benigno aquino iii podcast transcript

8/14/2019 Benigno Aquino III Podcast Transcript

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Benigno Aquino III, podcast interview transcript, part 1

http://eleksyon2007.inquirer.net/view.php?article=20070226-51739

February 26, 2007

Editor's Note: What follows is the first part of a preliminary transcriptof the Eleksyon2007 podcast interview with senatorial candidateBenigno Aquino III.

JV Rufino : Welcome to the Election 2007 podcast. Our guest for thispodcast is Congressman Benigno Aquino III. Aquino is running forsenator under the Genuine Opposition Slate.

Welcome to the show, Congressman.

Benigno Aquino III : Thank you for having me.

JV Rufino : Our first question will be from Maila Ager.

Maila Ager: Hi sir, this is Maila Ager, covering the House ofRepresentatives. First question is what made you decide to run for theSenate?

Benigno Aquino III : The Senate is the one of two, I think, remaininginstitutions that have proven an effective check with the excesses thatwe feel the current administration is doing on the Filipino people.

The other institution, of course, is [the] Supreme Court--and there willbe even if I don't run a new composition with regards to the Senate forSenate President Franklin Drilon will be ending his term come June 30;and, as you know he has been at the forefront of our party [the LiberalParty-ed] in trying to uphold our democratic principles and ideasduring the spirit of crisis that our country is facing.

So, we feel that if we don't put up a fight for that position it mighteven change the effectivity of the Senate as an effective check-and-balance mechanism.


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Maila Ager: Are there expectations from you because...being the son ofa former president [Corazon C. Aquino-ed], the son of the late,martyred senator [Benigno Aquino Jr. whose assassination in 1983 led

to the downfall of the Marcos dictatorship-ed], and, you know, fromthe Aquino clan.

Benigno Aquino III : Not only from the family--everything that we'vedone is assumed to have been a given--but more so from other peoplewho...Others who find themselves--other politicians who findthemselves--in my same situation...there have been several instanceswhen their staffs--their staff rather--have mentioned that you are notan Aquino [and that] you don't have to go to that this extreme of

fighting this current regime. And I was saying, is that--should that--bethe case?

Am I something special, exceptional or the exceptions to the rule?There should be a fight, given the fact that it's in everybody's interest.Everybody should be participative in this current crisis that ourdemocracy is facing.

So in terms of expectations...I have [said] long ago, I will not be able tosurpass what my parents have accomplished, which frees me from thepressures that I would have had in trying to overcome theirachievements, which in turn I think leads to an efficiency in terms offulfilling my duties at this point in time.

I'm not concentrated or concerned with any other factors rather thanjust being able to do the best job that I can. I think I am a combinationalready of both the traits of my parents.

My father was...tended to be...Though he wasn't dictatorial, he wassuch a perfect convincer of people that everybody was persuaded as tothe validity of his views. Even though he had decided beforehand on aquestion that he proposed to everybody, at the end of the sessioneverybody felt that they were part and parcel in making that decision.


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My mother's style has always been consensus-generating. And I thinkI'm somewhere in the middle of both, trying to get the best traits ofboth and trying to be even more efficient in terms of championing theadvocacies that I have fought for all this time.

Again, I tend to be more--I'd like to be as thoroughly prepared on anysubject, whereas my father seemed to be like, well, not the most intenseexpert of all subject matters, but he gave that impression to anybody.

So before I'm more deliberative and perhaps even more--how should Iput it?--I want to be even surer of any position that I take before I starthaving an advocacy, on any particular issues.

So there are differences but at the same time there are, very greatsimilarities amongst all of us, especially given the fact that a lot of myperspectives on the world, on this country, on these issues, system ofgovernment, were formed due their influences.

Maila Ager: What took you so long to run for a national post?

Benigno Aquino III : We had several problems in Tarlac. There are ofcourse also the political mix that has existed from 98. The first personwho was convincing me to run for the Senate was former president[Joseph] Estrada. And I told him that being a neophyte congressman,in fact I felt I wasn't ready. Come 2004, like a lot of the populace, wefelt we had--'di ba?--parang choices that were not inspiring.

I somehow decided to choose the lesser of evils and I didn't want to bebeholden to a group or a person that I wasn't exactly sure of.

Now I feel that with the current crisis, to do otherwise would be to bea traitor to the legacy of my parents and everybody who sacrificed forus to get to this stage, and it is high time that we continue again theeffectivity of the Senate--to be an effective check and balance on theexcesses that are being perpetrated now.

Maila Ager: So if you get elected in the Senate, how are you going todefine your term?


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Benigno Aquino III : Well, number one, I'd like to try and explore thepossibility together with the allies in the House of going back intomaking the budgetary process an effective means in achieving that

check and balance.

Something as simple as, well, not really, simple in concept, but hard intrying to put into process. The idea of line-item budgeting. Whereas, asyou know...intelligence funds for instance. The very first resolution Ifiled in the House was for us to have an intelligence oversightcommittee.

And after nine years we have to yet single hearing on that proposal. In

order that we know...year in year out, we have to approve intelligencebudget of over 20 different agencies and offices in government. Andnot one member in the House--not the chairman of appropriations, notthe Speaker--would be privy to what these funds are going to.

And I felt that that was an indirect violation if not the letter--the spiritof the Constitution, which says that we are responsible directly becausewe are the only agency of government, the House of Representativeswho is, where appropriation can emanate from.

But really again, any time a budget is proposed to us it will be as muchas possible no lump-sum figures. We want to be able to specify exactlywhere everything is going. And in that sense, really support policies ofgovernment that we feel are worthwhile supporting and at the sametime suppress activities that are detrimental to the people.

That is easier said than done--I realize that--but you know, in theSenate, you will have less people to convince. Of course, harder toconvince, but definitely freer people than the House, which is subjectto so many pressures from the Executive. That is one.

The other is, of course, the idea of continuing in the tradition of theSenate of enlightening the people, which is the first step towardsorganizing them towards concerted action for issues like the fertilizerscam.


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I'm wondering if the bio-fuels program right now, which seems to beconfusing a lot of people in the whole country, is the next version ofthe so-called fertilizer scam. And just to point out one thing, whereas

you are embarking on the new strategy of addressing the energyquestion, you are embarking on several roads at the same time beingthat you are promoting several plants. When you say several, Iunderstand that it is more than five. And of course, there is that truismthat you cannot be master of all of these at the same time, if youembark on trying to learn all of them at the same time.

Also the idea of processing for all of these plants was not extant untilabout I think three weeks ago when somebody said that there are

thinking of setting a processing plant in Davao. So at the end of theday by next year after, I understand there are several hundreds ofmillions in the budget this year ear mark for propagating all of these socalled plants for bio-fuels. I wonder if next year they will be explainingwhy this bio-fuel program is not working out. We're in February now.I assume by March next year, there will be reasons of either a droughtor typhoon, and so on and so forth.

So that would be something that, again, the Senate in its role as ameans for checking the work of the Executive should be able to do.You know, and when going back to the budget, you know the choicebefore us this year was re-enacted budget or a budget that will give theexecutive practically everything they wanted, the way they wanted it.And that I think has to be really, we really have to work that out andalso the CA [Commission on Appointments] is another issue.

It might--we might be in conformity with the letter in terms of thosebeing bypassed, being reappointed. But the practice has been thatpeople who have been bypassed continuously should not be entitled tothat position --the spirit of the law is a secretary can sit only withconcurrence by the Commission of Appointments. And being bypassedand getting the concurrence are not exactly the same thing. So onewould want to see the CA be more effective. And again, that would bewill closer cooperation with the House and try to explore how do youmake these two main means of providing a check and balance effective.


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Maila Ager: Since you are running under the opposition ticket andonce you get elected in the Senate, you will be allied with theopposition, are we going to see you changing lanes along the road?

Benigno Aquino III : Well, if it becomes a different administrationprobably, at some point in time. But seriously, if the issue is thatjoining one group or another, I'm a candidate to the Liberal Partyprimarily. We find ourselves allied with those who are questioning thegovernance of the current administration, but at the end of the day, weare...we owe our primary loyalty to the people.

And whomsoever should be serving their interest best, will be those

that we will ally ourselves with. And to a large degree the currentcomposition of the Senate is that it cannot be considered in any way apro-administration slate.

So, if at all we are all successful, we will be maintaining that facet ofthe Senate so that again there will be a need for the Executive toconvince other branches of government as to the validity of its policiesor programs.

Maila Ager: So as long as the President is there, you will be

Benigno Aquino III : We're not making it personal. So long as theyembark on the same method of governance, on this form ofgovernment--what does that mean?

After we left in July of 2005, there were emissaries that were sent andasking for reconciliation. And what the minimum that we asked was,we have certain issues? Why don't at least review whether or not ourissues are valid? And at the end of the day, if you think we're wrong,then I think it should be intrinsic upon you to correct what we havebeen showing are valid issues.

Now, if in case after review we are proven wrong, then there are nomore issues that are--should--separate us.


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The sad part is they didn't even bother to review any of the issues.Specifically the North Rail was one topic that I discussed with oneemissary. And I explained what our issues were. And in fact hepractically agreed with everything I said. And he was trying to give me

some justification for going on this route that is so detrimental to thepeople.

And I said, in final analysis, how can I be true to the people and agreewith what you're doing to them? So up to this date, and that was liketwo years ago, we have yet to see them even attempting to reviewwhether or not they are embarking on the right path.

In direct answer to the North Rail question, they will be, they're

contemplating something like at least five new rails systems in additionto the North Rail; and I'm asking: If they're going to do the samemethod that they do to North Rail, then they did not only [not] try andlisten to the validity and tried to determine whether we had a validpoint, but in fact they will go even more headlong into activities thatare clearly detrimental to the people, and in violation of so manydifferent laws.

Maila Ager: OK, thank you sir.

Alex Villafania : Sir, good evening, Alex Villafania fromINQUIRER.net.

Benigno Aquino III : Yes, good evening.

Alex Villafania : Sir, my first question: What Philippine laws do youthink should be amended or repealed?

Benigno Aquino III : 'Yung wire tapping, for me, is one of the issues.

I think we should also review the mechanism for setting up wageincreases through the Regional Wage Adjudication Board which hasnot pleased anybody, not the bosses nor the labor component.


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I have a bill pending in the House right now which mandates amandatory increase, I mean a mandatory profit sharing scheme. Andvarious things here are auditors that will be outside or internal auditorsselected by labor from a list approved by government; and then again,

the basic concept is try to get everybody focused on trying to make thepie from which they share upon bigger.

There is of course the 'yung the whole issue of graft and corruptionamongst other agencies sa AFP [Armed Forces of the Philippines] andDND [Department of National Defense].

For the past, I think, seven years already, I've had a special provisioninserted into the general appropriations act mandating the bidding.

And though there has been some movement already towards reformingdistribution --for instance of their fuel, making sure that there'sconversation and so on and so forth--they have not actually undergonebidding up to now. And of course, that is something that various otheragencies of government should be looking into because I think there isa violation of a pertinent law, which is that special provision.

Again more checks for the intelligence funds and another thing: areview of the agrarian reform law. The agrarian reform programs aresupposed to last for 10 years. By next year I think it will be 20 already--there's an extension.

DAR [Department of Agrarian Reform] is asking for another extensionof at least five years. And I', worried...that land in the Philippines issupposed to be a finite element, but suddenly they have been sayingthat they have discovered--or recently discovered--more than should besubject to the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program, and thishappens on the 19th year of the program.

And given the fact that land does not beget land. How can they havenot put it in the inventory to begin with? That is one question.

And of course, by extending it, all of the issues attendant to it ay 'yungmga so-called, scandals, scams regarding conversion issues of theretainment by farmer beneficiaries.


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Insolvency of the lending institutions like the Land Bank who haveadvanced "x" amount of pesos already. See, if it's a success or failure--for generally it is perceived to be a failure--and then re-enact, come up

with the new scheme embodied in a new law that will do away withthe errors of the previous agrarian reform program.

So that at the end of the day, our farmers will really be able to benefitfrom it. As you know, lack of funding for things like forming theircooperatives. You have to spend two years of community organizingbefore you get a viable community organization. That didn't happen.

Things like 'yung massive technical support, or even 'yung credit

support should also be put into--should also be reviewed and be mademore efficient, is also another one.

But more so, I guess the primary work that I'll be doing in the Senate ifelected will be to watch in all of these programs that are beingundertaken by this government.

'Yung, the highlight of this year's General Appropriations Act is,seemingly the mess and the jumble that they're doing with it. Forinstance, under the DILG budget there is supposed to be a provisionfor capital outlay for equipment purchases. So I asked what equipmentwere envisioned to purchased, and they answered medical equipment.

So I was kind of perplexed why the DILG [Department of Interior andLocal Government-ed] would be buying medical equipment, andanyway it is not an expert. I understand this it is partly a grant of fromthe Spanish government, but you go back to what is the expertise ofthe DILG with regards to medical equipment.

The DSWD [Department of Social Welfare and Development-ed]would be tasked to handle micro-financing, which again is not a corefacility or core skill of the DSWD. The DepEd [Department ofEducation-ed] will be part of a feeding or tuition program, primarilyrice, and you wonder whether that would be best left to the nutritionboard for instance or the Department of Health.


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So one is hard put to understand what exactly the scheme ofgovernnance is. And that has to be looked into. As you know, thebudget is a primary tool whereby you can withdraw or augment funds,

augment for the things that you feel are worthwhile and withdrawfrom things are not good for the people. So that again would be ourprimary focus.

One would want to revisit a lot of our laws, and go into, for instance,a recodification of the Revised Penal Code (because even our lawyersare already confused), but there are more urgent concerns. Like 'yungthe investigations of the fertilizer scam previously, the North Rail, theextra-judicial killings now, and with the end view of how you stop all

of these things that are wrong.

So that will be--a lot of the focus will be on that.


INQUIRER.netFirst Posted 17:24:00 02/26/2007

Alex Villafania : Sir, does it mean that you're going to be...you will becoming up with bills or perhaps pushing for laws that would eventuallycover the issues that you mentioned?

Benigno Aquino III : Well, I already have filed in the House variousmeasures. In fact, this last Congress is been the only one that we havebeen, not as prolific, primarily because after we got re-elected in 2004,by 2005 you're already engaged in this impeachment battles, all of thebudget fights, you have all of the charter change forms that they haveattempted to perpetrate for all of us.

I think I will have to re-file mandatory profit sharing bill that I filed inthe House, primarily because it has fallen by the wayside. Theintelligence oversight committee for the House will be filed by allies in


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the House in time because the Senate already has an intelligenceoversight committee.

The agrarian reform package, the revision of the Agrarian Reform Law

or an amendment to it, is being studied primarily, at this point byvarious consultants in both legal...and those who are experts as far asagrarian reform is concerned.

And I'm sure there will be a lot also with regards 'yun sa urban poor,which again is another concern. And again also something for theyouth, there is a scheme for instance whereby how do we achieve peacein Mindanao? I understand one of the primary problems is [that] a lotof the people [who] are holding [the] reigns of power in both sides are

those who are engaged in tense conflicts during the past...for over 30years.

To the point that they are no longer...the trust that is necessary to getat least to the first stage of any serious agreement is impossible becauseof the intense distrust.

So one of the proposals is to have a cross-pollination. We will getstudents from the area, set them up in various urban areas, inChristian-dominated areas. Let them develop their old boy network orthe barkadas amongst 'yung Christian youth.

And the reverse, send some of your Christian youths to mostly Muslimareas and thereby get the next generation into trusting each other,which is the necessary call for any long-lasting agreement amongst thewarring factions.

So bills that will enable the government to do that, are also beingformulated at this point in time. Then, kasi there are so many things,especially, if there is no need to keep on checking the government ofthis current administration. But going...having said that, one of theroles that I think I've always been playing is fiscalizing, andunfortunately there seems to be more and more calls to effectivelycheck and fiscalize this current administration, and one could onlyhope that sana we could have really move on, no?


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But unfortunately, instead of addressing the issues, they either, di ba,change the issues under discussion, or they keep on continuing whathas been wrong already to begin with. And those of us who are

opposed to that particular system, that view of point of getting us backto the pre-EDSA days, will find themselves more and more in the fightto preserve the gains of EDSA.

Alex Villafania : Sir, right now the Catholic Church is a major powerin Philippine elections. Right now there--it has been adamant regardingseveral issues for example reproductive health, the use of condoms toprevent HIV, even gay and lesbian right. For example, marriage of gaysand lesbians. Sir, will you be pushing for--of course--such issues

na...that the Catholic church is opposed to?

Benigno Aquino III : 'Yung, my position with regards to reproductivehealth has been that, first thing, we must admit that there was aproblem, there's a population.... Let us also admit that there seems tobe dearth of knowledge, it does seek parang value formation.

For instance, even in my own circle, I have one of my security menwho has eight children. And unfortunately, for whatever reason, heand his wife started remembering that they would have to educatethem even up to the college level a year before the eldest was about toenter college, and his comment was, 'mahal pala magpa-aral sa collegeno?'

At that point in time, and he had thee children already by now. So, andof course what? Seventeen or eighteen when you get into college, and Iasked him: In eighteen years you never thought that there would comea time when you will have to spend so much money to educate yourchildren. And he says in effect na somehow it escaped our attention.

So in my district, there is a family that I understan...I'll try to get itright...I think he has 16 children, eh. He has only one wife, and thatseems so unusual, no? But specially, when 'yung the reason given isthat it's nightfall [and] there is nothing left to do except to procreateraw. But anyway, 'yung--


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Alex Villafania : He has several twins?

Benigno Aquino III : Oh, but 16 children, that is no joke, no! So, I

think the state should be part and parcel of educating all our familiesna, when you have children, there so much responsibilities, no? 'Yungfeeding, clothing, 'yung sheltering, 'yung educating, and so on and soforth, no? So the State should come in. Then at the same time the ideaof trying to plan your family so those to put into place...

As to methods of planning, there are family planning, it should bethe...it should be...the state should be out of it. These are your choices,then, at the end of the day, you, as a free citizen, in a democratic

country, basing it on your conscience, basing it on the beliefs of hischurch, should be left alone to decide on what is appropriate for youand your family, OK.

As far as the other issue, same sex marriage, in that sense, I'm not veryliberal. I'm kind of conservative. I believe nobody should bediscriminated against. We were told by a professor--the name escapesme now--but the proposed first nominee for the party-list Ladlad, whoI was with in a forum--that there was somebody who was very, veryqualified and who passed everything until she got to the interviewportion, and she admitted that she was a lesbian and that was the solereason for her being disqualified.

I don't' agree that that should be a basis, and that [should] really belooked into.

As far as same-sex marriage, I really would want to think about that alot more give the fact that my focus would be always on the child. Theinnocent should not be given more even burdens than what isabsolutely necessary.

So for instance, if somebody undertakes an abortion, I've always hadthe perspective that the right of the child even supersedes the right ofthe mother. Because that child was not a party of the decision that led


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to that unwanted pregnancy, and therefore should not be the primaryfocus of having to pay the price for it.

So as far as that issue is concerned, I don't know. At this point in time,

I don't think I will be a proponent of same-sex marriage. That I willprobably be even an advocate of trying to quote unquote Give thechild a better, a more normal environment, no? So as to give him thesame opportunities that I have. Given the increasingly complex worldwe will be find ourselves in. I'm sorry. I forgot the other issue?

Alex Villafania : The use of condoms to prevent HIV and AIDS.

Benigno Aquino III : At the end of the day, no, even the Catholic

church, the way I was taught, tells [that it is ] your conscience [that] isthe final arbiter of what you should or you should not do. You have anobligation to listen to the Churchs teachings. You have an obligationto hear from the community of your Church is made of. But the end ofthe day, it would be again, your conscience, and the State should notbe dictating your conscience to you.

'Yung, I think violative of the freedom of religion provision of ourConstitution. So I cannot impose my set of beliefs on somebody. I cantry to convince somebody else of my beliefs, but I should not beimposing.

Alex Villafania : All right sir, for my last question. In your simplestexplanation, or strategy, what plans do you have to adjust thedeteriorating educational system?

Benigno Aquino III : Like any other problem in this country it is achicken-and-egg question. I'm an economist by training, so that tendsto be my method of attack.

When you have very scarce resources, it is even more crucial to ensurethat you get the most bang for each peso you spend. So when you getinto projects like the North Rail, the PNCC [Philippine NationalConstruction Corporation--ed] renewal of franchise deal, this bio-fuels,


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fertilizer scams, etcetera, etcetera. That was so much wastage thatcould have gotten into the education system.

How do we change it? I'm not an expert into the fault of the education

system. In my district, we have tried to provide them the facilitiesnecessary to have at least the environment of a good education. Webuilt close to about 350 classrooms already.

The cooperation that was existed...yun...some of my role models areteachers in Marikina Public Schools System, who had to undertakesecond jobs away from school. Meaning they had stores in the market,etcetera, to provide their own school with encyclopedias; sometimes,they will have pads and pencils that they were giving their students.

So in terms of a cadre that is very very dedicated, knowledgeable,etcetera, we have that. There seems to be...there should be a refocus ofthe educational system that does not train them to get into jobs thatare non-existent.

Perhaps, even from the primary level we can already start going tocourses like ...give them technical skills, greater abilities in math, sothat they can have access to, syempre, the growing IT field amongstother things. Engineering degrees, and so on and so forth.

At the end of the day, like a core philosophy of mine is that a publicservant is not the dictator, nor the boss, eh, in a democracy, orpreserving the democracy. At the end of the day you are aware first ofyour limitations.

Number two, your need to talk to the experts and to the targetclientele. They are the ones who will--and I try to practice that in mydistrict--you will know the problem; you will probably have the bestsolutions. Then, my job as your servant is to try and facilitate andexpedite the solutions that seemingly is the best to all of these. Not[that] one person who claims to be an expert of all things will also be aperson who's truthful.


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First is, to any real solutions, an admission for where you're weak. Soin that case, is in lot of other areas. Talk to the experts and try andrevisit what has already been done, to ensure that you do not repeatthe past mistakes and really must try to move on forward.

Alex Villafania : Sir, regarding education and IT as we've alreadytouched on the subject. Many graduates, college graduates, right noware working as call center agents, and being a call center agent does notreally entail graduating from a very specific course. Do you support thecall for more graduates to actually work in call centers right now?

Benigno Aquino III : Well, at this point in time, when we have such ahigh unemployment rate, I don't think we can really be choosy. Which

indicates also, why with the mistakes we have, that we are not givingthem any other opportunities.

For instance, I find it hard to reconcile the fact that a country that canproduce a malicious [computer] virus called I Love You that was theconsternation of everybody in this whole world...cannot re-channelthat energy in that drive that creativity to something more productive.

So, there's seems to be a discontinuity in our basic abilities...perhapsour education system, the value formation aspect, the opportunities, sothat we can achieve the potentials, the fullest potentials of what isintrinsic in us.

So, babalik--review--what are the focus of our IT schools for instance.Why is India so successful? Why have been able to re-attract theirimmigrants who have gone on to Silicon Valley, and have gone back toIndia.

Can we not do the same thing? Can we not? There are so many thingsthat can be done. And again, a core philosophy is I will not dictate onanybody, I'm open to all ideas and that would seem to be the mostpossible and most promising, should be supported.

Alex Villafania : Thank you, sir.


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Benigno Aquino III : Thank you.

Tetch Torres : Hi, sir. I'm Tetch Torres.

Benigno Aquino III : Hello.

Tetch Torres : Justice reporter from INQUIRER.net. Sir, my firstquestion would be what do you see as the country's three mostpressing problems? And what solutions can you propose?

Benigno Aquino III : Well, as an economist, it has something to dowith the economy, and the idea of so many people really being in aperpetual state of want. The idea that, you know, the stereotype is a

family in Metro Manila or any other urban area, sharing one bowl ofnoodles as the daily sustenance and any wonder what happens to thatfamily down the line? When there is not sufficient nutrition?

The other is the numbers of yung OFWs that the country is deploying.Officially it's about nine million. But we understand it's even morethan that. Then you wonder of course. They make such a contributionright now but 10-15 years from now specially for those that don't haveboth parents...I wonder what the country will be paying in terms ofsocietal problems 10, 15 years from now.

And of course, in the political sphere, we really are in an effective stateof limbo, primarily because there's so may questions and issues thathave been left hanging. There's never been any resolution, and thereseems to be no desire on the part of those who are in-charge of theadministration of this country and the government to even put aclosure to any of these and instead has kept on adding more and moreissues.

So, instead of 'yung...if you want to look at the net effec...'yungMagdalo uprising, from 300 people, the next was 'yung February 24 orso in 2006 were we had three major units of the AFP and PNP[Philippine National Police] mainly in the South, the Scout Rangersand the Marines being called into questions of rising up in revolttogether with their generals.


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So problem has not been diminished. It seems to be increasing, andthat will tend to make anybody looking at it pessimistic. Because theonly branches of government that are still effective in maintaining their

democratic roles, the Senate and the Supreme Court, are also in aconstant state of attack by the other sectors of this government.

Tetch Torres : Sir, do you agree that the only answer to the country'sproblem is Charter change?

Benigno Aquino III : In fact, I don't agree that it is Charter Change.'Yung, like any--'di ba?--computer or...garbage in, produces garbageout. If at the end of the day, our problem rests with the idea of political

survival concentrating power into the hands of those who areconcerned primarily only with their survival...will not push themtoward addressing the issues of the country, and the problems of thecounty.

Now, we can go into the details like for instance, when they say that aparliamentary system seems to be the panacea for all our problems, itdidn't quote examples like Italy or Japan. Italy had more governmentup to the 80's that it had years after World War II. There were yearsthat they had three governments.

You have Japan, which prides itself in homogeneity that hassurrendered its governance to unaccountable people mainly in thebureaucracy who have decided...one of the worst excesses is to buildbridges the equivalent of going to Aparri to Batanes, and it's notutilized. After completing the first theyve had already completed thesecond, also to the same area so therefore there is even less usage ofthat facility, and they're embarking on the third bridge. And there's noaccountability.

So, regardless of the system, it's really the main issue is the people whowill be populating that system. Sad to say, Charter change, parang Iguess...another way of saying it is people who advocating Charterchange are the ones who have made the system fail and expect to be


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rewarded by being in power for perpetuity. And that is I guess theworst scam that can befall the Filipino people.

Tetch Torres : But do you think sir that there should be some reforms

made to our Constitution?

Benigno Aquino III : True, but given the present atmosphere, even ifthose reforms are put into place, there seem to be an overwhelmingdesire to water down the best provisions that we had in the 87Constitution. For instance, one of the thing...yung idea of the termlimits...is the most attractive to a lot of our colleagues in the House,'Yung relaxation on the rules on warrant-less arrest, for instance no?Which might increase the tendencies of some quarters...their fascistic

intentions in addressing the peace and order or the crime situation willbe given, parang, some say, more avenues to abuse. Is that right, also?

'Yun, regardless of any proposal we have to examine: have youcomplied, have you given the system the best chance? If there is, andI'm not only talking about the politicians. S'yempre, even in mydistrict, for instance, if its the town fiesta, tradition has it they requestfor two orchestras. And I point it out, when I first started, the cheapestorchestra that time is I think is something about forty thousand pesos,for that time. So that would be eighty thousand pesos.

The President of the Philippines makes only fifty thousand pesos.Intrinsically you're inducing, whoever you approach, to undertakesome corrupt practices to fund these things that are not reallynecessary.

So there should really be meeting of the minds between those who aregoverning and the governed, and to really chart where do you want togo. Let us not just mouth all of these platitudes and motherhoodstatements, but rather let us act towards the direction where we reallywant to go.

Tetch Torres : Sir, what holds more importance? National sovereigntyor our international commitments?


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Benigno Aquino III : There should not be any discontinuity betweenthe two. Our international commitment have to be part and partial ofour national interests. So then...'yun...I really would...when there's aconflict, at the end of the day, 'yung...we in government are elected by

the Filipino people to serve the Filipino's interests.

Should there be a debate...there shouldn't be a question that this, eitherin national concern...I like to phrase it that way: national concernsshould outweigh the international agreement relations, etcetera. That iswhere the allegiance has to be of anybody in government--to the peoplewho bestowed power on this elected official.



Tetch Torres : Sir, would you push for a review of Visiting ForcesAgreement?

Benigno Aquino III : While I'm in the Senate? Yes, my aunt who madethe film--I'm not sure if it's in the martial law years--staring NoraAunor called Minsan may isang gamu-gamo. Talking aboutrelations of the people outside of the bases. Nora Aunor's favor ofexpression or so-called most quoted expression is, My brother is not apig.

'Yung, if a person, in a celebrated case, of a Nicole and--I don't themember of the Marine's name--If a Filipino was convicted in the samedegree, he would be in jail going through the appeals process. So that isthe right, and that is the penalty that a Filipino, the most importantsegment I guess in this society can expect. 'Yan nga bang foreigner notthe subject to the same law?

Recently, I saw on one of the cable channels, the former prime ministerof Singapore, Goh Chok Tong, if I'm not mistaken, and they were


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talking about this teenager, an American teenager who vandalizedseveral cars and stole some street signs in Singapore. The penalty iscaning and President Clinton at that time made appeals for the child,this teenager, would be spared the caning penalty and Singapore stood

firm.

He said there are laws for a Singaporean and they should not apply toa visitor? We cannot agree. So they paid the price, they couldn't talkwhen they asked for appointments with Clinton. They couldn't. Theywe're not given for like two years. But at the end of the day, they weretreated with more respect by somebody who really should have beentreating them with same respect from the get-go.

Here, we will be...if we have afforded that marine all of theopportunities to defend himself then we give him again the same rightsto appeal that any other Filipino citizen can have. But he can havemore privileges than our citizen has? And I guess that is a minimumconcern that I have with regards to the VFA.

Tetch Torres : Thank you, sir.


Joel : Good evening. Congressman. I'm Joel. I cover the defense beat.First off, are you in favor of requiring senatorial candidates to submitthemselves to a drug test?

Benigno Aquino III : Well, no problems with that. But at the sametime, 'yung...so you have to balance...ang issue ko lang d'yan is theissue of the privacy, no? Parang, there seems to be such a trend toimpose so many conditions on one sector of society that you do notimpose on any other sector of society. And I'm not saying thateverybody should undertake a drug test 'cause we feel that everybodyis a potential drug user. That is not the position that I'm advocating.

With regards to that, I have no issue. Pero, things like 'yung singleidentification card which is the next step in possible, invadingprivacies, [ Imagine] said, in effect, we have a PIN number for


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everything, your taxes, your bank accounts, your phone bills, etcetera,licenses.

Knowledge is power; given the tendency of for instance, issues like wire

tapping which is practiced more in the breach rather than in theobservance, I would be very cautious is all of these weakening of theconcept of rights to privacy.

Joel : Have you submitted yourself to a drug test?

Benigno Aquino III : We're not required to do so. And I would havedone it already except that I have been given schedules that limit me tofour hours of sleep everyday. And--I don't know--I've asked my

campaign staff, for the past two weeks 'ata to get me a schedule to thattest; meaning, look for what is recognized as a credible drug testingagency; schedule when I can go there so that I can submit it as soon aspossible; but I have been given assignments to go to all the provinces.

We have 80 provinces to cover in 90 days; I will have to remind themagain tomorrow to put it in a schedule as soon as possible.

Joel : You mentioned the Oakwood mutiny and the events of February24 last year. As a legislator how will you solve the problem ofrestlessness in the military?

Benigno Aquino III : 'Cause even before that...there was a video I oncesaw of the Balikatan exercises, and I saw there [Filipino soldiers]zeroing their rifles, and they were being assisted by Americans whowere spraying WDT40 on the front sights. What that tells me is thefront sights-- WDT40 is a lubricating oil--the front sights are no longermoving, could not be adjusted, hence the need for that oil.

So I said, we cant even give our soldier the necessary tools,consumables for them to be able to effectively carry out their job. Thatis, parang the lack of support that we have given them, and speciallygiven the fact that we have spending so many billions in helping andtrying to meet their needs. 'Yun, it is obvious that there is a lot of


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reform that should be done with regards to government purchases ingeneral, but even in that sphere specifically.

So how would you address it? When a soldier says, like one of the

lieutenants who was involved in Oakwook--he was featured in a TVmagazine show--and he said, we have requested from the chain ofcommand for items like boots or medicine and so on and so forth.

Two years later or three years later they have not been responded to.Can we blame them from running out of patience already? Especiallywith...in Tarlac, there were lots of deployment of Army soldiers. And Iwas really wondering why their uniforms were like three or four sizestoo big for them.

And I asked the lieutenant that I came across of how we could be ofassistance, and he said pagkain sir. And I said "pagkain," meaningwhat? I thought there are asking for something extra. So he saidsomething as staple as rice. Like five sacks for his platoon for the entiremonth was something they would really, really appreciate.

I thought: Even rice is a scarce commodity. Can you blame them? Andespecially when you see the disparity between the haves and have notsin that establishment. And not only that. So, I didn't want toencompass the whole issue of all their purchase at the same time so thevery first that I concentrated on, 'yun nga, 'yung petroleum oil andlubricants and after seven years, I cannot claim that they have alreadyundertaken bidding.

I'm still pressing them, it is like our long-running joke already that Iwill always advocate it come budget time that they really, finally cometo a bidding processm but it hasn't happened in this entirety.

There has been some positive movement but not enough. So in thatsense, I'm very hard headed, and I'm very stubborn. I will push morefor that and I will look into other areas that could be expert. Forinstance, we're going to buy orders...there have always been thesedreams of buying fighter aircraft.


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There are advocates that are saying: we don't need fighting aircrafts;we need transport aircraft. We need point defenses na lang for ouranti-aircraft needs. We don't want to invade anybody else. Why willwe need something with offensive capabilities.

Like, the rifles for our soldiers na Vietnam-era vintage. Maski namansa ano'ng method of accounting, matagal ng fully depreciated 'to. Andyet we're asking our people to rely on these things with their lives. Dayin day out. So I will really be looking into that a lot more.

Joel : So how much funding should go to the AFP?

Benigno Aquino III : Alam mo, when I started in government, the

litany has always been we don't have funds. Even for things likemaintaining the Mc Arthur Highway, the primary road between theMetro Manila and the North.

So in terms of how much should go to them, that is a very specificthing. And I would not like to tie myself to a specific percentage onspecific figure. At that point in time when the budget comes around,what should be the most, what should have the most priority shouldget the best funds.

Will we have for instance a need to ready ourselves with the bird fluepidemic, which we have been spared for? Should we be embarking onmore assistance to agriculture because we are running out of rice, forinstance, among other crops?

Education, how much do we really need to revitalize it and to point itin the right direction? How much for agrarian reform? But I think is,ano, a case that should be made by the various department heads comethe budget presentation time; but offhand, I really would preferpreparing for the future. That to me means a bulk, a very significantbulk, should be in education.

Joel : Aside from the lack of equipment there are soldiers theycan...take it upon themselves to make a statement. So how do you


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prevent them from engaging in partisan politics? How do you shieldthem from politics?

Benigno Aquino III : Well, by addressing the needs so they are no

longer made so frustrated and desperate that they have to resort tothese unconventional means of addressing the issues.

So what does that mean? When you have something like Garci, whycan we not have it investigated thoroughly? Why can not we put a restto the issue?

We have a fertilizer scam, why cannot the government produce a vitalwitness like Joc Joc Bolante, and instead allow him to submit himself

to American justice when he should be facing the Filipino people.?

Well, I guess, what I'm trying to say is, if you embark on a campaignto never really address any issues squarely, we will find ourselvesgetting in a worse and worse situation primarily because issues keep onpiling up.

If you want to cover up something you will come up with the newcrime to cover up the first, attempt to cover up the first and the secondand so on and so forth. And if it's a never-ending change, especially ifyou're young and you're impatient, you will have a--you will run outof patience a lot earlier than your seniors and you're prone more toimpetuousness than those who have learned more in life and want totemper their responses accordingly.

You know, when I was...when my father got assassinated, I'd reallygiven up on the system. I really felt that those who are guilty of it weremad dogs of society. And like any other society, how do you address amad dog who is rampaging? It is destroyed. So I wanted an eye for eyesolution already found in the Old Testament.

Of course, my mother, various other influences, reminded me that myfather opted for the non-violent route. And therefore I committed that,based on certain parameters, on certain limitations, to go as far aspossible in that particular route to fulfill his dreams.


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So here, again, I will say, we have so many resources, we have spent somany billions of trillions already of pesos,and all it really needs is alittle fine-tuning and even just the ability for our people to say, hindi

OK yan, and say no. Stop it. For that, yung, that's the only thing.

For anything wrong to transpire, people by either by action orinaction, have supported this wrong thing. When, kunyari, the Garciissue came about, they didn't want to solve it, and if people stood upand said, we want you whom we have bestowed power upon, to settlethis matter once and for all.

Kunyari--dito I have consult my lawyers--for things like, we will not be

going to work for instance until this is resolved--[that] could havepressured government into addressing that issue squarely.

Things like we will pay our taxes on the last day of the deadline forpaying taxes could have probably moved government to really addressthat issue. Things like that. But the idea is, maski ano pa ang gawinnamin ng attitude, walang namang mangyayari, ayan oh, the issue isstill there.

Joel : What needs to be done to stop the killings of left wing militantsand journalists?

Benigno Aquino III : My experience in the government has politicalwill and exercises it. It stops.

Joel : So what should Arroyo do?

Benigno Aquino III : 'Ba, arrest people, get into trial, convict the guilty,What does that mean? When the President says, we will not tolerateand we will go after you, and the following day there's a new killing.Doesnt that send the wrong signal? Parang doesn't that make thegovernment so inutile. And so futile at the same time. And once thatchallenge is done to the State, the State should even double its effort sothey will be stronger in the response after having been challenged.


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Pero what do we get, the subsequent statement reiterating the first.What do we get? Aba eh, commissioning the Melo commission. Andthen once it was done, having the spin meisters work on it and say it'snot a working...that's completed, parang there's a suppression again,

now for information and which shouldn't exist in a democraticenvironment and a representative democratic environment at that.[This interview was recorded prior to the release of the MeloCommission report.--ed].

Joel : Are you convinced that the military is behind that killings?

Benigno Aquino III : Well, the Melo commission report and theinterview by Justice Melo said as much. A lot of them were. I will not

prejudge anybody who is subject to his day in court, and his freedomto be considered innocent until proven guilty.

But I think I will have even a greater concern with the government thatcannot protect its citizens. Again, 'yunm you look at comparativecrimes, well not really comparative crimes, but other crimes na lang.When there a rash of kidnappings, the government will go after you.Isnt the kidnapping problem addressed?. When there was an issue ofarmored car hold-ups, wasn't that addressed? Didn't that stop?

When there were bank robberies, but there again, para bang daily thegovernment concentrated it, and it stopped.

In terms of these murders, I don't think that the vast majority of ourmen in uniform are involved in this. Well, perhaps if there are, thereare certain elements only. So once you start arresting some of themthat already contains all the other future victims.

But you have an inability to arrest when you're so much moreconcerned with the press releases. Rather than getting justice, are younot really in effect sending a message: go ahead, you will not becaught anyway, you can do whatever you want? And that is thedanger of the society.

Joel : Sir, what bills will be you prioritizing in the Senate?


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Benigno Aquino III : I answered that awhile ago, but one of the, ano,but even before the bills, I really think it is resolutions first, eh.Resolutions really addressing the weakening of the check and balance

mechanism found in the CA and in the budget process.

But in terms of yung pet bills, I'm really enamored of trying to get,'yung management and labor working together. When you're smallfirm, it's so easy to think of the operation being your operation, a jointoperation. When you become [a] bigger firm it becomes managementand union. In Tagalog, it becomes kayo at kami, and I want to get itback to tayo. And that meant for me, for tayo, is to have some acommon direction by having that profit-sharing. That I think the

would the first bill that I will file.

Joel : Thank you, sir.




Lira Fernandez : Good evening, sir. I'm Lira Fernandez.

Benigno Aquino III : Good evening.

Lira Fernandez : I'm covering team UNITY.

Benigno Aquino III : Ok.

Lira Fernandez : How are you and Tessie [Aquino] Oreta right now?

Benigno Aquino III : I guess we're okay, but, of course, I can'tremember actually when was the last time I talked to her. But I don'tthink...I've refrained from answering any question with regards to her.


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Especially those that would want me criticize her. I keep saying thatshe's my aunt. She's my dad's younger sister. And I owe it to my dadand my grandmother, not to say about anything negative about myaunt.

Lira Fernandez : How has the Aquino issue in the Comelec[Commission on Elections-ed] resolved?

Benigno Aquino III : I've been getting mixed signals the whole day.Eight o'clock this morning I was being asked to comment given the factthat Theodore Aquino [Benigno Aquino III's cousin who he has soughtto have disqualified--ed] it seems to have been disqualified. When wechecked with the Comelec, we were told that there was a hearing

scheduled. It should have been resolved today. The Comelecpronounced that they would make decisions of cleaning up the listtoday.

Lira Fernandez : There's a third

Benigno Aquino III : Yes. This evening, I was told that a hearing wasset. And later in the evening which is earlier today, they said thatthere's decision on the case already. So I have had six opinions on whathas transpired today, and, unfortunately, there's no official word on it.

And that will be the first petition that we will file. The next will be apetition on one who has the right to use the Aquino surname. Or whowill have, or whose votes for Aquino will be counted to whom. Wewant parang the Comelec to really to define that already, to make aruling on it. To protect again...if people are going to vote for me, toensure that their will is correctly counted.

Lira Fernandez : And will that not widen the rift between you andTessie Oreta?

Benigno Aquino III : Well, I don't think that should widen the rift. Butat the same time, I'm still in constant touch with my uncle, thehusband of my Tita Tessie. We've been trying to resolve this issueamong [us] and there [are] other people have been trying to resolve it.


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But I guess, we have to--I guess its clear to each other that we have toprotect our own individual rights.

Lira Fernandez : There are Aquinos in almost all arenas in this country,

in show business and politics there are a number. So how would youlike to be remembered?

Benigno Aquino III : Simple lang eh. Basta I completed the assignmentsthat were given to me, I continue the process of going to a rightfulplace.

What does that mean? EDSA was supposed to be the start of all thethings that were supposed to be right in this country. What does that

mean? Martial law had a government that was the complete oppositeof the concepts of, for and by the people. It was of, by one person forhis benefit, and by his wishes and so on and so forth. So, the peoplehave a right to seek redress of grievances from the government. Wehave CPR [calibrated preemptive response, a policy that effectivelybanned rallies and demonstrations by requiring government permits,and which was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court-ed]now.

'Yung people can expect government support in terms of their livehood so if I farmer asked to assistance, there was a farm inputprogram, which resulted in fertilizer scam issue.

There is a...when the people responded to addressing the deficit issue,that should have been, para bang a means of ensuring that not moreand more of our money is put into debt service. What we got wasthings like North Rail, now 'yung PNCC, and so many other thingsthat cannot be explained with any sense to anybody who will look ateven the basics.

So, things that government should be doing, we are going in thereverse. So how should I be remembered? Somebody who didn't agreeto the trend of backsliding. Who did everything that he could, whopushed as far as he thought possible, trying to achieve that which is


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rightfully ours. Rightfully ours meaning the entire of country and notthe Aquinos lang. Just to emphasize.

Lira Fernandez : And being in the Senate will empower you more to do

more things?

Benigno Aquino III : Sa House, the reality is, for instance, 'yungPresident Estrada's impeachment. They were calling that we talk to,and he said, this is the issue. They agreed. And parang every issue wetalked about, he agreed. At the end of the day, I asked him, andanother colleague of mine asked him, so will you be with us? I'm sorryI can't.

Tama ba naman 'yung proliferation ng gambling or intentions to set upgambling resorts everywhere in the country. Tama ba itong, yungmarina smuggling nagrereklamo na itong lahat ng manufacturers. Soand sagot ko, hindi!

Agreed on all the premises of why we were leaving. But at the end ofthe day, pasensya na kayo 'di ako makakasama inyo, dahil ganito,ganyan, may kailangan akong iuwi sa distrito ko.

And that is the reality that in the Senate you don't have the sameconcern. There is that more freedom. Even the numbers there are evena tenth of what it is the House. In terms of convincing people, theymight be harder to convince individually, but at the same time there's asmaller amount that needs convincing on various advocacies. And theyhave demonstrated that they will not tolerate things that are wrong.

Look at 'yung 464 [Executive Order 464, which barred topgovernment and military officials from attending legislative hearingswithout Palace approval-ed] for instance. They have been the ones whohave challenged it before the Supreme Court. We in the House that hasbeen victimized by it, and the response has been, we will ask thePresident to grant authority to so and so and to attend their hearings.

So parang baliktad na baliktad eh. Instead of asserting our rights, wewill be thankful for the other agency of government or the other


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branch of government to recognize that right of ours. Parang we havedebt of the gratitude that we'll have to pay from them to honor ourright.

So that is a major difference, 'yung the degree of freedom, the degree ofa... there is collateral damage. 'Yung would it the stands that I took, toa degree in my constituents in the district also had to pay a price for it,eh. 'Yung the last SARO [Special Allotment Release Order--ed] thatwas unleashed to my district was in 2005, and these are were hospitals,specialty hospitals like the Kidney Institute, the Heart Center and so onand so forth.

Unfortunately, they didn't bother to raise 'yung notice of cash

allotment and availments for it. It was not funded. So, [for] myconstituents that items that were in the budget due them, they couldn'taccess.

And in the Senate, if they will pounce on me, then they will just pounceon me, they will not pounce on my district because I will no longerhave a district. The will not pounce on so many others that arepartymates, etcetera because I can act independently once there.

Lira Fernandez : Sir, last year, two issues that hogged the limelight arethe Subic Rape case and the unabated political killings. To you, whichis more important: international commitment or national sovereignty?And security or human rights?

Benigno Aquino III : In national sovereignty, I answered that earlierbut just to reiterate, there should not be a conflict between the two. Innational interest, will dictate what international commitments weshould undertake. You cannot embark on an internationalcommitment that goes against our own laws. So what should be moreimportant, again? I guess the issue of national sovereignty should beprimary, primarily because we are given power by the Filipino peopleto advance their interest and to work for their causes.

Everything else becomes secondary to those main goals. 'Yung secondquestion mo was human rights or security? 'Yung the suppression of


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human rights has always been justified in the guise of national security.And we have a history to go back on: martial law.

And what did martial law produce? Was our security enhanced? How

many were the New People's Army at the start of the martial lawregime? When they founded it in--if I'm not mistaken, 1969 the most,the biggest estimate was something like a hundred people of studentsfrom the UP and the Hukbalahaps. By the time Marcos was deposed,that was 25,000 already. So the national security state did not ensuresecurity but rather increased our insurgency problem exponentially.

It also gave rise to the Muslim cessationist issue. So what does thatmean? It's a failed concept. Mindanao started our primarily as an

agrarian issue. People who did not have title to the land who are tillingit for generations, suddenly found themselves dispossessed of theirland.

What would have been the solution? lawyers, courts. Even lawsenacted by Congress. What was the solution Marcos implemented?First the Philippine Constabulary, eventually the entire AFP. So whatdid that produce? Animosity that has..,and hostilities to havecontinued unabated up to today.

So, what does it profit us to embark again on failed strategies? Wedon't really address root causes, we will not get to the right solutions.

Lira Fernandez : Thank you, sir.


Lynette Luna : Lynette Luna, editor of Breaking News. Comelec hasbeen in these calls for senatorial candidates to submit a certificate ofdrug testing. Will you comply with this?

Benigno Aquino III : I've wanted to comply. I think even before I filed.When I was told, I was asked, have you submitted? Sabi ko, I'm notaware, and my lawyer didn't tell me it's mandatory. Actually, it is not


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mandatory, but though given that, I wanted to dispel any suspicionfrom the get-go.

And unfortunately, our campaign staff is not yet in full swing and fully

oiled, and unfortunately, they are the only ones who can tell me if I cango anywhere. Actually, they tell me where to go everywhere, everyday,every hour. And I've asked twice for them to schedule it, and I've yet tobe given that schedule. I do intend comply, well perhaps comply is notthe wrong word, but to undertake the drug test, 'cause I've compliedwith it, in terms of renewing [my driver's] license, in terms of the firsttime I run, and so on and so forth. It's not really an issue.

It's just a question of finding the time that does not conflict with all the

commitments that have already given to me.

Lynette Luna : So you will be submitting a certificate of drug test?

Benigno Aquino III : Yes.

Lynette Luna : A lot of candidates have been promising practically thesun, the moon, the stars to the public.

Benigno Aquino III : Yes.

Lynette Luna : What do you think can you give, or can you offer to theFilipino, which other candidates can not?

Benigno Aquino III : I would not like to disparage any of them. Butmy, the theme that I have always been very very partial to, is 'yung thecatch-all phrase of gawin 'yung tama.

What does that mean? When, we had problems for instance, thegrowth sector in Tarlac of poultry, and the banks that were financingall of these poultry operations. Then the oft-reported rumors ofunabated smuggling in Clark. 'Yung, we went and stood up for therights of the Filipinos in Tarlac by challenging the authority that didnot want to change it, to the detriment of perhaps political, even ourphysical safety and so on and so forth.


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When we had issues in Luisita [the Aquino estate in Tarlac--ed], I wastold it was to be politically unwise, to stand up for one side or another.I said the people of Tarlac, and this district elected me to this particular

position. The situation there now is, so that you know, operatingcapital of about two billion pesos outside of Luisita has been lost.Eleven barangays within Luisita are engaged in farm cultivation. Thereis no certainty as to how they will recover their livelihood.

So when there were quarters that wanted to exacerbate the problem,I'm not saying only from one side--there are actually two major forcesthat wanted to increase that problem--and I stood up to both of them,regardless of the consequences. I think I was fulfilling my duty. And I

was doing that which is right.

Now that it would help perhaps my political career even in terms offunding to join the administration slate. I cannot imagine myselfjoining them, and supporting all the activities that they have beendoing, at least as far as from 2004 to the present, and a non-abatementof that.

So, I think it's a basic philosophy that a lot of our problems areproblems because we have allowed them to be, and not just to be butto be in existence, to come to fruition, and so on and so forth.

'Yung, how will a government, for instance, suppress dissent, with anArmed Forces and a police forces that is basically with the same level itwas it the 80's. Where the people in violation of Batas Pambansa 880,who were peacefully assembled, got truncheoned, got water gunned,raided, and filled with tear gas and the entire populace stood up andsaid, You can't do that!

Then it would not have been repeated, and so on and so forth. It's justa question of, is this right? And is this wrong? and people should reallybe ready to stand up for what is right, regardless. And it shouldn'treally be a question of expediency, which unfortunately, a lot of ourpoliticians seems to see that as the only reason d'etre. I guess that'swhat I'm trying to say.


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Lynette Luna: And yet, you have decided to join the opposition?

Benigno Aquino III: Yes.

Lynette Luna: Which former president [Joseph] Estrada has endorsedand...

Benigno Aquino III: Is a part of, but is not the only...

Lynette Luna: ...the only, is now facing a plunder case.

Benigno Aquino III : Right.

Lynette Luna : So how do you explain that? How would youreconcile...?

Benigno Aquino III : We have not advocated for instance suppressionof the trial that he is undergoing. If elected senator, a senator does notreview the decisions of the court. There is no direct correlationbetween getting elected into office, and being of service to this person.

I've always been maintained that president Estrada on a personal levelis a friend. We have disagreed on policies. We have opposed alsocertain vestiges of his governance. In his endorsement now, I've made itclear time and again that apart from my visit to his house last Sunday,if I'm not mistaken, the only other time I visited him after sayinggoodbye in October 2000, was the brief hospital stay he had in SanJuan for something like, siguro 30 minutes.

And we did not discuss my political plans. It is clear in my mind thathaving accepted his endorsement, it is not subject to any quid pro quo,because there was no proposal to begin with. 'Yung...I'd like to view itas, something really...such a pleasant surprise on my part, because, inall reality, I have expected that he would be endorsing my aunt ratherthan me. Given the fact that my aunt has never left his side. And ofcourse that he would have all of the grounds to be mad at me.


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So what do I want? Those who are cynical and jaded say, Be realistic,that's politics and these are all the catch phrases. I'm sorry, but myidols are people who said, Why should it be? When we can, when

we withdraw our support for that which is...well let me try to make itclearer, I'm sounding like one of my philosophy professors before.

But I guess what I'm trying to say is, the only reason that anything canexist in any society is if the people allow it. If they don't wantsomething, it is all just a question of people saying no. And if it's aquestion of something that should be supported, then again, this is justa question of organized people who are knowledgeable and who wouldsay yes to it.

So what I'm trying to say is we are not condemned that accept thatwhich you find. You can't change it, but if you are committed tochanging it, that's the only requirement. And if not, you have actuallysupported maintaining the status quo. And if you're committed to it,the only sensible reason for doing that is because you're happy with thestatus quo. So if you're not, then you should do something about it.

Now, why do I do that, primarily because there are those who reallysacrifice so much, and they don't even get to taste the freedom again.And at the end of the day, we're not able to face them and will I betelling them, thank you, ha? You know, we didn't treasure it. And Idon't know, when I see them...my father's face, then some of his otherallies and colleagues. There seems to be something intrinsicallywrong....if I choose not to undertake my share of the burden.



Erwin Oliva : Hi, sir, I'm Erwin Oliva. I write about technology andtopics on the election. Anyway, sir, what we're doing right now is


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called a podcast and many advanced technologies are now available tothe peopl,e and you've have been in debates in Congress right nowabout Internet voting.

Benigno Aquino III : Hmm.

Erwin Oliva : So my first question is, how do you intend to usetechnology in your campaign?

Benigno Aquino III : Well, 'yung right now we're limited to theconservative, which means TV ads, radio ads and so on and so forth.There are various proposals to use SMS, websites and so on and soforth. I'm not that technologically savvy, so I'm leaving it up to the

experts to determine.

And of course, being in the opposition, our resources are not asextensive as those of the administration. Then, that will really be just aquestion of 'yung what will generate the most impact for ourcampaign? And also there are the questions. There was some proposal,kasi, for instance, of [a] database of cell phone users. Andautomatically, I said, are we not violating anything in terms of 'yungconstitutional rights to privacy of this and that? And there wasa...that's perfectly legal. Of course, the proponent would say that. I'mhaving that checked before embarking on that.

Erwin Oliva : When do you intend to do some SMS campaigning?

Benigno Aquino III : I will really want to check on what legalconstraints there are, if any.

Erwin Oliva : I think the Comelec is still working on that sir.

Benigno Aquino III : Parang siguro, I don't want to being accused of aviolating not even in the spirit aspect.

Erwin Oliva : OK.


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them or even more unrewarding for those who that will subvert thepeople's will.

Erwin Oliva : So, you're saying sir that despite of all these

modernization plans we have in Comelec, we need to change thepeople within the agency which have been?

Benigno Aquino III : 'Yun. Just to give you...one of the simplesuggestions has been...prior to martial law there were mandatedmajority, automatic commissioners representing either of the twoparties. There were proportionate representation, if I'm not mistaken.Of course, I was a toddler in the pre-martial law years, but bothparties, not just the administration appointees were put into position.

Can we get to do something like that?

Unfortunately, we have a lot more parties than two. So does that meanthat every party that sets up is entitled to one commissioner? Thatbecomes unwieldy. But that can be a compromise to that. That is sosimple. 'Yun, I think. I'm not a lawyer but in a general sense, ifviolating the election or Omnibus Election Code results in permanentdisqualification from running for public office, if you're tempted withtens if not hundreds of millions to do some magic on election time, Iguess, people who are so inclined will say, "what do I care? I'm neverallowed to enter politics."

Perhaps we should revisit penalties for those who will destroy thefundamental building block of a representative democracy, which is thepeople expressing their will and that is done through an election. Sothat is another thing, again, simple thing to do.

So, 'yun. The bottom line is people will cheat because it rewards them.So you have to find out, why? How do you make it non-profitable forany of these people. 'Yun nga no? Talagang major penalties, make it.Theres so many things you can do. Representatives, commissioners inthe Comelec representing, not just an administration side but also theopposition, so that intrinsically, you will make them less able toconspire with each other.


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Erwin Oliva : So, on that issue sir, there were suggestions this week onopening up the appointment process to the Comelec, because there'sone more position open--has been vacant since February 2006. Therewere suggestions from the civil society to open it up to the public, to

allow the civil society to have a say in the appointment. And it hasbeen history, under the current administration that always there havebeen ad interim appointment, meaning, when Congress is adjourned.It's a nasty habit, as they say, by the President.

Benigno Aquino III : Well, hopefully, she changed this time around.But I will not hold my breath waiting for that change.

Erwin Oliva : On another topic sir, you mentioned about IT awhile

ago, how do you intend as a potential senator to develop the ICTindustry and the science industry?

Benigno Aquino III : Well, number one, when I was a grade schoolstudent, I really was fascinated with all of my science courses. Be itbiology, geology, and we had a problem with physics. It was more ofan interaction with my professor, or even chemistry for that matter,any of the sciences...What I'm trying to say: My teachers were able toinculcate and encourage us to really...it seems that so many things thatwe can understand more fully, primarily using science as a weapon.You make it so interesting. Now if we have a dearth of scientists, andthen I guess it points out that perhaps we should review how we areinculcating these.

How do we encourage our students to go into those fields as supposedto envisioning themselves being a manager in a Makati corporation?How do we, and of course, you provide all of the necessaryinfrastructure. The computers, the interconnections with wi-fi or fixedlines, servers, promotions to all of these international competitions,scholarships to various higher areas of higher learning for thisparticular field.

Look at rewards, or reward structure, perhaps incentives to those whowill undertake all of these directions of government. What are theseincentives?


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Erwin Oliva : Yeah, I think so. I don't know. [laughs]

Benigno Aquino III : And even the--what is called R&B now. It used to

be Rhythm and Blues during my time, and R&B now seems to beactually the same thing.

Erwin Oliva : Pop rock?

Benigno Aquino III : Yeah, but, again, 'yung I'm fond of...I think it'scalled house, which is the same beat as a, what disco was to us. Beforethat it runs... especially when you're caught in traffic. Of course thesong of my generation also which invokes all of the memories. The

CD, the DVD player as other gadgets. 'Yung there is a...it's a stillcamera na movie camera na using memory cards, rather than any othermedia tape, optical mediums on. What else?

You know for the past nine years I have not really been...[laughs] youhave to schedule everything to the extent that even when you get sickyou have to ask the good Lord to schedule it at this certain junctures.

So if at all I have relaxing moment has to do with miss, the stereosystem that I have been here in Quezon city and also in my districts,which gives me a lot of hours of rest especially reading, and I'm notinto e-books. Somehow, I really want to hold the book. In everythingwant the hard copy which does not necessarily mean I have ahardcover book. Can be a paperback.

Unfortunately, everything that we had to do, I keep on starting books,winding up, seeing the first two chapters and then pausing until thenext break, which is non existent.

Erwin Oliva : Thank you very much, sir.




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JV Rufino : Good evening congressman, I'm JV Rufino, the editor inchief of INQUIRER.net. Earlier, you mentioned agrarian reform andlabor management. And I couldn't help thinking that your concern forthese issues might stem on the fact that, the Aquinos are a land-owningfamily in Tarlac. How did the fact bring about your concern for theseissues and don't you feel you have to be advocating agrarian reform,your motives might be questioned, in effect. You could argue that

there's a conflict of interest with that.

Benigno Aquino III : Can I handle the second one, 'yung labor andmanagement issues?

JV Rufino : Go ahead.

Benigno Aquino III : 'Yung every time, parang it's a seasonal thing thatthe conflict between management and labor happens with regards to'yung wage issues. Of course, managers could say, we can't afford thecost. Labor will say, we can't afford to live. And we have a replay ofthis tragedy year in year out.

And I've always wondered, why should that be the case? Then you goback to handle the problem start. Just thinking about it. Then I usedalways the analogy of a small panaderya. When you have twoemployees, and the manager says meron tayong dagdag na ordermamaya, pwede ba kayong mag-overtime? Opo, 'kan'ya. O eto 'yungbonus n'yo at the end of the day.

Parang it was so easy for them to visualize that entity as thecombination of all of their efforts. As opposed to, when you are biggerfirm, there is management side and there is the labor side. In Tagalogit's even more dramatic eh. Kayo at kami.


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So I was just thinking, how do you get them back, the thinking of thekayo ang kami, to the tayo? How do we get back to the tayo, which iswhere it started from? One of the schemes that we're proposing is thatprofit sharing thing. Whereby, labor...cannot hide from labor if a

company is making good, or at the same time if it's making bad.

No matter how many books are supposed to be kept by management,they will know whether it is in complete detail or not too completedetail, what the status is. The part of the provision of that bill, is thehiring of an auditor to audit the books of the firm that will be subjectto the choice of labor from one list approved by government.

They have no more leeway for whether they will grant it or not. It's

mandatory as a first step towards getting to the point na we make ourpie bigger. We make the profits get bigger. We have a bigger pie toshare, and automatically we are entitled to this proportion of thatbigger pie.

In terms of agrarian reforms, 'yung even ano, our experiences...mygrandfather for instance...my father also were very particular lest weexhibit any sign of being selfish...as a kid, you have a favorite candy,you would want to preserve all of it for yourself.

I guess all of us at some point in time, when we were kids, would havehad our hand caught in the cookie jar trying to get more [laughs] thanwhat we could take out. If we take too much of that. Your mother orfather would say, OK, buksan mo 'yung kamay mo, then when youopen it, remove your hand that was caught already in the jar.

So that was the simple lesson. But in my father's case, whenever he sawme, he would get from me the bag of candy and distribute its contentsto everybody that would pass by. Meaning, my sisters--who might haveliked that candy or even if they didn't like it--they were given. Themaid, the driver, the bodyguard, anybody, everybody and anybody tothe extent that a lot of times, I would be given the empty bag of candyand told, ganyan ang napapalad ng swapang, itapon mo na 'yan dun sabasura.


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So that was a very important lesson that they taught to us. Soeventually, it became second nature to share. My grandfather also didthat. 'Yung to the extent that, you think we're like a socialist andplayed in the country. You are taking care of...especially it was more

manageable size of about a thousand five hundred employees, frombirth 'til death.

There were no problems that any of our co-workers had that were notpart and parcel of our problems. My grandfather said lahat silapamilya. That was well and good and it was manageable but when itbecame four times the size of what we needed in terms of a labor pool,it really became unmanageable.

But even agreeing to the SDO program, committed us to inputtingmore and more of capital that was not directly related to that corebusiness which existed elsewhere and we owe several billions already intrying to make a go of it in fulfillment of the commitment we havewith our co-workers.

Having said all of that, is it's self serving/ No, no. To be honest, that isthe core program of my mother. We lost a lot of political will when sheinsisted that agrarian reform would be one of the avenues for growthin this country.

Of course the model, like Taiwan. I think the first time that I heard isfrom my dad. One-hectare ownership; people who get their landredistributed will be paid; they invest it; or they even just put it in thebox, a source of, source of savings for investment, and so on and soforth.

Anyway, what I'm saying is why I will review 'yung agrarian reform?Of course, when you asked repayment, you will be given very lowfigures as to how many have been able to repay. There are a lot of(donor) stories where they haven't even reached the five-year programor even the 25-year stretch, later or another, 35-year stretch. They areno longer working on the land given to them was afforded to them bythe state.


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Now, at one point when they were trying to hit us completely, theysaid, we have to revisit the agrarian program in Luisita because it didnot [work], the farmers lot has not improved. So I ask, are wechanging strategies? We are no longer giving them an opportunity. We

are now guaranteeing that the farmers lot everywhere will improve.

And the sponsor, and the budget measure of the DAR at the times saidthat no, we are not changing. We cannot guarantee that. There'll bepeople or industries or there are people who will be lazy. There arepeople who can manage certain basic business skills and there are thosewho cannot. There are those who have little managerial skills, andthere are those who cannot master any skill on that aspect.

So, it is not a success that it should be. It will be a perpetual drainespecially if you have a DAR concerned with its continued existence.

The basic concept is finite set of land, finite set of beneficiaries. Sothere's a start and there should be an ending. When suddenly after 20years, they say we have discovered a million and a half, if I'm notmistaken, new hectares of land that should be subject to other. Are wegoing to perpetuate what was wrong before? And what was wrong?

There are a lot of failures, the beneficiaries did not benefit from it.Then before you embark on a new one, it is commonsensical to makesure that you will not just be repeating the same mistakes over andover again.

Okay, so what happens? 'Yung asset-less poor, suddenly have assetsthat is already an increase in the potential for the economy to grow.Those who are previously landed, now also have capital free off thatland that can be used elsewhere to fuel even more growth. So, do itcorrectly, then that is one of the routes towards our progress.

But repeating...there are more and more drain on governmentresources, our farmer beneficiaries are not provided all of thewherewithal to make a go of it...guarantees only a downwards spiraland no possibility of an upward movement. Therefore, for anybody


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who looks at it sensibly, devoid of emotions, a revisit, a review, isfundamental before you embark on a better program.

JV Rufino : You talked about labor management. You basically seem

to be harkening to the time of your grandfather when it wasmanageable as you say, so, I notice, things for labor management, itsorts of its casting things in a paternalistic role.

Benigno Aquino III : No, no, no.

JV Rufino : Is that right?

Benigno Aquino III : When I was thinking about it. For instance, union

officers are elected by the union members. Like any other politicians,he has to keep on producing more and more of either wage benefits ornon-wage benefits to be able to retain his hold in that union. Well andgood, when the company continues to grow. But once you reached amature level, it ceased to grow, where do you get the wherewithal, tocontinue meeting the increasing cost?

So if left unchecked, you are guaranteeing a conflict which might leadto a demise of the corporation that both of them are seeking tomaintain if not to make grow. So I asked, where does it start off again?Again, the idea of whereas before, it was clearly when you're smallerunit, clear that it is, you belong to one entity. The minute you hadformalized relationships of management on one side and labor on theother side and seems that from the get-go there is already conflict.How does the con

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