(TRANSCRIPT OF SENATOR RICHARD J. GORDON’S INTERVIEW WITH SENATE REPORTERS ON MOUNTING CALLS FOR GMA RESIGNATION, 2:00 PM, 8 JULY 2005, SENATE BLDG.)
Q: Sir at the time when political parties who are allied with the administration are saying that they do not support the President anymore and some members of the Cabinet have resigned and are saying the same, what is your political assessment?
GORDON: People should ask themselves and look at the seriousness of these people who are doing this because there is a Constitution that they voted and campaigned for. I did not vote for this Constitution but I swore to defend it. And the Constitution says, the President can resign, indeed, but she cannot be forcibly asked to resign. Second, if she resigns fine. We will support Vice President Noli de Castro and the process continues. If she does not resign then they must have an impeachment process and whether it’s fraud or not, that is what you have otherwise you are going to have two presidents claiming that they were removed illegally. Meaning Joseph Estrada saying “I won by my 30 percent as most popularly elected and was not impeached. I did not resign, I was forced to resign”. You are now going to have another one like this.
When I look at the parties, I have to question their motivation. The Liberal Party was around GMA two weeks ago. They were also showing allegiance to her. Now they are saying no. So to my mind, kailangang bantayan yan.
If you look at the process, I will not be able to sleep well if Noli de Castro is put there in office principally if it was done through force. Why? In the last two events that we have had, in EDSA 1 which was well motivated, there was a clear violation of the Constitution. The canvassers walked out. The church, military, Cory and the people were the common denominators. In the second EDSA, the church, Cory and the military again were there and again there was a clear violation. There was a very close person, identified with the former president who explained that he got money. Here now, there were tapped telephone conversations. We said, inadmissible in law, nonetheless she owed up to the fact that she called the COMELEC. Gloriously inappropriate, guilty of impropriety but the Jury is not out on whether she committed a crime and she can only be tried and removed by way of impeachment. That is the process. If we do not remove her that way then we are unstable. We are not predictable and people will not like us. So, it does not matter to me who is the president. The important part to me is that he or she is legally in office. That is to me what matters and that the rule of law is clear to the whole world.
The opposition will say the system is fraud. They will say “how can you expect these congressmen and senators to move because they are the majority”. But that is the system that we chose, that they voted for, that they campaigned for. The majority are the same people that were elected by the people. So who else are you going to trust if the opposition keep questioning it every time it doesn’t suite them?
Q. Even former President Cory Aquino is now asking for resignation?
GORDON: That is my point. If Cory is asking for resignation, what was she doing telling everybody to follow the constitutional process in a Constitution that was drafted by a Commission that she had called for? What is she doing talking to Susan Roces saying “relax lang, mayroon tayong Constitution” and now she is going to turn her back against that Constitution? When that happens, will Noli be able to sleep at night knowing the he can be intimidated by political forces around this country who dictate who is going to be president not by legal processes but by political processes? That is dangerous.
Right now we are hearing a lot of political noise. It is called “continues-un-channeled-partisan-political-hysteria”. We must learn to sift from that noise. Look at the intention of everyone. All of the sudden, you see former presidential candidates coming out. You can see former presidents coming out even suggesting that the Constitution be changed so that in 2006 we can all be parliamentarians as all people can be a prime minister. You have to look at this. The people of this country must learn to analyze. In this particular instance...we are the people in a labor case. We are the employer and our employee was caught stealing. “Ang sabi natin oh nagnakaw ka pero ang sabi niya hindi ako nagnakaw. Tinanggal ko siya ngayon at pagkatanggal niya ang sinabi niya ay unfair labor practice dahil hindi mo tinapos ang proseso. Dapat pumunta tayo doon sa labor arbiter para malaman natin kung ano ang tunay. Kailangang tapusin natin para sa ganoon kapag natapos natin ang proseso alam natin nakasara ang libro hindi iyung nakabitin tayo tulad ngayon”. Si Erap noong una ang sabi niya “Ayaw ko nang mag-presidente”. Tapos nang lumabas ang survey na naman ang sabi niya “Uy magpi-presedinte ako. Ako ang tunay na presidente”. Ang nangyayari talaga sa ating bayan kung tutuusin, we have learned to have a history of not following the process. Aguinaldo and Bonifacio, you cannot determine kung sino ang hero. The Collaborators, we have never really judged the collaborators during World War II. We never even have given justice to Wenceslao Vinzons and Jose Abad Santos for their supreme sacrifice under the Japanese. And we cannot do justice to Aquino and Marcos or the coup plotters of ‘87 and ‘89, to Estrada and now another one here.
So when is it going to end? It ends where it begins. It begins, therefore, with the Constitution. A piece of paper that is supposed to be the glue that puts us all together. The rules on which we govern ourselves. If we violate that, if we do not let the process come into play then nobody will respect this country. We will not respect ourselves. We cannot do that. We cannot say fraud yan. Hindi pwede because ako pinatay ang tatay ko ng mga taong pinalabas sa bilangguan. Hindi lamang isang beses siyang pinagtangkaan. Tatlong beses pa. Kung ang proseso ay masama at talagang masama ang proseso sapagkat matapos ma-convict yung mga maliliit na tao na pumatay sa tatay ko ay hindi naman na-convict yung mastermind kahit sinabi ng Supreme Court na hulihin ang mastermind kahit sinabi pa nila ang pangalan ay hindi hinuli. Worse na-commute pa ni Marcos and sentence nila. So sa susunod, nang pinatay ang pamangkin ko ng houseboy ng kapatid kon noong Mayor na ako “Wag na nating sundin ang batas, hindi naman maayos ang prosesong iyan eh. Barilin na lang natin anyway pinatay naman niya talaga yung pamangkin ko na 9-year old. Patayin na lang natin”. Ganoon ba ang gusto natin?
Sa Amerika, Si Michael Jackson, alam ng lahat na pedophile talaga. Bakit noong matapos ang proseso ay tapos na. Tulad ni OJ Simpson. Si Gore at si Bush, nanalo si Gore sa popular vote pero natalo sa electoral vote. Noong sinabi ng Korte Suprema na panalo si Bush, tinanggap ang proseso. Dito walang katapusan ang proseso sapagkat walang pumapayag maatalo sapagkat dinaya palagi kaya kailangan tapusin natin at magpakulong tayo ng mga mandaraya at tiyak matatapos ang proseso.
ON VICE-PRESIDENT DE CASTRO:
We cannot strengthen our country if we do not put the Constitution to a test. Habang hindi natin nagagawa iyon ay walang mangyayari sa ating bayan. Hindi makakatulog si Vice President Noli. I will support Noli kung magresign si Gloria. Eventually kung ma-impeach si Gloria I will support Noli. Segurado at walang problema yan. Pero may duda ang suporta kapag ganoon ang mangyayari na isasantabi ang proseso sapagkat yung ginawa kay Gloria ay gagawin din sa kanya.
How can Noli sleep at night knowing that certain sectors of the church and certain sectors of the military go together and remove him by intimidating him or by starting something like from the opposition, like in the previous cases and then gathering up the forces. No trial. Resign ka. Baba ka.
Q. Sir, si Senate President Franklin Drilon nakapag-usap ba kayo?
GORDON: Tinawagan ko siya. We call each other. We are friends. We can be civilized.
Q. Are you against sa move ng Liberal Party which he heads calling for resignation?
GORDON: Ang ayaw ko lang bakit tayo parang balingbing. Hindi ba two weeks ago sabi nila they are supporting the President. It was very well published and on television. Yung mga leaders natin, dati ang position proseso, ngayon all of the sudden baligtad. Bakit na-prove na bang guilty?
Q. Sir kaya pa bang i-retain ni PGMA ang sitwasyon ito?
GORDON: Hindi si GMA ang problema. Ang sinasabi kong problema natin dito, please understand me very clearly, I am railing not against personalities, not really against Senate President Drilon. I am railing against the system that we have put ourselves in. Against the culture of political opportunism. Against putting our fate on the winds of political partisan hysteria.
Q. Sir, what is your advise to the President?
GORDON: Do what her conscience tells her to do. If she wants to resign, resign. If she doesn’t want to resign and she says she is not guilty, the system allows her to face up to the impeachment proceedings.
END.
Q: Sir at the time when political parties who are allied with the administration are saying that they do not support the President anymore and some members of the Cabinet have resigned and are saying the same, what is your political assessment?
GORDON: People should ask themselves and look at the seriousness of these people who are doing this because there is a Constitution that they voted and campaigned for. I did not vote for this Constitution but I swore to defend it. And the Constitution says, the President can resign, indeed, but she cannot be forcibly asked to resign. Second, if she resigns fine. We will support Vice President Noli de Castro and the process continues. If she does not resign then they must have an impeachment process and whether it’s fraud or not, that is what you have otherwise you are going to have two presidents claiming that they were removed illegally. Meaning Joseph Estrada saying “I won by my 30 percent as most popularly elected and was not impeached. I did not resign, I was forced to resign”. You are now going to have another one like this.
When I look at the parties, I have to question their motivation. The Liberal Party was around GMA two weeks ago. They were also showing allegiance to her. Now they are saying no. So to my mind, kailangang bantayan yan.
If you look at the process, I will not be able to sleep well if Noli de Castro is put there in office principally if it was done through force. Why? In the last two events that we have had, in EDSA 1 which was well motivated, there was a clear violation of the Constitution. The canvassers walked out. The church, military, Cory and the people were the common denominators. In the second EDSA, the church, Cory and the military again were there and again there was a clear violation. There was a very close person, identified with the former president who explained that he got money. Here now, there were tapped telephone conversations. We said, inadmissible in law, nonetheless she owed up to the fact that she called the COMELEC. Gloriously inappropriate, guilty of impropriety but the Jury is not out on whether she committed a crime and she can only be tried and removed by way of impeachment. That is the process. If we do not remove her that way then we are unstable. We are not predictable and people will not like us. So, it does not matter to me who is the president. The important part to me is that he or she is legally in office. That is to me what matters and that the rule of law is clear to the whole world.
The opposition will say the system is fraud. They will say “how can you expect these congressmen and senators to move because they are the majority”. But that is the system that we chose, that they voted for, that they campaigned for. The majority are the same people that were elected by the people. So who else are you going to trust if the opposition keep questioning it every time it doesn’t suite them?
Q. Even former President Cory Aquino is now asking for resignation?
GORDON: That is my point. If Cory is asking for resignation, what was she doing telling everybody to follow the constitutional process in a Constitution that was drafted by a Commission that she had called for? What is she doing talking to Susan Roces saying “relax lang, mayroon tayong Constitution” and now she is going to turn her back against that Constitution? When that happens, will Noli be able to sleep at night knowing the he can be intimidated by political forces around this country who dictate who is going to be president not by legal processes but by political processes? That is dangerous.
Right now we are hearing a lot of political noise. It is called “continues-un-channeled-partisan-political-hysteria”. We must learn to sift from that noise. Look at the intention of everyone. All of the sudden, you see former presidential candidates coming out. You can see former presidents coming out even suggesting that the Constitution be changed so that in 2006 we can all be parliamentarians as all people can be a prime minister. You have to look at this. The people of this country must learn to analyze. In this particular instance...we are the people in a labor case. We are the employer and our employee was caught stealing. “Ang sabi natin oh nagnakaw ka pero ang sabi niya hindi ako nagnakaw. Tinanggal ko siya ngayon at pagkatanggal niya ang sinabi niya ay unfair labor practice dahil hindi mo tinapos ang proseso. Dapat pumunta tayo doon sa labor arbiter para malaman natin kung ano ang tunay. Kailangang tapusin natin para sa ganoon kapag natapos natin ang proseso alam natin nakasara ang libro hindi iyung nakabitin tayo tulad ngayon”. Si Erap noong una ang sabi niya “Ayaw ko nang mag-presidente”. Tapos nang lumabas ang survey na naman ang sabi niya “Uy magpi-presedinte ako. Ako ang tunay na presidente”. Ang nangyayari talaga sa ating bayan kung tutuusin, we have learned to have a history of not following the process. Aguinaldo and Bonifacio, you cannot determine kung sino ang hero. The Collaborators, we have never really judged the collaborators during World War II. We never even have given justice to Wenceslao Vinzons and Jose Abad Santos for their supreme sacrifice under the Japanese. And we cannot do justice to Aquino and Marcos or the coup plotters of ‘87 and ‘89, to Estrada and now another one here.
So when is it going to end? It ends where it begins. It begins, therefore, with the Constitution. A piece of paper that is supposed to be the glue that puts us all together. The rules on which we govern ourselves. If we violate that, if we do not let the process come into play then nobody will respect this country. We will not respect ourselves. We cannot do that. We cannot say fraud yan. Hindi pwede because ako pinatay ang tatay ko ng mga taong pinalabas sa bilangguan. Hindi lamang isang beses siyang pinagtangkaan. Tatlong beses pa. Kung ang proseso ay masama at talagang masama ang proseso sapagkat matapos ma-convict yung mga maliliit na tao na pumatay sa tatay ko ay hindi naman na-convict yung mastermind kahit sinabi ng Supreme Court na hulihin ang mastermind kahit sinabi pa nila ang pangalan ay hindi hinuli. Worse na-commute pa ni Marcos and sentence nila. So sa susunod, nang pinatay ang pamangkin ko ng houseboy ng kapatid kon noong Mayor na ako “Wag na nating sundin ang batas, hindi naman maayos ang prosesong iyan eh. Barilin na lang natin anyway pinatay naman niya talaga yung pamangkin ko na 9-year old. Patayin na lang natin”. Ganoon ba ang gusto natin?
Sa Amerika, Si Michael Jackson, alam ng lahat na pedophile talaga. Bakit noong matapos ang proseso ay tapos na. Tulad ni OJ Simpson. Si Gore at si Bush, nanalo si Gore sa popular vote pero natalo sa electoral vote. Noong sinabi ng Korte Suprema na panalo si Bush, tinanggap ang proseso. Dito walang katapusan ang proseso sapagkat walang pumapayag maatalo sapagkat dinaya palagi kaya kailangan tapusin natin at magpakulong tayo ng mga mandaraya at tiyak matatapos ang proseso.
ON VICE-PRESIDENT DE CASTRO:
We cannot strengthen our country if we do not put the Constitution to a test. Habang hindi natin nagagawa iyon ay walang mangyayari sa ating bayan. Hindi makakatulog si Vice President Noli. I will support Noli kung magresign si Gloria. Eventually kung ma-impeach si Gloria I will support Noli. Segurado at walang problema yan. Pero may duda ang suporta kapag ganoon ang mangyayari na isasantabi ang proseso sapagkat yung ginawa kay Gloria ay gagawin din sa kanya.
How can Noli sleep at night knowing that certain sectors of the church and certain sectors of the military go together and remove him by intimidating him or by starting something like from the opposition, like in the previous cases and then gathering up the forces. No trial. Resign ka. Baba ka.
Q. Sir, si Senate President Franklin Drilon nakapag-usap ba kayo?
GORDON: Tinawagan ko siya. We call each other. We are friends. We can be civilized.
Q. Are you against sa move ng Liberal Party which he heads calling for resignation?
GORDON: Ang ayaw ko lang bakit tayo parang balingbing. Hindi ba two weeks ago sabi nila they are supporting the President. It was very well published and on television. Yung mga leaders natin, dati ang position proseso, ngayon all of the sudden baligtad. Bakit na-prove na bang guilty?
Q. Sir kaya pa bang i-retain ni PGMA ang sitwasyon ito?
GORDON: Hindi si GMA ang problema. Ang sinasabi kong problema natin dito, please understand me very clearly, I am railing not against personalities, not really against Senate President Drilon. I am railing against the system that we have put ourselves in. Against the culture of political opportunism. Against putting our fate on the winds of political partisan hysteria.
Q. Sir, what is your advise to the President?
GORDON: Do what her conscience tells her to do. If she wants to resign, resign. If she doesn’t want to resign and she says she is not guilty, the system allows her to face up to the impeachment proceedings.
END.
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