what we were doing to battle COVID by borrowings. Now, what we, the only way that we can recover from that is to, as I said, revitalize the economy. People, you know, you and I are the same, takot na takot sa utang kasi yun ang ugali naman ng Ilokano, ayaw talagang may utang but in the business world, to maximize whatever funding you have, you take on some debt, so that imbis na isandaan libo ang pera mo, e, nakakuha ka ng dalawandaan, tatlundaan na utang, mas marami kang magagawa, mas masigla, mas maganda ang negosyo mo, madali mong bayaran yung utang. The secret I think, the important thing that we must be absolutely sure of, is that 'pag kailangan talaga ng utang, mahirap mangutang, ayaw nating gawin 'yan, ngunit paminsan-minsan, kailangan talaga nating gawin 'yan, tiyakin naman natin na napupunta sa tama, napupunta sa magandang programa, hindi napupunta sa bulsa ng kung sino man lang, hindi naman nawawaldas, nasasayang lang dahil sa walang kuwentang paggamit. We have to make sure that the debt we are taking on is put to good use so that it generates something in the economy so that we have, not only do we make a profit out of it, but we are able to service the debt. It's the implementation really of the, 'pag dodownload ka ng utang is the implementation really of how that funds are used that is going to decide whether or not malulubog ka sa utang o yung utang mo ay pagagandahin ang takbo ng ekonomiya.
Boy: Deretsahin na ho natin, dahil there was a time, I'm not sure if this is still happening, but twenty percent of the national budget would go to debt management, pero may mga data tayo na nagsasabing, I think this was published, that twenty percent of the national budget goes to corruption.
Bongbong: Yes. That's...
Boy: Twenty percent of the national budget goes to corruption.
Bongbong: Well, that's exactly what I'm talking about. If it's going to go into corruption, wala talaga, palubog lang tayo nang palubog. The corrosive effect of corruption in any, in a private sector, in a public sector, in any, any kind of transaction, immediately destroys the transaction.
Boy: What would you do as President?
Bongbong: Well, we have to tighten up our checks and balances to make sure that the money that we are getting and paying interest on is used for good things, proper things, is handled properly. As I said, it's not, hindi nababawasan ang mga corrupt, buo ang padala mo sa, ipapadala mo sa programa, at maganda yung programa na pinaglagyan mo ng pera na 'yon.
Boy: We have normalized the concept of SOP in this country. What do you do to that?
Bongbong: Well, you just have to minimize it, and you have to put it...
Boy: But it cannot be totally eradicated, just mitigated.
Bongbong: Corruption is not a Philippine condition. It is a human condition. There are dishonest people in wherever you go, and there will always be somebody who's trying to finagle the accounts of cooking the books na para meron siyang mabulsa, so, pero kailangan, bantayan nang mabuti 'yan, and that's something, yung the idea of SOP, that also comes from the efficiency of government. Why do I say that? If the government's very efficient, very streamline ang trabaho, walang fixer, 'di ba? Wala kang kailangang bayaran dahil, e, normal yun e, tama? Kukuha ka ng passport, kukuha ng lisensya, maglalakad ka ng permit, ng papeles mo, may lalapit na fixer, 'Anong kailangan mo?' 'Di magbabayad ka na naman. Bawat dokumento na pipirmahan, babayad ka na naman. 'Yan yung, that's the corruption on the small scale, but, of course, the checks and balances also have to work on a large scale, and when we are talking about government funds, when we are talking about...
Boy: Senator Bongbong, let's go to the West Philippine Sea. Pag-usapan natin ito. 'Pag pinag-uusapan ang West Philippine Sea, Scarborough Shoal, or Bajo de Masinloc, Panatag, 'ika nga, and the Kalayaan Island Group na northeastern part ng Spratly Islands, 'yan ang inaangkin, hindi inaangkin, 'yan ang atin. That's the West Philippine Sea na patuloy na inaangkin ng Tsina. Sa Subi, Zamora Reef, at Mischief, Panganiban Reef, ang tawag natin, at iba pa, nagtayo na ang Tsina dito ng mga underground storage, missile shelters, radar arrays, and other facilities. Noong July 12, 2016, naglabas ng desisyon ang Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) pabor sa Pilipinas sa issue sa West Philippine Sea. Atin ang West Philippine Sea, sabi ng korte, pero patuloy pa rin na inaangkin ito ng Tsina. Tuloy din tayo sa pagfifile ng mga diplomatic protests. As of December 2021, we have filed two hundred forty-one protests, diplomatic protests, at nakatanggap naman tayo ng one hundred fifty-two na sagot. Tanong, bilang Presidente ng Pilipinas, you are also the chief architect of foreign policy, my question is, at you are applying to be President of this country, if all diplomatic efforts fail, do you think the Philippines is strong enough and prepared to fight a defensive war against China to protect our territorial sovereignty?
Bongbong: Well, first of all, I go back to the premise, we must not allow diplomacy to fail. It is the only option that we have. The only way, there are three ways where territory can be gained or lost, and one is through arbitration, with the agreement of both parties, kasi arbitration nga, there's an arbiter between two different parties. Ang problema diyan sa China ay sinabi na nila, 'Hindi kami signatory diyan, hindi kami makikinig kung ano man ang magiging findings nung court,' so nandun na tayo, so that arbitration is no longer an arbitration if there's only one party, so hindi na, it's no longer available to us. The second way that a territory is lost or gained is through war. Now, that, I believe, is a option that we must dismiss outright because it is a completely ludicrous assertion, that going to war with China is going to be advantageous to the Philippines, or even to China for that matter. Nobody wants to go to war. China does not want to go to war. Philippines must not go to war. The third way is by bilateral agreement, and that's what we are left with. Bilateral agreement with China, we must continue to engage China, so if you talk about pure military capability, I think we all know that to compare military capability of the Philippines, even if we are building up and we are modernizing our AFP, malayung-malayo talaga tayo sa China when it comes to men, and material, and capability to fight a shooting war so 'wag na nating pag-usapan yun dahil hindi talaga option yun. We must continue to engage the Chinese, and 'pag nagpapadala tayo ng diplomatic protest, hindi sapat yun. We have to still continue to try and engage them in all many ways. I always use the example of the United States and China. Maaalala ninyo, naging malapit ang, nagkaroon ng diplomatic relations ang China at tsaka ang United States, nagsimula ang usapan sa ping-pong. Sino naman may akala, dun manggagaling yung solution, kaya't subukan natin lahat ng paraan. Yung mga negosyanteng Chinese na may pamilya pa sa China, sabihin naman nila, 'Baka matulungan niyo naman kami rito,' para baka maayos natin ito. Yung unahin natin, yung maliit lang na bagay, yung mga fisherman na hindi pinapapasok, yung mga mangingisda natin na, siguro, isandaang taon nang nangingisda do'n, e, ngayon, hindi na sila puwedeng pumasok, unahin na muna natin yun, yun maliliit, kayang-kaya naman siguro na natin kausapin yun China, 'Pabayaan niyo sila.'
Boy: Senator Bong, tuluy-tuloy ang ating diplomasya, I mean, diplomatic, because you said, diplomacy must not fail, pero paano ka makikipagnegotiate sa bayang Tsina, na nakikipag-usap ka, halimbawa, pero hindi ka naman sineseryoso? I'll go to the point of the US and China, the ping-pong diplomacy, that's fine, but, you know, China and the United States of America are on equal footing, they're both superpowers. This is the Philippines and China, maliit na bayan, hindi tayo sineseryoso, nakikipag-usap tayo pero patuloy naman ang kanilang pagbuibuild ng mga structures sa West Philippine Sea, so, how do you continue diplomacy?
Bongbong: I think that we must engage, we just, there is no other way. Anong ibang mga solusyon? Sasabihin natin, 'O, yung United States, pumasok uli kayo dito sa Pilipinas. Kayo ang magdefend sa atin.' Hindi na puwede 'yon. Hindi na kasi, kung minsan...
Boy: Pero malaki ang interes nila sa South China Sea because of the...
Bongbong: Malaki talaga ang interes nila sa South China Sea.
Boy: That's about over five trillion dollars that pass through...
Bongbong: Yes, but we have to get past the old thinking nung Cold War, na meron tinatawag na spheres of influence, bawat bansa, namimili, 'Sa US kami,' 'Sa Soviet Union kami.' Hindi na ganun ngayon. Ang iisipin lang natin, ano yung mabuti para sa Pilipinas. We continue to engage. Of course, we have a very strong, traditional, institutional relationship, special relationship with the United States...
Boy: Did you say you would invite the United States to get involved and help us?
Bongbong: No, no, that is, the problem is between China and us.
Boy: So, the United States should be out?
Bongbong: If the Americans come in, it's bound to fail because you're putting the two protagonist together, and we, you know, we must understand, dalawang superpower and nasa gitna tayo, anliit-liit natin. Ang biro ko nga, bumahin lang nang sabay 'yan, mawawala na tayo sa mundo e.
Boy: Senador Bongbong, dun lang sa arbitration, sabi mo nga, pa'no ka mag-aarbitrate, e, sinabi naman ng Tsina, 'Hindi ko tinatanggap ang iyong imbitasyon.' Do you think the, is there value, of the PCA's decision, saying that the West Philippine Sea belongs to us?
Bongbong: There is value because they confirmed...
Boy: Let's talk about our tenth question. Let's talk about the Presidential qualifications. You are applying to be the President of the Republic of the Philippines. It's a very complex, gargantuan job. Nilista ko lamang ang ilan sa mga trabaho ng Presidente, head of government, chief architect of foreign policy, commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, signs budgets, manages finance, appoints justices recommended by the Judicial and Bar Council, confers National Artist Awards, manages disasters and pandemics, fights drug wars, head of his/her political party, has power over aliens, has power of eminent domain, practices general supervision over local governments, and pardons convicts. That's how complex, napakalawak, napakalaki, how daunting ang trabaho ng isang Presidente. Samantala, sa ating Saligang Batas, Article Seven, Section Two, of the 1987 Constitution, ang qualifications para maging isang Presidente ay ang mga sumusunod, number one, natural-born Filipino, number two, a registered voter, must be able to read and write, number four, forty years of age at the day of the election, and number five, must have resided in the Philippines ten years before the election is held. Right now, as we talk, Senador Bongbong, napapanahon na ba para amyendahan ang provision na ito ng Saligang Batas, oo, hindi, bakit?
Bongbong: Dahil, palagay ko, hindi, dahil the concept behind the way the Constitution has approached the qualifications for President is to say, is to come from the point na sinasabi, anyone should be allowed to be President dahil mahirap, hindi na nakapaggraduate pero marunong naman, dapat, puwede, kung talagang kaya, puwede siyang maging Pangulo. Hindi kailangan ng mga, maging mayaman, hindi kailangang maging sikat, all of these things, and that's the idea behind that, but we also have to recognize that, I agree, everyone should be allowed to be President, but not everyone can be a good President so we have to, with the fix, if you want to call it that, for that is not to amend the Constitution and to amend the qualifications for President. It is to change the political system in terms of our choice of candidates dahil yung multi-party system, kahit na lang sino, puwedeng magtayo ng partido basta may pera siya, at tatakbo maging Presidente, wala namang, hindi talaga marunong, hindi naman qualified, walang magawa. Dati, nung two-party system tayo, we had the Liberal and the Nacionalista. Within the parties, everybody wants to be President, lahat 'yan, gustong magsenador, maggovernor, magmayor, pero sa loob ng partido mismo ay namimili na, tinitingnan, sino bang pinakamagaling talaga dito, 'Sinong ilalaban natin?' 'Sino imamanok natin na puwedeng senador?' so pagpili ng isang partido, sasabihin nila, 'Eto mga kandidato namin,' ang para mong sinasabi, 'Eto na yung pinakamagaling talaga sa amin.' Ngayon, dun sa kabilang partido, ganun din ang ginagawa kaya't kung sino man, e, puro magagaling ang mga kandidato dahil pinagsabong na 'yan sa loob ng partido e, so lumabas ang pinakamagagaling, ang pinakamay-kaya, kahit sinong mahalal ay marunong, and that, I think, is a way we can, the way that we can, I was a great proponent of the multi-party system because of my experience studying abroad where I see that it has worked but it has not really been a successful experiment here in the Philippines.
Boy: So, you are for the two-party system in the Philippines.
Bongbong: I think, because we lack the political maturity yet in the Philippines to understand that ideology must play a part in the multi-party system.
Boy: 'Yan po ang ibig sabihin niyo na ayusin natin ang ating political system, by coming back, going back to the two-party system, para nasala na yung mga kandidato, na parang Great Britain for example. There's a quote that says, 'Every Prime Minister, there is no amateur who becomes a Prime Minister because you have to be an MP.' You have to be an MP to be nominated to be Prime Minister. You wanted to say something, Senator.
Bongbong: Well, the difference between that and the two-party system is that their party stands for something. When you talk about the Conservative Party, they're conservatives. They talk about the Liberal, they're liberal in their thinking.
Boy: Like Democrats and the Republicans, may stand na sa taxes at saka sa abortion.
Bongbong: The Green Party in Germany started off as an environmental party for environmental issues. All of these things that we haven't yet learned to adopt, and that's why I think that we should start thinking about going back to the old simple system that we can always guarantee that whoever is elected, I'm not talking only about the President, but whoever is elected in any position all the way down, to mayors, and to councilors, down at the lowest level, ay lahat 'yan ay may pinagdaanan na, may kakayahan.
Boy: Yeah, and you can effect changes without having to amend the Constitution, am I right? I mean, I'm not very familiar with this.
Bongbong: No, you cannot do that.
Boy: But you can have rules, 'no, I mean, can you add? I mean, I don't know how to do it, but like Myanmar for example, peculiarities ito e, hindi ka na puwedeng mag-Presidente 'pag ang iyong asawa ay foreigner because of the Aung San Suu Kyi...
Bongbong: That's right.
Boy: And then Turkey, I think, is higher education is required. Indonesia ay high school graduate. France requires a bank account, so titingnan mo ito bilang Presidente.
Bongbong: But you are already discounting a large part of the population. Now, if like Turkey, you say you need to have a college degree...
Boy: Higher education.
Bongbong: Then are you sure that every single citizen has access to a college education? If that's so, baka puwede 'yon but we cannot guarantee that. You are, again, as I said, excluding immediately, with no reason except their educational attainment, a large part of the population. Malay mo, yung isa dun, genius na napakagaling na aayusin lahat ng problema.
Boy: That one with many other requirements. Ang dami nilang mga requirements. Let's now go to the personal issue-based question, Senator Bongbong. According to Amnesty International, during your father's Presidency, from 1972 to 1981, about seventy-two thousand were imprisoned, thirty-four thousand were tortured, and three thousand two hundred forty were killed. Tanong, itong data ba na galing sa Amnesty International, Senator Bongbong, ito ba ay pawang kasinungalingan lamang?
Bongbong: Well, I do not know how they generated those numbers, and I haven't seen them but let us ask Amnesty International to share that information that they have, and maybe it will help us make sure that the system works, and what alleged abuses occurred should not occur again. I think that's the only way that we can remedy that situation.
Boy: Now it's time to do our political fast talk. We've sixty seconds to do this. Senator Bongbong, bakit hindi dapat iboto si VP Leni Robredo?
Bongbong: Are you going to ask me this of each of the Presidential candidates?
Boy: Yes.
Bongbong: Well, I'm very hesitant to answer that because I do not believe and I do not indulge in negative campaigning but I will go this far and I will say that I believe that none of the other candidates have yet come to the conclusion that unity, ang pagkakaisa ang ating pangangailangan, at dun magsisimula ang ating pagbalik, na dito krisis ng pandemya.
Boy: So, that's your answer to Mayor Isko, Senator Lacson...
Bongbong: To all of them because they...
Boy: And Senator Pacquiao.
Bongbong: Because of they have not seen that unity is a critical part, then they have not been able to come up with a specific program, a detailed program for what we will do in the next years to recover from the pandemic.
Boy: Bakit ikaw ang dapat iboto?
Bongbong: That is a converse of that, because my message is about unity, and...
Boy: Narito na po tayo sa ating final question, answerable in sixty seconds, and I don't get to follow up. The question is, March 19 of 2018, President Duterte withdrew the Philippines from the Rome Statute. When the withdrawal took effect on March 17, 2019, ang Pilipinas was no longer a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The withdrawal happened matapos ianunsyo ng then ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda ang pagbubukas ng preliminary examination sa Pilipinas with respect to the alleged crimes against humanity na nagaganap sa bansa dahil sa war on drugs. The President has threatened to arrest the ICC Prosecutor if she conducts activities here in the Philippines because we are no longer an ICC member, and the ICC has no right to do any investigating. November 10, 2021, the Philippine government requested a deferral of the ICC's request for examination under the principle of complementarity, claiming that the country had begun its own investigations. The current ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan, in a document dated November 18, sabi niya, they will temporarily suspend its investigation into the Philippines as it assesses the scope and effect of the government's request for deferral that cited the investigations being done ng ating Department of Justice. Human rights advocacy groups are urging the ICC to proceed with the investigation to not further delay justice for the victims. The question is, hypothetical, sumulat ang ICC Prosecutor na si Karim Khan at nagrerequest na siya at ang kanyang team ay pumunta dito sa Pilipinas para simulan ang preliminary investigation sa 'di umano'y mga krimen laban sa sangkatauhan na may kinalaman sa war on drugs ni President Duterte. Ano po ang inyong gagawin? Papayagan mo ba sila pumunta dito sa Pilipinas, oo, hindi, at bakit?
Bongbong: Papayagan ko sila dito pero magturista lang sila dahil ang pagkaunawa ko sa ICC, the ICC is there pagka walang judiciary na nag-ooperate sa isang bansa dahil nagkagiyera, dahil nasira lahat, when the economy has collapsed, et cetera, et cetera, for whatever reason, diyan papasok ang ICC. We have a functioning judiciary, and that's why I do not see the need for a foreigner to come and do the job for us, and to do the job for our judicial system. Our judicial system is perfectly capable of doing that, and it also raises a great many questions about jurisdiction and sovereignty. What is their jurisdiction to come here into the Philippines and conduct an investigation? Is that not a violation of our rights as a sovereign nation in the community of nations? Those questions need to be answered before they can be allowed to do any investigation.
Boy: Senator Bongbong, maraming salamat.
Bongbong: Oh my, that went very quickly. Maraming-maraming salamat.
Boy: Maraming-maraming salamat. Thank you for your time. God bless you at mabuhay ka.
Bongbong: Thank you very much.
Boy: Maraming-maraming salamat, at sa inyong lahat na sumama sa aming pag-uusap ni Senator Bongbong, maraming salamat. God bless you. Stay healthy, and good night. Mabuhay ang Pilipinas.