Radio Interview with Sister Mariet Alo of DXHM Mati, Davao Oriental

Q: ON CORRUPTION,PEACE AND ORDER AND BENEFITS OF MILITARY PERSONNEL

SP: Yung pumupunta rito na mangagaling sa ibang bansa ay hindi masasaktan at sa gayon ay uunlad ang bayan at yung corruption aspect ay kailangan masugpo yan para magkaroon ng pera para gugugulin sa mga pulis at mga sundalo upang mapangalagaan ang katahimikan ng ating bansa.

Q: Maliwanag po na may koneksyon yung dalawa, kailangan ang pagpili natin ng leaders ngayon 'yung may mga puso para sa peace and order and also sa service talaga. Ang sunod po na tanong namin, ano po ba ang mga unang hakbang ng inyong partido upang mapatupad ang peace and order sa buong bansa?

SP: Kailangan niyan ay we will maintain honest to goodness law and order and tell people, itong bansa na 'to matagal ng nagdudusa sa kaguluhan ng bansa. Hati-hati tayo, ayaw natin ng ayaw. But law must be enforced. Law and order must be maintained. Justice must prevail in the society. The citizens who are not involved in this conflict must be given a chance to live peacefully in this land. So either you join society and abide by it, abide by the majority or we will have to apply the law against you. Hindi pwedeng merong you apply it to the law-abiding citizen yung batas at yung iba hindi. That is not an orderly society. Kaya dapat tanungin sa bawat kandidato ng pagka-Presidente, saan ka mag-uumpisa upang ayusin mo ang bansa natin? Sasabihin nila kabuhayan, o magtatrabaho ka nga, nanakawin na naman yung kinita mo o kukunin ng mga may baril yung mga pinaghirapan mo. Yung mga anak mo hindi makakapag-aral dahil baka kikidnapin, natatakot yung pamilya mo. Hindi sila makatulog nga mahimbing sa bahay at hindi mo maiiwanan dahil natatakot ka na masasaktan sila kaya basic sa isang bansa, kagaya ng Pilipinas, ang law and order. That is why government exists because of law and order in the society.

Q: 'Yun din po ang nangyayari ngayon sa mga teachers. 'Yung mock election na ginanap kamakailan lang ay kinonsidera na successful kahit may mga problema na teknikal na nangyari. Kung meron pong mga voters na darating sa halalan na hindi pa nila alam sa teknolohiya na ito, maaaring mabalewala ang boto po ng mga taong bayan, ang hinihiling po ay hindi pa naisagawa ang teachers training para sa automated elections. Ano po ang masasabi ninyo tungkol dito?

SP: Yung PCOS na yan hindi very complicated machine yan eh. You can learn in a few hours how to operate it. Yung software, nandyan na. Ginagawa na. So it's just the mechanical operation nung ating PCOS. Ngayon, meron talagang margine of error yan, 2 to 3 percent. Kaya kung meron mang magkaroon ng aberya, meron silang reserve equipment. And I think the training from now until election day, is enough to educate our people how to vote. How to operate the machines, because yung counting hindi na nga gagawin ng tao eh. Hindi na gagawin ng teachers, automatic nang gagawin nung PCOS. Ang gagawin lang ng mga inspectors, mga teachers, is to give the ballots, record it and see to it that the voters will put them in the machine and walang gagalawin sa machine na yun.

Q: Sir, salamat at nakikinig kaming lahat. Dito rin sa Mati, nagkaroon ng mock elections at hindi pa iyon full scale basis. Kung magkaroon ng failure of elections, ang Presidente ng Senado ang pansamantalang tatayong Pangulo ng bansa. Kayo po ang kasalukuyang Senate President, ngunit matapos kayo po na maging re-electionist, sino ba ang dapat tumayo as Senate President?

SP: Alam mo, yung failure of election is merely a speculation. Walang kasiguraduhan yan. Hindi tiyak yan. There's no certainty na mangyayari yan. Pero merong mga tao na gusto na ilagay nila yung puppet nila na maging Senate President dahil sila daw ay mataas na sa kanilang survey at baka sakaling magkaroon ng failure of election, dapat sila ang uupo na Presidente. Hindi Ganoon ang lipunan natin. Kung magkaroon ng failure of election, although I doubt that very very much na magkaroon, they will (5:44-5:46) among themselves. Kaya yang mga sinasabi na yan, mga panlilinlang sa taong bayan. Now, we will know if there is a failure of election on May 11. Now if may failure of election, it is not anyone else that will decide who is going to be the leader of the country, it will have to be the entire nation. All sectors of society, the leaders of the churches of the country, the educational sector of the country, the leaders of the farmers and the fishermen of the country, will have to be consulted who will be the leader of the nation in the meantime that we are waiting for a new election to elect a President. Not any of these political parties, not any of these present officials, but the entire national leadership will come together and solve that problem.

Q: Ok po. Talagang malakas ang pag-asa natin na matagumpay talaga? So ang last question ko po, confident ba kayo na magiging matagumpay talaga ang darating na fully automated elections?

SP: Very confident Sister eh. I am not like these people, they try to find faults, naghahanap sila ng butas para they can criticize the system. I am very confident that our people will endeavor to have an election. We cannot afford a no-election situation because if we do that, we are going to be fractured as a people, then it will be survival of the fittest. It will be a rule by the strongest. It will mean a civil war in the country pag wala tayong election.

Q: Salamat Manong Johnny. Talagang kilalang-kilala ka dito at marami kang tagahanga na walang cellphone. This may not be the end of our conversation on the air, at marami kayong mga messages especially to look forward to the success of the elections. Can we have a parting message from you, Manong Johnny?

SP: Sister, for your interview, this is my first experience to be interviewed by a Sister and when I staged the EDSA Revolution in 1986 it was Fr. Efren Datu who first interviewed me. This morning I was also interviewed by a priest from Antique, and now I am being interviewed by Sister Mariet from Mati. Thank you very much. Sana po, tayong lahat ay magtulungan na pumili ng tao na may kaisipan, kakayahan, karanasan, at dedikasyon sa bayan para sa ganun ay makapili tayo ng tunay na hahawak ng kapangyarihan magmula sa presidente, bise presidente, mga senador at lahat na ng hahawak ng kapangyarihan sa atin para itong ating bayan ay uusad at susulong para sa kabuhayan ng nakakaraming Pilipino. Salamat po.