Opening statement of Rep. Luistro as House resumes VP Sara impeachment hearing — ANC

[0:05] the chair will address the committee good morning good morning before anything else [0:23] it is important that we begin by looking back because the work we have today is anchored [0:34] on what has already been laid on record noong nakaraang pagdinig april 14 we begin by affirming [0:46] our constitutional mandate our exclusive power to initiate all cases of impeachment nasa atin ang [0:58] unang galaw nasa atin ang direksyon at hawak natin ang beat ngunit nabanggit din natin na malinaw [1:13] ang limitasyon ng ating papel sa yugtong ito hindi pa ito paghuhusga our task at this [1:25] stage is simply to determine probable cause kung may sapat na batayan upang magpatuloy as congressman [1:40] benny abante stated sisilipin natin kung may usok dahil kung may usok tungkulin natin hanapin kung nasaan [1:54] ang sunog during our last hearing we formally recognized the complainants father sabalia and his [2:07] group and of course attorney cabrera all of them were present ready to face this committee and stand by their [2:21] complaints but there was one thing we could not ignore something that was right in front of us the empty [2:37] chair of the vice president wala po siya nitong nakaraan habang nandito ang mga nagre reklamo ang [2:50] tanging humarap sa atin ay isang bakanting upuan and yet with or without the presence of the vice [3:02] president with or without her cooperation tuloy ang mandato ng committee at umusad nga ang ating [3:15] pagdinig noong araw na iyon first we formally received sabina documents all of which are now part of our [3:30] record second we heard a statement of ramil madriaga who testified for the very first time in a public [3:43] hearing through his supplemental affidavit we were confronted with a staggering allegation that [3:55] confidential funds were spent not just in 11 days but were purportedly disposed of within a mere 24 hours [4:09] hindi labing isang araw sa halip 24 oras milyones na naubos sa loob lamang ng isang araw mabigat ang mga [4:26] binitiwang salita ni ramil madriaga at minsan pa siyang naiyak habang binabasa ang kanyang supplemental [4:39] affidavit to back his words he signed a bank waiver to prove that he has nothing to hide during one [4:53] exchange congresswoman janet garin recalled the formerly controversy and could not hide her frustration [5:05] upon hearing ramil madriaga's allegation that the vice president's campaign may have been [5:14] financed by formally an assertion that if proven further deepens the seriousness of the issues [5:25] now before this committee third and with the help of congressman joel chua we have adopted the records [5:39] from the committee on good government and public accountability that testimonies of various resource [5:47] persons regarding the envelopes and the questionable receipts and other statements given in that [5:58] legislative inquiry are now officially part of this impeachment process fourth we heard from the nbi [6:11] expert and their findings are very clear kinumpirma nila nabase sa kanilang pagsusuri several [6:23] questions signatures were actually signed by one and the same person this proves that there was a pattern and it [6:38] raises even more questions about who was really behind these documents [6:47] magkakaibah ang mga pangalan ngunit iisa ang perma i will repeat magkakaibah ang mga pangalan ngunit iisa ang perma [7:03] fifth we heard from a representative of the psa who confirmed that several personalities appearing in the records have no [7:16] corresponding entries in official civil registries kabilang dito ang kontrobersyal na pangalang [7:26] mary grace piatos na batay sa kanilang verifikasyon ay walang umiiral na psa record si mary grace piatos ay wala sa data ng psa [7:43] sixth we heard from attorney gloria camora of the koa who confirmed that the commission proper has resolved the [7:56] vice president's appeal on the vice president's appeal on the notice of this allowance effectively [8:02] affirming that this allowance covering more than 73 million pesos she further disclosed that the koa [8:14] has issued three additional notices of this allowance indicating continued deficiencies in compliance [8:26] this developments lend significant weight to the financial irregularities under examination as noted [8:39] by congressman chel giocno and congressman antonio tinio this effectively render the vice president [8:49] liable to return all these amounts 73 million pesos plus 375 million pesos to the national treasury [9:05] and when we heard all these resource persons the committee will note that while i disallowed certain probing [9:22] questions to ensure fairness to ensure fairness fairness i nonetheless permitted all inquiries [9:43] that sought to clarify the truth on that note the records will reflect that the arguments regarding the [9:53] difference between credibility and character as well as the confusion between page numbers and dates were stricken from the record [10:06] we have done this to maintain the integrity and order of this proceedings sa kabuan what we saw was not a single piece of evidence [10:21] but a body of evidence [10:27] hindi pa isa isa kundi magkakaugnay but after the hearing the story did not end there [10:37] sa katunayan doon pa lamang nagsimula ang mas malakas na ingay sa labas marami ang nagulantang marami ang nagreact [10:54] the hearing became the subject of headlines discussions statements particularly from the vice president [11:05] however it is worth noting that instead of addressing the core issues the focus shifted to a peripheral matter [11:19] ang academic performance umano ng vice president nung siya'y nag-aaral pa samantalang ang mas mabibigat na usapin tungkol sa confidential funds [11:37] sa mga dokumento sa mga transaksyon ay nananatiling hindi direktang nasasagot [11:49] kumbaga sa isan daang ibidensya isa lang ang pinupuntiriya [11:56] let me be clear this committee will not take anything at face value whether said inside this hall or outside of it [12:11] hindi tayo basta maniniwala sa ingay we will evaluate everything [12:18] dahil ang katotohanan ay hindi matatagpuan sa mga press release [12:25] ito ay nakasandal sa mga dokumento at sa mga salaysay na sinumpaan [12:34] sa totoo lang nag-ghost na nga tayo tila [12:43] ginagaslight pa tayo [12:45] ang mas mahalagang tanong [12:47] ay kung nasaan ang pera [12:50] ngunit ang sagot sa atin [12:52] ay tungkol sa grado sa kolehyo [12:58] and the worst part [13:01] this explanation [13:03] is not being made here [13:05] but everywhere else [13:08] ang gusto natin [13:11] halim ng sumpa [13:14] pero ang ibinibigay sa atin [13:16] press release [13:17] at content [13:19] sa social media [13:21] again [13:23] let us be clear [13:25] hindi tayo basta maniniwala [13:29] we will evaluate everything [13:33] Madriagas testimony [13:35] COA documents [13:38] NBI findings [13:41] PSA certifications [13:44] lahat ng ito ay kailangang iharap dito [13:48] suriin [13:51] dito [13:52] timbangin [13:53] dito [13:54] pero dapat [13:57] dito [13:58] humarap [14:00] ang kailangang humarap [14:02] manumpa [14:03] at magpaliwanag [14:05] dito [14:07] sa committing ito [14:08] because [14:12] because [14:13] this [14:15] is the proper [14:16] forum [14:17] hindi sapat ang magsalita [14:21] sa labas [14:22] if there's anything [14:26] to clarify [14:27] the best [14:29] and the only place [14:31] to do that [14:32] is here [14:33] before this committee [14:36] under oath [14:38] and on [14:39] record [14:40] and that brings us [14:44] to [14:45] today [14:46] ngayong april 22 [14:49] malinaw [14:51] the work of this committee [14:55] continues [14:56] ang mga isyong inilahad [14:58] ay hindi natapos [15:00] noong nakaraan [15:02] today [15:03] we expect [15:04] further evidence [15:05] from the office of the ombudsman [15:09] from the bureau of internal revenue [15:12] from the securities and exchange commission [15:16] and specially [15:17] from the anti-money laundering council [15:20] we also anticipate testimonies [15:24] that will help contextualize [15:27] the data before us [15:29] and that includes [15:30] from former senator [15:32] sunny trillianes [15:35] kung mapapansin ninyo [15:38] ang pag-uusapan natin ngayon [15:40] mga numero [15:44] SALEN [15:45] tax records from BIR [15:48] reports from AMLC [15:52] this is the part [15:53] where the numbers have to be studied [15:56] compared [15:58] analyzed [15:59] and numbers [16:02] take note [16:03] unlike people [16:05] numbers [16:06] do not [16:07] have [16:08] motives [16:09] numbers [16:11] do not [16:12] lie [16:13] again [16:15] numbers [16:16] do not [16:17] lie [16:18] at dito po [16:21] nagiging mas mabigat ang usapan [16:24] because when we speak of numbers [16:27] we are no longer dealing with opinion [16:31] spin [16:35] or even narrative [16:36] we are confronting [16:38] cold [16:39] and yielding facts [16:41] hindi ito napapakiusapan [16:45] hindi ito natatakot [16:48] hindi ito napipilit magsinungaling [16:51] a number [16:54] either matches [16:57] or [16:58] it does not [16:59] does not [17:00] at higit sa lahat [17:03] hindi po ito basta numero lamang [17:07] pera ito [17:09] ng taong bayan [17:11] pera ito [17:13] ng manggagawang [17:14] Pilipino [17:15] na araw-araw kumakayod [17:17] ng pamilyang nagtitipid [17:20] para makabayad ng buwis [17:23] ng bawat Pilipinong umaasa [17:27] na ang kanilang ambag [17:29] ay napupunta sa tama [17:31] a peso [17:34] is either [17:37] accounted for [17:39] or [17:40] it is [17:41] missing [17:45] at kapag pinagsamasama [17:47] ang mga numerong ito [17:49] mula sa [17:51] SALEN [17:52] BIR [17:53] AMLC [17:55] they begin [17:57] to tell [17:58] a story [17:59] which [18:00] no press conference [18:03] can rewrite [18:04] no diversion [18:06] can erase [18:07] because numbers [18:10] once laid bare [18:12] speak [18:14] with a clarity [18:16] that cuts [18:17] through noise [18:18] and [18:20] when they point [18:21] to a discrepancy [18:22] they [18:23] do not [18:24] whisper [18:25] they [18:27] demand [18:28] to be answered [18:29] kung ayaw [18:31] magsalita ng tao [18:33] kung ayaw [18:35] humarap [18:36] ng vicepresidente [18:38] hayaan natin [18:40] na ang mga numero [18:42] ang magkwento [18:45] sa hearing na ito [18:48] we shall therefore [18:50] enter [18:52] the territory [18:53] of forensic truth [18:55] sa pamamagitan [18:56] ng mga numerong ito [18:58] malalaman natin [19:01] ang tunay [19:02] na pagkatao [19:03] sa likod [19:04] ng posisyon [19:05] siya ba [19:07] ay tunay [19:08] na public servant [19:09] o isa pa lang [19:12] private billionaire [19:13] at ang direksyon [19:17] natin ngayon [19:18] ay simple [19:19] ngunit matibay [19:22] we follow the evidence [19:23] wherever [19:24] it leads [19:26] hindi tayo [19:27] magpapadala [19:28] sa ingay [19:30] hindi tayo [19:31] lilihis [19:32] sa proseso [19:34] ang ating sandigan [19:35] ay ang [19:36] konstitusyon [19:37] at ang ating [19:38] layunin [19:40] ay ang katotohanan [19:41] because [19:42] in the end [19:44] ang tanong [19:45] ay hindi [19:46] kung sino [19:47] ang pinakamalakas [19:49] ang boses [19:50] hindi [19:52] kung sino [19:53] ang pinakamaingay [19:54] sa labas [19:55] kundi [19:57] kung saan [19:58] tayo [19:59] itinuturo [20:00] ng ebidensya [20:01] as we see it now [20:04] the chair [20:07] right before us [20:09] it remains empty [20:12] at tila [20:15] sanay na po tayo [20:17] sa tanawing iyan [20:19] ngunit kahit bakanti [20:22] ang upo ang iyan [20:24] even if that chair [20:27] remains empty [20:29] this room [20:30] is full [20:31] of the people's [20:32] questions [20:33] napakaraming [20:36] tanong [20:37] mga tanong [20:39] na sa kabila [20:40] ng pag-iwas [20:43] hindi [20:44] mawawala [20:46] sa kabila [20:47] ng pananahimik [20:48] hindi [20:49] maglalaho [20:50] mga tanong [20:52] na kailanman [20:53] ay hindi [20:54] kayang takasan [20:57] ng [20:58] bakanting [20:59] upuan [21:01] not today [21:02] not anymore [21:04] let the evidence [21:07] speak [21:10] let the numbers [21:11] testify [21:12] let the chips [21:15] fall [21:16] where they may be [21:18] let us finally resume [21:20] this hearing