Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian holds a press briefing — June 18

[12:09] mmda pasay lgu uh in other enforcement agencies so in in the next few weeks um [12:24] we will focus also on the bill so we will request um the senators to already proceed with their [12:31] hearings uh na basa na yung mga members ng committees uh na elect na rin yung mga chairman [12:38] at vice chairman of committees so they can already proceed with um conducting a hearing para [12:44] uh pagpasok natin tuloy-tuloy na yung mga uh discussions ng ledak bills and also other [12:50] bills na uh priority measures ng ating mga senators yes ma'am [13:03] hello sir kapon kasi sinabi ni senator ping na napag-usapan daw po [13:08] ng majority na senator cheese yung i-elect niyo sir how did you go about this i don't want to [13:14] preempt uh yung uh in presiding officer discussion uh pag-uusapan pa yan uh ng mga senators at uh [13:22] under the rules it's the senate president who will preside unless uh the senate will decide otherwise [13:29] no so i don't want to preempt our discussion um so magkakaroon kami ng discussion dyan [13:35] pero sir tama ba um um you are okay if ever yun yung mag indecision na majority na si [13:42] senator cheese yung magpreside pag-uusapan muna pag-uusapan i cannot again i cannot preempt [13:48] kung ano yung magiging discussion we will discuss we will discuss but right now as it stands in the [13:56] rules i will preside to me but uh uh well they discussed namin as um uh pag-uusapan nyan [14:17] ng mga senators again i don't want to preempt the discussion but we will have that discussion [14:21] soon well that well i'm uh well i'm question don't well i'm question don't because my quorum naman [14:40] eh no in fact uh during that i um my quorum tayo and there's already established um uh precedents [14:49] now in the past uh there are eight instances wherein 12 senators lang ang determine ng quorum [14:56] sir yung sa session nyo kahapon yung mga uh election ng ano na committee chairmanships parang may [15:02] mga inulit kayo doon dahil to ano ba ba wala naman in uh yung mga binanggit na pangalan [15:08] as chairmanship were only manifestations uh kasi nag-elect na in the past tapos minanis lang [15:15] and then uh ang importante doon yung election ng mga members uh yun ang pinaka-importante [15:21] no if you if you listen to the uh motion center uh zubiri it was a manifestation on the part of the [15:31] chairman and then the members ang election [15:33] so since may pending question before the supreme court hindi kayo naman bother na later on kung [15:39] magkaroon ng uh adverse uh ruling will affect [15:43] wala naman tro if the if the court if the supreme court uh uh uh thinks that uh there is irreparable [15:51] damage mag-issue yan ang uh tro so wala naman tro na in issue so in the absence of the tro [15:58] tuloy tuloy lang trabaho wala naman wala naman tuloy tuloy lang yung trabaho no um wala naman [16:16] in issue na tro sir good morning sir may discussion na kayo initial discussion with the minority kahapon [16:23] may manifest na nila kung sino yung minority leader nila nakausap na po ba kayo nag-text man lang ba [16:28] sa yung minority leader mga nakausap ko yung mga pumunta kahapon but in the next few days [16:32] um uh uh we'll endeavor to talk to the different minority members uh like i said in the past bukas [16:40] naman yung ating pintuan uh bukas yung ating tanggapan para makipag-usap but i really appreciate [16:46] yung mga um minority members na nandoon yesterday um it gave me a chance to talk to them to also um to [17:00] also um set the direction na mag-umpisan na ng trabaho and in fact yesterday um [17:07] naging uh uh very lively yung debate doon sa hospital anti-hospital detention bill so ganoon [17:15] yung mga discussion na gusto natin in the next few weeks and then i had also conversations [17:20] with the center lauren rigarda regarding yung ibang mga priority measures niya maganda [17:26] rin na na na appoint na tatlong minority members as chairman no um si center bongo as chairman of the [17:34] sports and youth committee si center mark villiard chairman ng uh very important banking committee [17:41] uh one of the most uh important committees uh in the senate and then si center camille villiard was [17:46] appointed also sa government corporations importante rin yan as we all know um kailangan [17:51] rin na uh yung mga government corporations accountable rin sa kanilang responsibilities sir sir [17:57] dun sa issue ng corum ah ng conviction threshold mas dumarami yung nagsasabi na baka dapat ibaba [18:04] dahil hindi na 24 yung within the jurisdictional power my opinion it's um malinaw ang constitution [18:10] no no uh uh uh three-fourths of all members so that's a 16 so in my opinion uh we have to follow the [18:19] constitution and uh ah sorry sorry two-thirds sorry uh correction two-thirds of all members no uh very [18:28] clear ang uh constitution dyan [18:30] pero pag-uusapan nyo yan sir is the senate impeachment court open to probably a motion [18:36] para ibaba ang threshold well i cannot predict kung anong mga i i cannot predict kung ano yung mga [18:44] issues na lalabas doon but as far as i'm concerned uh i will uphold what is written in the constitution [18:50] sir sorry sasegue lang ako sa uh the senate was under attack kapon ng doj nag press con sabi po ni [18:57] secretary vida the senate was not under attack kayo po ano ang i have to read the final report no [19:02] ano ba yung context nung kanyang uh uh statement na yun um alam ko very sensitive yung issue na yan so i [19:10] would um uh read the final report um i'm not very sure kung yung statement na yun is out of [19:17] a a partial report or out of their discussion but it's important for me na makita na yung final [19:22] report no i've discussed this with members of the osaha and member uh nag-meeting na kami uh it very [19:29] sensitive topic yan sa kanila kasi sirad directly involved so i don't want to um discuss uh anything [19:37] beyond what is coming out of that official report in fairness to osaa and in fairness to the people [19:44] involved in sir are you how up to what extent will the senate cooperate with doj with nbi kasi sabi [19:52] po ng doj papapanagutin yung mga tumulong daw kay senator de la rosa to escape the senate [19:57] ang pinaka importante sa akin it's dapat independent at impartial investigation uh that's the most [20:05] important that's why sabi ko kasama dapat sa investigation ang senado kasi nga dito nangyari [20:12] at involve yung mga personal nang senado but having said that it has to be impartial at kung merong [20:19] uh mga personalities na uh na nagkamali or personalities na merong uh direct um direct [20:30] involvement dito sa nangyari uh then kailangan may accountability so we will exact accountability [20:36] as well but having said that no uh i need to read the final report pa alam natin in personalities [20:42] involved cooperating yes we will be cooperating pushing it further sir yung issue nung sa threshold [20:52] we understand sir na gusto nyo masunod yung sa constitution pero sir kasi yung ngayon may issue [20:57] ng warm bodies na available during the impeachment trial so are you on any way open to discussing [21:03] sir naiba ba talaga yung threshold kasi sorry sir pero may possibility pa kasi may [21:08] cannot preempt kung anong sasabihin ng prosecution we cannot also preempt kung anong sasabihin ng [21:14] ibang mga senators i can only state my opinion on the matter even if lower yung number ng warm [21:21] bodies you will adhere to two-thirds of 24 ako at least my opinion no um i'm not i don't know with the [21:29] others nikos pe sila nakakausap on that matter sir gano kahalaga na makausap nyo sa senator alan [21:36] queta no para sa inyong senate presidency na uwi na siya yung pinalitan nyo at para sa mas united [21:41] well like like uh ginawa ko kahapon i reached out to all of the members including the minority members [21:48] on the floor um kinausap ko si senator marcoleta senator ayme marcos uh senator lauren lagarda [21:56] center pia uh we had a very long uh discussion uh si senator bongo uh yesterday kausap ko rin siya [22:03] and uh uh that's why nga na elect siya kaagad as chairman of the uh uh youth and sports committee [22:10] no because yun naman yung kanyang advocacy so um yan naman ang gusto natin no um makabalik [22:17] sa trabaho and even si senator joel yesterday very clear naman yung kanyang uh direction is to go back [22:24] to work in fact she says thank you productive yesterday on the floor no uh sponsoring bills [22:30] um sponsoring resolutions and yan talaga ang trabaho namin we have to go back to our normal [22:36] programming yes i plan to reach out to all no uh to all after i've talked to senator camille villiar [22:44] yesterday we talked also kaya rin na appoint siya as chairman of the government corporations [22:49] uh committee which is a very important committee dahil uh we're also looking at implementing [22:55] bill uh and and kasama doon ng goccs yes dadating rin tayo done uh in fact we will have an all [23:05] senator caucus uh before the uh impeachment um personally wala pa no um wala pa naman but [23:18] uh uh yung mga ibang senators like si senator lauren um nag-usap kami kahapon at uh maganda na [23:24] mga usapan namin huwag na natin lagyan may mga lilipat pa bang mga ibang senador papunta po [23:31] sa majority sino sino po kaya i cannot preempt rin um kung ano yung kanilang uh mag-desisyon but [23:37] one thing for sure sa mga nakausap ko even in the minority uh they want to go back to work [23:43] no and uh and uh see uh center camille villiar um isa siya sa mga gusto nang to back up to work [23:50] sorry agaling ako jim [23:59] now wow now how [24:03] uh [24:12] um uh what's the question again ah well i don't want to put any meaning to that um [24:22] even before um uh the special session and the wagon tayo na dumalo ating mga kasamahan [24:29] uh mga important thing measures na pag-uusapan doon and very happy yesterday na yung ca no na [24:36] approve yung eighty five na dfa personnel and five generals in fact 85 was pahabol yun no uh [24:45] uh i have to thank si senator ping laxon kasi siya talaga nagponisyon ah yung original na uh [24:51] direction was the five generals but si center ping laxon ah pinush na yun malagay sa agenda kasi [24:57] um ang dfa kung hindi mako confirm mga ambasadors natin at ibang mga dfa personnel hindi magkakaroon tayo [25:04] ng representation sa ibang bansa yun iban naman hindi ma popromote no so nastol yung [25:10] promotions saka nastol yung uh mga uh diplomats natin sa iba't ibang embahada so uh i thank [25:18] senator laxon for for making sure that uh uh those 85 dfa personnels were confirmed no [25:31] senator alan uh questioning the june 3 session well uh naka file na yun sa supreme court no and um [25:39] nasa kamay na yan ng supreme court on how to deal with it so we'll leave it with them but should it be [25:43] mooted sir with your election as sp i cannot i cannot predict uh what the supreme court will uh [25:49] will um come out with no but the supreme court is uh it's a very fair body uh traditionally it [25:57] respected the um processes of the senate um so we'll leave it we'll leave it with them sir are you [26:05] confident that you will be able to hold on to your position until 2028 [26:09] kakaupo ko pa lang yun na kaga din kasi ako naman honestly i i serve at the pleasure of our [26:20] colleagues no uh hindi naman ako um kumbaga nasa kanila yun no sa mga sa mga colleagues natin and [26:30] um like kilala nyo naman ako whether senate president or not i will work for the filipino [26:36] people sir kasi ang ano sir ng public kung kakayanin pa ba after nang matapos yung binanggit [26:43] nyo nga senate flicks then another episode or another season ng senate flicks na naman in the [26:48] coming months um ako ang sentimento na nakukuha ko sa ating mga kasamahan gusto na nila rin bumalik [26:55] sa trabaho eh um stressful nangyari sa lahat eh hindi lang naman sa akin or sa uh ilan na center [27:04] lahat na na stress eh no so we wanna go back to the regular programming which is legislation [27:10] debates resolutions hindi kami mag agree on many things hindi rin kami magkaka [27:19] we will not have the same position on many things pero ang position namin is certain na [27:39] lahat kami gusto namin magtrabaho na hindi man kami mag agree on certain bills and resolutions but at [27:44] least na napagdebatihan natin at napag-usapan natin no at um kung maaprobahan mas maganda kung hindi [27:52] then that's legislation eh legislation is hindi lahat ng gusto mo nakukuha rin eh no so at least [27:58] napag-uusapan napagdebatihan sir will the committees be able to hold uh hearings yes they can [28:04] uh kahit na wala pa po yung ibang members is only one no so mag mayroon silang isang senator pwede [28:11] na silang mag mag mag hold ng hearings kahit wala pa pong assignment nung yung mga minority members [28:16] uh pwede na silang mag hold ng hearings ang um uh they can get information can conduct um [28:23] um um um pwede na silang mag-organ organization rin pwede na pwede na pwede na po yung trese kasi [28:36] considering the fact na medyo manipis pa of course we're very open majority is very open to welcoming [28:42] welcoming uh other senators to join the group um aming layunin ay magtrabaho to put uh [28:50] the senate back on track in terms of uh working on important bills and priority ko ngayon [28:56] ledak in fact later on i have a meeting with the the team to narrow down the ledak bills no kasi [29:02] we only have two years to go it ang cycle ng isang bill is more or less one year and a half to two [29:08] years alam nyo naman yan so we barely have enough time to finish the bill so kailangan talaga [29:13] ah kaya yesterday pag may bills talagang i talk to the chairman i talk to the people who will debate [29:20] para makita natin kung ano yung pwede nating solution and matapos yung bill pero sir sa style [29:25] ng leadership nyo meron bang in expect na major changes gusto ko in style ni senator cheese no malinis [29:35] yung banyo malinis yung garden malinis yung garden mabango yung senate in fact kausap kausap ko na nga [29:43] siya eh siningi ko sanin supplier niya ng pabango eh no so but but ang tao kasi lalo na mga bisita [29:51] natin naman nila alam yung rules of the senate eh ang first impression nila malinis ba yung banyo maganda [29:57] ba yung garden maliwanag ba yung ano yung senado so those are the basics nung mayor ako alam ni [30:03] atin nung mayor ako ganun rin ginagawa ko kasi image ng senado yan eh no so that's one thing i learned [30:09] from sp cheese ah na importante yung image it might be trivial no parang walang ah hindi importante [30:18] pero in the eyes of the public importante yan sp in case na ma-elect nga si sen cheese na [30:24] presiding officer na impeachment court bakit okay lang sayo ah sinasabi naman ng mga kasama mo na [30:29] competent let's let's wait guys kasi pag-uusapan pa yan no uh let's wait um will it will be a discussion [30:36] pero sir yung buy cam ng budget mananatiling talagang open sa public yes yes i talked to [30:41] center jv this morning at ah napag-usapan na namin yung budget process ah the buy cam will remain [30:49] open the documents will be uploaded like last time ah ah mga transcripts uploaded in real time so [30:59] lahat yan ah ipapapatuloy ni center jv sir ah kahapon po nagpost si congressman pulong duterte sabi [31:06] niya may info siya na naglabas na raw na may inisyo na na warrant ang icc for senator bongo if ever [31:13] lang sir na totoo yun and center bongo will seek the help of the senate can he expect the same yung [31:19] binigay kay senator bato na protective custody wala pa akong nakukuha information na ganun so it's very [31:25] difficult to um to um again it's very difficult to preempt um let's let's wait kung totoo nga yung [31:33] information na yun so sa ngayon sir di ba kasi parang sinasabi na kapag may session hindi pwedeng [31:40] mag-arresto sa senate may ganun ba ang asahan si senator ay akong magsalita in advance kung wala [31:46] pang information na mahirap no the situations vary um so it's very hard to answer and then iban [31:53] naman yung situation sir yung kay senator jingo estrada di ba nagbaba na yung sindikin bayan ng 90 [31:59] day suspension ang senate po ba kailangan pa yun na approve o automatic na yun yung kung ano yung [32:07] itong 90 day suspension hindi bago ito nangyari na ito in the past with other senators so kung ano yung [32:15] naging practice in the past and ano ang legal practice in the past yun ang susundan natin in this [32:23] case i haven't naging busy sa pretrial so i haven't really sat down with our legal team on how to go [32:31] about it but ang masasabi ko lang kung ano yung legal practice in the past yun ang susunda natin i'll give you [32:40] a straight answer pag nakuusap ko ng legal team separate pa ba yung sa impeachment yung role niya [32:48] as a senate as senator judge from what i understand pag suspended ka as a senator kasama na rin dun yung [32:55] being a senator judge so the suspension is to the senator and it carries with it all the [33:02] responsibilities as a senator including becoming a senator judge sir natanggap nyo na po you have to [33:12] you have to distinguish determination of the quorum and to convict these are two separate things [33:20] determination of the quorum is iba yun and determination to convict iba rin yun [33:32] ang quorum yes yes simple majority yeah okay guys [33:49] issue may mga senator na ano tapos daw yung bago ka may elect talaga [33:56] ang daming issues sana parang naisip mo ba sana mas better times na parang sana sana sana talaga [34:05] lahat naman tayo gusto natin to uh assume a role during better times di ba lahat naman tayo pero [34:12] nasa diyos yan eh no ito yung time na ibinigay sa akin ng diyos eh so uh i just have to [34:20] accept his will no so i i wish it was a better time a more harmonious [34:25] uh more less stressful but that wasn't the time given to me so i just have to accept that yes yes [34:37] yes they will have to submit the guest list ahead of time um and then says osaa para [34:47] uh alam nang osaa sino yung mga resource persons na ibat ibang committees okay naman eh we i monitored [34:54] the process okay naman very smooth naman yung ganon so we will request the chairman or the comsec the [35:00] committee secretaries to submit the guest list ahead of time no para maabangan sa ano but we will [35:06] also ang plano namin ni sergeant at arms is every end of the week uh tomorrow actually we'll have a uh [35:12] security briefing with the pnp and other agencies para malaman namin min status for the next week [35:18] no so we'll take this week by week sir more wala mo na except kung merong written request no [35:25] uh kagaya sa pre-trial uh uh in fairness sa mga senators they sent us a uh a uh list of names na gusto [35:34] nilang pumasok no so uh i appreciate the senators for cooperating with the protocols yes that is the [35:45] that is the biggest challenge the logistics portion kasi maliit ang senado eh uh ang pinaka problema [35:52] man natin dito space that is the biggest problem and prosecution gusto nila may uh may sarili silang [36:00] huddle room may sarili silang media room uh mayroon silang sariling staff ang defense ganun rin uh of [36:08] course in senators may sarili mga requirements so it's very difficult um and then under the constitution [36:15] dapat to the public so that's another security uh hazard so we need to um make do with our limited [36:24] space uh kaya ahhingi nga ako ng um pag-unawa sa inyo na yung movements will be very difficult the [36:32] space will be very difficult but we'll try our best to accommodate everyone no ang importante naman [36:38] safe maayos at orderly conduct ng impeachment uh sorry wala pa kaming final uh number not so much [36:49] no kasi dito lang naman yung uh yung gaganapin ang nakikita ko lang added uh question will be [36:56] probably additional security or um and food parang kanya-kanyang dala alam ko eh kanya-kanyang dala [37:07] no so not so much kasi ang maganda yung venue dito eh so hindi naman magiging mag-astos yun [37:13] na usap for the impeachment um preps ay afp pnp kasi may marines tayo dito we have a marine [37:22] contingent we have a 20 plus marine contingent here so dapat coordinated so kahapon if may mag picture [37:30] yata kahapon so hindi lang naman marines and doon ng mmda pasay lgu nika pnp uh afp [37:39] ah sino pa ba bfp fire no so marami sila yun ya sir bakit security forces sir yung kinausap [37:47] nyo for impeachment well um we have to admit that the uh personalities involved are political entities or [37:57] political personalities so we have to make sure na uh covered um security aspect nitong impeachment [38:07] uh proceedings no and like i said very limited in space ang constraint kasi dito space eh so uh so [38:14] inuna na namin emit itong logistics and security aspects [38:18] comment lang sa sinabi ni senator pinglakson na umabot daw ng 700 million yung nalustay in the past [38:25] weeks um dahil dun sa mga nangyaring kaguluhan walang nagboykot sa session walang hearings and paano [38:34] nyo po babawiin yung lost time and well kinumpute namin ang uh budget ng senado per day is about [38:42] 24.24 million almost 25 million no um that's to operate the senate the senate is a big institution we [38:51] have two thousand people may isang building tayo so if you count those days um those are the days na [38:58] naging unproductive um so uh kaya nasabi ko nga in one of our press cons na sayang yung pera na [39:07] ibinibayad ng tao sa sweldo sa kuryente so babawiin naman natin yan in the next few days so we'll [39:14] go back around to work uh back to work season hindi back to school back to work yes marami marami um [39:37] uh yung security uh any uh yung schedule yung outcome ng pre-trial uh uh conference [39:48] in pre-trial conference kasi we'll narrow down also the time so gano kahaba so and then it will [39:57] narrow down also the day itself kung kung sinong testigo ang ipapresenta anong evidence [40:04] siya ipapresenta so lahat yan on a per day nakalatag na yan so we will discuss that with [40:11] the senators yes what you mean also yeah i like i said no lahat naman ay sa mga nakakausap [40:29] but generally the senators just want to go back to work and uh itong impeachment is part of our [40:34] responsibilities out of under the constitution so um it's part of our work [40:40] sp sp sir mga magiging dalawa yung trabaho namin impeachment and um legislation [40:51] the sp yung parking ng senators bakit sarado interestingly bakit po hindi [40:55] um yung sa likod kasi walang x-ray machines saka walang metal detector [41:01] no so pinag-aaralan pa how to um how to secure that that entry [41:10] uh unlike dito sa harap uh may x-ray machines may metal detector at merong [41:16] registration ng guests no sa likod wala eh so we're starting [41:21] marami kami napuntahan na na uh halls of parliament napaka strict kahit na uh speaker of the house or [41:40] leader of the parliament dumadaan sa security protocols no um uh so because marami tayong [41:47] pinag-uusapan na very sensitive eh no so dapat lahat dumadaan sa the same security protocols [41:53] meron na ba kasing concern kasi ang nagpa-park lang naman ho doon senators and [41:58] ilang chief of chief of staff meron bang concern na pwedeng magdala ng baril or any [42:03] contraband well um pinag-aaralan namin how to secure all ingress and ingress pinapag-aaralan [42:11] natin uh dapat pagpasok ng building safe regardless kung sino ang papasok no and then sir [42:18] uh uh to secure all ingress and ingress pinapag-aaralan natin uh dapat pagpasok ng building safe [42:26] regardless kung sino ang papasok no and then sir uh um yung sa report nga ng doj that the senate was not [42:35] under attack no may 13 um binalak ko kasi nung during the um kayutahan [42:40] senate presidency binalak nila mag-hold ng hearings magkaroon ng investigation [42:44] ng sarili ang senate magkakaroon po ba ngayon [42:47] and may nisipis [43:02] well i think most of you have witnessed my last 10 years here um pati twg pinupuntahan natin [43:12] kasi ako para sa akin twg mas importante sa hearing kasi doon yung niti-griti ng bill [43:17] bill making eh so but i enjoy it no kasi natututo ako at uh nakikilala ko yung mga resource [43:25] persons so i think uh if i describe it kayo nila mag-describe no i think may [43:34] hirap self-serving kasi pag di-describe ko sarili ko eh noo [43:40] okay [43:42] last [43:48] wala pa we'll wait for the pre-trial [43:54] we'll be discussing that we'll be discussing wala pa [43:58] last si uh [43:59] uh [44:24] that uh [44:25] He cited the pronouncement of Ombudsman Boyeng Rimulyan that at least nine senators are at risk to be subjected to a probe. [44:34] So, he said that it could possibly derail the impeachment if all of that is going to be suspended. [44:41] Those are just, if I'm not mistaken, statements, hypothetical scenarios and statements. [44:48] So, it's hard to react to those type of comments if it's not going to happen. [44:52] And we cannot file to the Sandigan because we're not a party of interest. [44:57] It's between the respondent and also the state. [45:01] We're not going to be able to do that. [45:03] Okay, sir. So, there's no effort to file a motion? [45:05] No, no. [45:06] Thank you, sir. [45:07] All right. Thank you.