Transcript of Kapihan sa Senado with Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile

State of the Nation Address

Q: Do you, at your level, have any leaks as to what the SONA is all about?

SP: I do not have any idea what the President is going to say or what she will propose or whatever her assessments will be.

This is unconfirmed, but I heard that she will include in her SONA some statements regarding the problem of the Telcos. That is what I heard. In fact, I think that is the reason why earlier she ordered the telecommunication commission to investigate and look into the problems that were raised.

Q: Sir, all these talks and rumors on the reasons of those who intend to boycott the SONA is that palalawigin daw yung Constituent Assembly. Isn't that scenario ridiculous, sir? 'Di ba kayo, ang papel n'yo dun as the Senate President is to open and close the session?

SP: The Constitution is very clear, that on that day, both Houses of Congress must sit together in the Joint Session for no other purpose than to hear the State of the Nation of the President. And in fact, in the morning of Monday, the 27th of this month, the Senate will convene itself and pass a resolution precisely for that purpose: to join the House of Representatives in the Joint Session to hear the State of the Nation Address of the President. Nothing more.

I doubt whether there is anybody who will be out of his mind to stand up and make a motion to convert the Joint Session into a Constituent Assembly. If that will happen, I think that person will be out of order; and if there is support for that person, then I will just bang the gavel and say that the session is adjourned on the part of the Senate. That will be the end of the Joint Session.

That is ridiculous because there are senators na pag hindi sila mag-attend, mag decision na they will boycott this. They will be there for the SONA but as soon as they hear something about Con-Ass or Cha-Cha they will walk out. They don't have to, I will adjourn the session of the Senate.

Q: Sir, but can this thing crop up during the opening session as you will open the session on Monday? Hindi ba pwedeng ilabas na yung Con-Ass na yan?

SP: Hindi pwede. Dito lang, bago mo ipapasa yung resolution to join the House for a Constituent Assembly, I don't think one can muster enough votes to support any such resolution. So it is unreasonable for these senators who are saying that as soon as they hear the mention of Con-Ass, well, there is no reason for anyone to fear. I really don't think that will happen.

Yung mga magbo-boycott, of course, you respect them. Well, that's their individual choice, predilections. We'll have to respect their position.

Q: Sir, there are those who are saying that those who will boycott the SONA will betray the people's trust.

SP: Well, I don't think so. During the time of Cory as President of the country, I never attended the SONA. It depends upon the individual decision of the Senators because that is a session. You can be absent. In fact, in that session there is no roll call anymore. Roll call will be done in the morning. And we just suspend the session in the morning of the 27th, and we'll resume it in the House of Representatives.

Q: Sir, do you think that would be the best time for her to categorically say that she will step down, to put to rest any question or apprehension?

SP: There is no need for the President to state that she will step down. The Constitution says that at the end of noon of June 30, following the next national elections, you step down. You cannot stay in the position more than one second.

Q: But sir, there are still talks about her staying in power.

SP: If she does that it will be extra-constitutional. It's outside of the Constitution. There is no way by which she can stay in power beyond the noon of June 30, 2010. Unless the Constitution is amended and there is no way by which we can amend the Constitution. The time is short, and even if the time is there, I don't think you can have the votes. The opinion of a senator or some members of Congress, assuming that you would pass the necessary amendments, you still have to go to the people and have it ratified.

Q: Amidst fears that the President will not step down, do you think there is a need for the President to assure the people and say that she will not step down?

SP: If she will not go down on June 30th next year, she will be an illegal president. She has no claim to power. That means that she would be defying the Constitution. If that happens, then it will be an extra-constitutional act, outside of the Constitution. And the government will no longer be a Constitutional government.

Q: So who do you think takes office July 1?

SP: I do not know. Only God knows. You know, at this point it is difficult to predict the outcome of the election. You can guess, you can render an opinion based on your assessment of existing facts.

Sec. Nonong Cruz

Q: Why do you think Sec. Nonong Cruz is still saying that no election is possible?

SP: I do not know whether he is in possession of certain facts. I respect his opinion, but from my side I think that there will be an election. In fact we have appropriated P11.3B to have an election; the preparation is in place. The only possible way of not having an election is if there is a cataclysm or an earth shaking event in the country that will happen in the polls in 2010. In which case of course, you cannot elect anybody.

Q: Do you think the TRO filed by Harry Roque in the Supreme Court will somehow derail or stop the election?

SP: Unless the Supreme Court will issue a temporary restraining order or issue an injunctive relief to prevent the Comelec from spending money for the election of 2010, I doubt whether the Supreme Court will stop the election. The election will go on.

You know, all of these cases, I have been a lawyer all these years. No one is certain in a given case.

Q: Sir, you mentioned earlier that the statement of Sec. Cruz implies call for mutiny.

SP: Well, let's clarify. What is an unlawful order? When the Chief of Staff exercises power given to him by law, or by the manual for court marshall, or the laws governing the conduct of men in his command, who is this officer or soldier who will say that it is unlawful? Of course, if his chief of staff says "O, you rape these women, you kill these men, massacre them�" Or "you loot this." Or "you burn this barrio or this town, this structure, this edifice or these articles," maybe you can spell out immediately that those are illegal orders. But if a President, the secretary of defense, or the Chief of Staff, or the commanding generals of the various services issue orders according to their authority, who is this officer who will say no, that's illegal? So, the term "unlawful orders" must be clearly defined.

I will go to the extreme case. Assuming that the President will exercise the power to declare martial law to suspend the writ of habeas corpus, can the Chief of Staff or any officer below him say "no, that's illegal"? Only the Supreme Court does that.

Q: Sir, yung time element, for example a major tells a squad to burn that village, can the platoon leader question the major at that particular moment�out there in the field�even if he knows it's unlawful?

SP: As a practical matter, the platoon leader will obey because he is also afraid of being shot by his commander. That's what happened in Barrio Ora, in Bantay Ilocos Sur. Somebody ordered; the policemen burned. Barrio Ora Este.

Q: May sinasabing pattern si Sec. Cruz, sinasabi nya yung appointments of over 50 retired military generals, tapos biglang kina-cut short yung term nila, tapos yung positioning nung 50 retired military generals, parang setting for the declaration of martial law.

SP: Yung mga retired officers they can no longer command eh. They cannot even ask the corporal to hold their maleta. Wala nang command power yun.

Q: Sir, pero may influence pa sila sa dati nilang kasamahan?

SP: Yes. That is amorphous eh. When you issue a command it connotes a mass action by a group. If you command only 1 or 2 or 3 or even 10 soldier, that's nothing. You are just a nuisance.

Q: Alarmist po ba yung statement ni Cruz?

SP: I do not know. That's why I would like to beg for clarification. What is considered an unlawful order? Exercise of the powers of the President under the Commander in Chief provision? Who is the soldier or officer who can question that? Only the Supreme Court can question that.

Q: It could be questioned, after the fact?

SP: Of course. Any citizen can raise the question. So the next question is, who makes the judgment that the order is unlawful? When the ordering superior exercises the power written in the Constitution? Presidentiables

Q: Among the presidentiables, who do you think will make a difference in curbing corruption in our country?

SP: Corruption is required to be curbed. You can curb corruption. But will the country move forward? There are several of them who can handle the country. But those who are aspiring to be president should pray very much. Why? Because they will face more problems than the incumbent president. All of the president's problems concerning the nation will be there plus more. The economic crisis clouding the world shall not have abated at that point.

Q: Sir, according to the latest SWS survey, Erap doubled his net gain. Do you think Erap is still the man to beat?

SP: There is a danger in an abrupt increase of your rating as a presidentiable. It's better to gain a high rating slowly. Because if it's too abrupt, the pull of gravity will surely get you down. I'll tell you, if Erap will not be disqualified, I think he will give a run for the money of other candidates. I have seen it in the field, in many areas in Mindanao, how the people warmly met him. And they were not "hakot" crowd. I've been long in politics I know whether people are sincere in their admiration to a certain candidate. Bata man o matanda, lahat sila sumisigaw ng "Erap! Erap!".

Q: Sir, as a lawyer, do you think Erap has a good chance in his legal battle regarding this?

SP: This issue has a pro and con. The Constitution clearly says that the president is not eligible for reelection. But the reality is that Erap is not the president anymore when he files his certificate of candidacy. He is a former president, an ousted president, not the president.

Q: Sir, maski na half of his term lang ang na- serve niya?

SP: I don't know. It is the Supreme Court that will decide on that matter. Given this uncertainty, we cannot blame Erap for presenting himself as a candidate.

Q: Sir, can you say that the warm reception of Erap by the people, will translate into votes?

SP: I agree with you. It does not necessarily translate into vote. You must have an organization to deliver the votes. And Erap has that. Unknown to you people, he has been organizing throughout the country. He has probably an organization as good or better than those who are now running for president.

Q: Barring legal problems, isn't it the position of Erap to run because he knows he cannot unite the opposition?

SP: That's a risky position in the part of Erap. If he divides the opposition votes, you will have a possible repeat of the 1992 Elections. In 1992, the administration of Cory fielded Ramos. There were many people who ran in that time. In my case, I was running for president at that time. I realized that the opposition will be massacred. I gave up my plan to run as a president. Instead, I ran for a congressional seat.

Q: So, sir, will Erap run?

SP: He shall run.

On Gloria Macapagal - Arroyo

Q: How do you rate the performance of GMA?

SP: Achievement-wise, I think she did a lot of things for the country. You cannot deny that. In terms of roads, modern airport, managing the economy, keeping the country together during all these years that she has been in power. She managed to set up a close link among the islands throughout the archipelago through her nautical project. As far as the energy industry is concerned, as a president, nobody could match her.

Q: Sir, bakit palaging negative sa ratings?

SP: Ewan ko kung ano ang dahilan. Because she is enveloped by controversies. Everytime she says something, may kontra. Kung mayroon siyang ginawa, may kontra. Suspicion is always there. That is what has been happening. As I said, minus the lack of trust, alleged corruption in her government and alleged question in her election as president, I am assessing concretely. I'm not catering to anybody. She can lay claim to a respectable achievement in terms of concrete projects done in the country.

Q: But you also have the much delayed NAIA that took years to open.

SP: Well, because that is beset by litigations.

Q: Sir, compared to Ramos, is she better than him?

SP: I do not want to make comparisons. In the case of Eddie Ramos, I would say that he also contributed to the infrastructure of the country.

Q: Sir, all things said, what did GMA failed to do?

SP: Well, she failed to finish the problem of insurgency in the country.

On the Senate opening for 3rd Regular Session

Q: Sir, ano po ang magiging agenda ng Senate sa pagbubukas ng session on Monday?

SP: The same thing we have been working on. We will continue with those. We will pass the Power Rate Reduction Bill. We will finish the Agrarian Reform Law Extension. Marami ang pending matters.

On 2010 Poll Automation

Q: The advent of the automation has really produced some very gray areas in the Election Code. Do you plan to amend the Election Code?

SP: There might be a need to revisit the Election Law. That's why we requested the Comelec to present to us what they considered to be needed changes in the Election Code of the Philippines in preparation for the 2010 elections.

Q: For example the overseas voting, will they remain manual?

SP: I do not know whether that is going to be computerized. But the function of the Board of Election inspectors in the precints and what documents will be canvassed by the Congress in case of the election of the president and vice president, these are things that must be dealt with.

On Cory Aquino

Q: Sir, as a former critique, what do you think will be the legacy of former President Cory Aquino?

SP: Well, in fairness to her, she sparked a nation into action, challenged the powers that be in her time and helped in bringing back freedom and democracy into the country.