Press Release
June 3, 2009

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile transcript of ambush interview

Q: Kung Cha-Cha ang in-approve?

SP: Well the Cha-Cha, I don't think it will wash here. They cannot do it alone in the House. First of all, they've already recognized the fact that they cannot do it alone. They have sent the resolution here to tell us that they are going to hold a session. I don't know how they can hold a session by themselves because we are under a Constitution. The Senate or the House can hold session for three days without the consent of the Senate. If they go beyond that, they have to get the consent of the other Chamber. You see? So, how can they do it?

Q: Sir, if they push through with the session, is the Senate going to pursue legal actions?

SP: What for? That's a non-issue, non-action. There's no course of action in the first place.

Q: So the Senate will ignore sir?

SP: We are not ignoring. The fact is there is no issue that can be raised before the Supreme Court. They can do their thing. They can convene themselves but who cares.

Q: No bearing at all?

SP: Nothing. As far as my knowledge of the Constitution is concerned.

Q: Sir, wala pong official communication from the House?

SP: I don't know if they have sent it. I understand they have forwarded a copy of the resolution here. We have not received anything.

Q: (Inaudible)

SP: No. It will go to the committee. It cannot be acted on the floor without a committee report and we have no more time to prepare a committee report. Maybe in August, if at all.

Q: Darating na po si Mancao bukas. Sir, di ba mayroong pong affidavit si Mancao na tinuturo niya si Senator Lacson?

SP: I don't know. Hindi ko pa nababasa yung affidavit niya. I don't know kung meron.

Q: Sir, sabi ng Globe napaliwanag na raw nila sa inyo noong May 28 yung details of your prepaid account.

SP: Hindi. Hanggang ngayon hindi pa nila naipaliwanag kung bakit umakyat ulit. Hindi nila ipinaliwanag. Pumunta sa akin yung abogado nila at tinanong ko siya kung paano nangyari ito. They could not explain. Please submit to me a written explanation including an explanation why all of a sudden my balance increased after I reported the matter to the NTC and the corporation. Alam mo yung abogado nila, nanggaling sa aking law office noong araw pa.

Q: Tao ninyo sir?

SP: Hindi rin niya ma-eksplika kung bakit nagka-ganoon. She was telling me that some content provider may have accidentally enrolled me in their ringtone. Sabi ko hindi ko problema yon. Gusto ko na maipaliwanag sa akin.

Q: So hindi pa pala ayos?

SP: Hindi pa pero marami ang nagko-complain. And we have to look into it. There's nothing personal about this. We have to look into this. Find out if there's really a problem. Is what happened to me isolated? If it is isolated, why did it happen to me? How did it happen? Until now, I do not know how it happened. All of a sudden your balance of Php 389.00 in the morning would disappear in the evening and I have not used that cellphone whether to text or to call. It's common sense di ba?

Q: Sir, same amount din po yung naibalik sa inyo?

SP: Hindi same amount. Php 600.00 ang aking load in the following day na yon May 26. Bumaba ng Php 519.00. Kinaumagahan, naging Php 445.00, 27th na yon. Hindi ko naman ginamit ang aking telepono. Paano nababawasan ng ganon? Ni-report ko, yung Php 445.00 umakyat ng Php 534.32, to the decimal point. Kaya misteryoso nga. Gusto ko malaman kung papaano nagagawa yon.

Q: Sir, naniniwala po kayo na si GMA may kinalaman dun sa itinulak na Con Ass kagabi?

SP: Hindi ko alam. I don't know. To be fair to the President, I'm not defending her. She can defend herself. She has not indicated to this Senate, not to me anyway, that she wants Cha-Cha.

Q: Sir, do you think the insistence of the House will result to some kind of upheaval?

SP: It is not worth a revolution yet because as far as I'm concerned, I'm not belittling the effort of the House, but they cannot do it alone. It's Constitutionally impossible.

Q: Sir, yung sa House Resolution, once it comes here it will pass through the normal procedure?

SP: It has to be referred to the proper committee. It might sleep the sleep of the dead in that committee.

Q: Sir, so the earliest it can be acted upon is on August?

SP: If at all, after we come back from the sine die.

Q: Sir, yung tungkol sa decision ng Supreme Court doon sa motion for TRO filed by the Senate Minority Group...

SP: Yes, they're asking for a reply to our comments. That's good. We'll have to present it to the hearing tomorrow. And then we will stop during the recess.

Q: When will you resume the hearing?

SP: When we come back.

Q: So, yung decision ng Supreme Court... There's no need now ... na parang immediately...

SP: I don't know. They will probably ask for an argument from the issues.

Q: So, does that mean that the Supreme Court found...

SP: Well, they want to find out the truth, just like us. They want to know where the truth lies. In other words, the claim of the Minority bloc is not quite clear to the members of the Court.

News Latest News Feed