Transcript of Kapihan sa Senado w/ Sen. Recto Reference

ON TRAFFIC SITUATION

R Sinabi ng Pangulo na 'yung mga bus companies pribilehiyo 'yan, dapat managot 'yun dapat managot kung hindi sumusunod sa batas ng trapiko. Ang mahalaga din, para madali sumunod ang lahat ng mga mamayaman ng Metro Manila, ay bibigay tayo ng solution sa trapiko, hindi lang short-term pero long-term. Halimbawa, matagal ko na sinabi na dagdagan ng mga kotse sa MRT. Bawasan natin 'yun bus, dagdagan natin 'yung kotse sa MRT. Palagay ko, sa isang taon pwede gawin 'yun. Makikita mga tao na may pagasa. There is light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak. Pwede pa kaya tayo gagawa sa tatlong taon na bagong EDSA. Halimbawa, C-6 ba tawag doon? Or di kaya 'yung connection ng NLEX, SLEX. Nagpapag-usapan din natin ngayon 'yan dahil sa araw na ito mismo, napapag-usapan sa isang hotel 'yung PPP, pag-invest ng mga private sector sa mga mahalagang infrastructure projects sa ating bansa. You have to make Metro Manila work dahil if Metro Manila works, mayroon tayo modelo na pwede sundan ng buong Pilipinas.

Sa ngayon, binababayaran natin d'yan mahigit 600,000 to 650,000 riders, ang dapat sumasakay d'yan. Ang sumasakay d'yan ay 450,000 lang, so mayroon 150,000 ghost riders dahil kulang din 'yung kotse natin. So dagdagan natin 'yung kotse.

Q Do we have space for that?

R Pwede. Napag-aralan na naming 'yun nakaraan, 'yun sa NEDA pa, in fact, ilang kilometro lang yan na pwede mo gamitin 'yung riles ng PNR, elevated highway. Ang SLEX ngayon bababa ka sa Buendia, pwedeng gumawa kang daan doon papunta PNR sa taas, elevated highway, wala ka na right of way. Wala ka na tatangalin ng mga bahay d'yan. Elevated highway, all the way to North Luzon Express Highway.

Ang isa nga 'yung 64 kilometers ng C-6 pero mas mahaba gawin 'yon. Sabi ko pareho gagawin 'yan. There must be a sense of urgency dito sa atin bansa para patuloy lumago ang ating ekonomiya. Magkaroon ng kumpiyansa ang tao, mapabigay ng trabaho, at maging competitive 'yung ating ekonomiya. At the end of the day, it's about creating jobs and making our economy more competitive. You will not be able to sustain the growth without the necessary infrastructure.

ON THE PRESIDENTIAL TRIPS

Q The President has been out of the country three times with rosy promises of billions of dollars coming in. When do see the game?

R 'Yun biyahe ng Pangulo natin, dalawang bagay yan. Isa, you cannot quantify the good relations we have with our good neighbors. Pangalawa, 'yung economic benefits. Palagay ko hindi mo ma quantify the cooperation that we have with our neighbors, napaka-mahalaga din yan. Naaasahan natin na maganda ang takbo ng ating ekonomiya, maganda 'yun macro-economics stability natin. In fact, kung titingnan n'yo ang utang ng Pilipinas ay 67% of GDP, ang Amerika ngayon, ang utang nila ay 95% of GDP. At dahil d'yan ang piso natin lumalakas. So mas mura to build these infrastructure projects. By the end of the year, $60 billion 'yung gross international reserves natin. Isang dahilan din 'yung nagpalakas 'yun piso natin.

Ngunit, kung hindi nagagawa 'yun atin gobyerno sa pag-pinpoint exact infra projects na dapat gagawin sa atin bansa, we cannot grow as fast as our neighbors are growing and not be able to reduce poverty in our country as we want to reduce poverty.

Q But when can we see the billions in pledges?

R Well, tulad ngayon, mayroon isang conference ginagawa sa PPP in one of the hotels in Metro Manila. Pangalawa, 'yung budget that we are tackling sa darating na lingo. There's a relation between the two. "Yung budget natin P1.6 trillion, mas malaki 'yung social spending natin, mas maliit sa infrastructure. We are hoping that the private sector will take the slot and sila maiinvest sa mga infrastructure dito sa PPP. So, ilan ba sa mga PPP naka-lista d'yan ang ready to go halimbawa next year? Palagay ko, 2012 pa ang marami d'yan na posibleng ready to go. So as early as now, dapat ginagawa 'yung mga feasibility studies, 'yung project designs, engineering designs, and so on and so forth, para mai-bid out agad ang mga projects na 'yan.

Hindi lahat na kailangan mo d'yan na foreign investments or BOT dahil maraming pera ang Pilipinas, believe it or not, na pwedeng i-locally fund mga ibang projects. Mas maraming trabaho mabibigay d'yan, lalago ang takbo ng atin ekonomiya, mas malaki 'yung buwis na makokolekta sa taong bayan. So, maging spiral sa pataas ang takbo ng atin ekonomiya. At dahil d'yan, you can spend more on human capital. For education, for health services and other services as well.

Q The statement early by Malacañang projected a 7% growth, but is this growth job-generating?

R Sa ngayon, first half of the year grew by 8%. So, magandang umpisahan 'yan. The challenge is to sustain that, moving forward, including next year. Basically, I am saying that we cannot do that if we don't invest in infrastructure. We need to grow 8% to 9% every year for the next six year to dramatically reduce poverty incidence and do a catch-up with our neighbors. So it's really infra, infra, infra.

Hindi mo ma so-solve 'yung problema ng trapiko sa Metro Manila by way of color coding lang. Magbabawas tayo ng pribadong kotse sa lansangan, mga buses, pero isipin n'yo kung pwede tayong sabihin sa taong bayan, dagdagan natin 'yung MRT kotse, gagawa natin bagong EDSA at sa loob ng tatlong taon wala na color-coding. May pag-asa ang tao at pwede gawin 'yan kasi nakikita ko sa ibang bansa ginagawa n'yan.

We can benefit from the economic conditions globally right now. There is so much interest in the Philippines, malaki ang gross international reserves natin. Maraming pera ang GSIS for instance that can invest in our infrastructure needs. Hindi natin ginagastos ng tama, ginagamit lang halimbawa sa bonuses nang GOCC. 'Yung mga GFIs and the GOCC natin siguro 'yun pera huwag 'yan, a little less than a trillion pesos. The challenge is paano tayo gagamitin ng tama 'yan. Marami tayong resources.

Maraming trust fund ang gobyerno sa DOF sa Treasury. May isang municipal treasury fund, mahigit P12B ang pera na yan that can fund the LRT project. Halimbawa ang GSIS nag invest sa isang project na $1B project sa ibang bansa. Ang pangulo natin pumupunta sa ibang bansa para humikayat ng negosyante mag invest sa atin para umutang para sa mga proyektong kailangan nating gawin pero meron tayong pondo dito na invest natin sa ibang bansa na hindi naman kumikita at hindi maganda ang kinikita rin, so mas mabuti na tayo na ang gumawa. Diba? So marami, it's just a matter of being creative knowing ano yung resources available sa atin. Parang sa bahay din ninyo tinitingnan mo ang resources that are available for your disposal at kung paano mo gagastusin eto ganun din ang pamahalaan at ang pribadong kumpanya.

Kailangan may appropriation cover dapat sabihin sa ating ng Secretary of Finance, "okey na." Sa loob ng 6 na buwan dapat kongkreto na. Every resources na available that we propose to spend on this project. Ang project evaluation ay napaka halaga rin.

Ang Kongreso, ang maganda sa budget deliberations marami dyan napagusapan na, marami dyan nakita na, marami dyan na pag usapan na sa Commmittee hearings. There must be a sense of urgency. Hindi pwedeng hintayin pa natin ang 2012. Marami na ng pwedeng gawin by 2011. That's why I welcome na meron ngayong summit or a conference with regard to the PPP. Pero it's a step in the right direction I'll put it that way.

Q What will prevent the national gov't from tapping this fund?

R Hindi pa nila nakita noong una. Palagay ko ngayon they have a good idea already of our resource potential.

Q (unclear)

R Pwede mong mabasawan ng malaki ang budget deficit. Sa totoo lang you don't look at the budget deficit alone because it is in a relation to what? Halimbawa, kung ang ekonomiya grows by 8% at yung deficit mo ay sobrang gastos mo sa kinita mo, halimbawa, 3.9% panalo ka pa.You grow the faster rate than your debt grew. So to me, immaterial yung deficit for as long as your economy growing faster bababa pa rin yung ratio mo. So you don't look at the deficit. Ibig sabihin umutang ka so kung ginastos mo nang tama and to show na ginastos mo nang tama, the economy will be growing faster than your debt. Lahat ng malalaking negosyante may utang. Si Henry Sy, malaki ang utang nyan. Pero mas malaki ang growth; nagagamit nya ang utang nya sa tamang paraan kaya yumayaman sya.

Q Is there a need to amend the BOT law when it is the same as PPP?

R BOT and PPP are the same. May batas tayo dyan. Yun ang ginagamit nating batas para sa mga PPP na eto. PPP is the generic name. Ang batas na umiiral dyan is the BOT law.

Q Sir, yun sinabi n'yo BOT, PPP kung ano-ano, same lang yan?

R Doon nanggaling sa batas na yan na gawa ng kongreso on the 90's . Eto yung frame work ng PPP ngayon. Lahat ng mga power plants sa na ginawa nong araw, BOT or PPP yan, yung toll road, slex, nlex, naia 3 PPP yan BOT yan MRT3 sa Edsa PPP yan.

Q Pinalitan lang ng pangalan?

R Hindi naman pinalitan generic term ang PPP. Kulang pa yan mas marami ang dapat gawin. Ako nakakabiyahe ako sa ibang bansa, nakikita ko kung ano ang ginagawa nila doon. Wala kang makikita doon kung hindi continuous ang ginagawa nilang imprastraktura at yun ang dahilan kung bakit sila nangunguna, kung bakit mayayaman ang tao nila, kung bakit mas konbinyente ang mga buhay nila roon.

On MRT coaches

R Ang sinasabi ko napakadali sa loob ng 1 taon. Pwede mong dagdagan ang coaches ng MRT. Malaking ginhawa yan. Maraming nagsasabi sa akin na siksikan masyado sa loob ng MRT. Tapos kawawa rin ang mga kababaihan. So, hindi lang solusyon na babawasan mo 'yung bus, dapat dagdagan 'yun coaches sa MRT. Puede pa tayo sabihin na sa loob ng tatlong taon, mawawala ang color-coding if you plan the city properly, if you can build more roads. So how do you build more roads?

Q Sir, 'yun dagdag sa MRT, LRT coaches, would it also follow na dagdag riles?

R Hindi. Mababawasan pa. You have to make the reinvestment. Right now, nagbabayad tayo ng subsidy for a 100,000 to 200,000 ghost riders na hindi sumasakay ng MRT kasi may government guarantee 'yan. The government guarantee d'yan is like 650,000 passengers in a day and 'yung capacity lang naman n'ya ay 450,000 pero bayad pa rin 'yun hindi sumasakay. Kulang 'yun kotse. If you make that reinvestment, bababa 'yung subsidy mo, hindi mo kailangan dagdagan 'yun fare.

MRT and the LRT are asking for higher fares...

R Kasi walang nagiisiip na dagdagan mo 'yun coaches. Make those reinvestments.

Q Sir, budget deliberation next week, have the senators already expressed their intention on the CCT?

R Palagay ko ang trabaho ko is to marry both proposals. Halimbawa, sabi ni Senator Angara, bawasan natin 'yung P21 billion to P15 billion. Sabi ni Sen. Drilon, pagbigyan natin ng Pangulo. Tutal kung palpak 'yung first series of implemtation the CCT, sa 2012, we will not look kindly at it anymore. Ako, tingin ko, you can marry the two proposals with special provisions. Huwag mong bawasan 'yung P21 billion pero mayroon kang reportorial requirement at the end of six months. Kung 'yun absorptive (?) capacity ng DSWD, hindi nila kayang gastusin, lagyan mo ng kicker provision. Pag hindi nila kayang gastusin, ilipat natin dito. But give them a chance. At the end of six months, kung hindi nila kayang gastusin at hindi nila kayang gastuhin na ng tama, you fail to achieve a certain benchmark, then pwedeng irealign for another purpose. Saan pwedeng realign? Calamity fund ng Pangulo. Taon-taon 29 na bagyo ang tumatama sa atin. May flooding, may climate change at kung ano-ano pa. Taon-taon natatamaan tayo ng P10-15 billion worth of calamities. Ang calamity fund P5 billion. To be fair, dapat mag set aside ang goberyno para d'yan. You can create ang oversight committee, bantayan kung paano ginagastos, you can write a special provision and we are drafting that provision which marries the intent of both.

On Tourism

Q We know that tourism is a factor in economic growth. What should be done by our administration to increase tourist arrivals in the country?

R Alam mo mahalaga yung marketing, at tama lahat ng nabanggit ni Senator Escudero kanina. Dadagdagan ko lang ng kaunti siguro. One, kung limitado ang resources mo sa advertising at sa promotions, hindi naman pwedeng shotgun approach, na buong mundo you are trying to target. You focus on who do you want to target? Do you want more American tourists? Do you want more European tourists? It takes fifteen hours from the US to come to the Philippines. It takes something like another fifteen hours to go to Europe from the Philippines. Ibig sabihin, long haul flight 'yan. Ako, sa aking pagkaalam, maraming hindi nakakaalam sa America at sa Europa kung saan ang Pilipinas. Kung alam man nila at intiresado silang pumunta dito, there is a commitment. Sasakay ka ng eroplanong napakahaba, mas malaki ang bayad sa ticket mo. There is a commitment to come in that sense. Alam natin may economic problem ang America, may economic problem ang Europa, should you want to target them or are you targeting the Chinese, the Japanese, the Koreans, Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, or Indonesia? Who are you trying to target? Which tourist are you trying to target? 'Yun, short haul flight 'yun. Limitado ang resources mo, intindihin natin 'yung merkado. Sa America, 'yung mga Americano maraming pwedeng puntahan sa America, sa Europa, maraming pwedeng puntahan sa Europa. Will they have that commitment to ride that long haul flight to the Philippines?

Ngayon, dagdag pa d'yan 'yung infrastructure. Pag dating mo sa airport dito, NAIA 1 or 2, lilipat ka sa Domestic kung Pupunta ka ng Boracay. Meron bang terminal na pwedeng mag-shuttle sa iyo sa kabila? O sasakay ka pa ba ng taxi? Kinuha mo 'yung bag mo, galing ka ng fifteen hours sa Europa, galing ka ng America, lilipat ka ngayon ng airport daladala mo 'yung bagahe mo. Pwede ba, unang-una, 'yun ang ayusin, from NAIA 1 to NAIA 2 to NAIA 3 halimbawa kung meron kang domestic flight?

One thing is for sure, more people know about the Philippines because of Manny Pacquiao. That is for sure. Baka hindi nila alam kung saan 'yung Pilipinas sa mapa kung America at Europa ang pinaguusapan. Palagay ko within the region, more people know about the Philippines.

Q Would you advise Sec. Alberto Lim to think of other ways to promote the country's tourism rather than changing the slogan?

R I can talk to him and exchange views on it, learn from him as well and probably give him my two-cents worth. I think the people have spoken loudly as far as this new slogan is concerned. There seems to be more appreciation for WOW Philippines than the new one, that's for sure.

On the recent P2 oil price hike

R One thing for sure I know, kung lumalaki ang gross sales ng oil industry, bakit 'yung buwis nila bumababa? And then, nakalagay naman sa diyaryo magkano ang kinikita ng oil companies. Ilan na ba ang taas this year? How can gross sales be smaller this year than last year? Sa budget hearings, pinakita ko na 'yan. Palagay ko rin dapat repasuhin ng Kongreso, ng DOE, 'yung liberalization ng oil industry. 'Yung pricing mechanism na every week, masyadong volatile. Pwede ba 'yan after every 30 days, akyat baba ng presyo, imbes na weekly? Kasi magulo sa mga public transport groups din 'yan. Magulo sa mga buses 'yan, sa mga jeepney, sa mga tricycle 'yan at sa pasahero. Pangalawa, ano ba 'yung long term plan natin d'yan? Are we going to promote electric vehicles in this country para less dependent tayo sa fossil fuel? Again, light at the end of the tunnel. Are we really going to push our ethanol program, our biodiesel program? Nandiyan na 'yung mga batas, let's make it work. Let's push on these. Doon Pupunta ang mundo. Remember in 2008, pumalo ang langis ng $140 a barrel. Darating ba tayo doon ulit? Sigurado. It is just a matter of time. Pag nagkaroon ng global rebound 'yung ekonomiya, tataas ulit ang presyo n'yan. As early as now, paghandaan na natin 'yan. 'Yun ang sinasabi ko. So, how can you check kung tama 'yung presyo o hindi? Maraming paraan. One way to look at it, is how much taxes did you pay, because you can work backward. Base sa buwis na binayaran ninyo, ito lang dapat ang presyo ninyo. Kaya kung lumiliit ang bayad nila, dapat bumaba ang presyo.

Q Di ba sir, dapat nami-mitigate din'yan pag lumalakas 'yung peso because you pay less dollars?

R Tama. That should mitigate the prices also.

Q Ang katuwiran ng mga oil companies, kung tumaas ang world market taas din sila. But didn't they buy some crude, some inventory bought at a lower price, before the increase in the world market?

R Precisely. Kung ang inventory supply natin is thirty days, bakit sila nagtataas weekly, kung ang imbentaryo mo, trentang araw? Meron pa tayong reserve stock. 'Yun ang sinasabi kong dapat tingnan.

Q Wala yatang tumitingin ng inventory ngayon, kasi pag tumaas ng for example naglalaro sa $88, tataas din kaagad in a matter of two days.

R Ngayon bumaba naman ng $82, so next week ba, ibababa nila? Ang reklamo ng tao, gabi-gabi nakikita mo 'yan sa internet, sa TV, napapanood ko 'yan, eh ngayon bumagsak ang presyo. 'Yan ba, ibabawi nila next week, bababa ba ang presyo? Kaya maraming nagsasabi sa mga mamamayan natin, mga consumer natin, mabilis umakyat, mabagal bumaba. Nakakaintindi 'yung mga kababayan natin d'yan.

On the elevated highways and trains

Q Bakit hindi ninyo po nababanggit yung pagsusulong ng mga tren natin?

R Kung natatandaan ninyo 'yung commercial natin nung eleksiyon, di ba may tren doon? Building smart cities. Katulad n'yan, sa taong ito, dapat matatapos na 'yung dikit ng LRT-MRT. Trabaho din natin 'yun nung nasa NEDA tayo, di ba? Eto ngayon, 'yung LRT 1 extension papuntang south, papuntang Antipolo, 'yan, medyo ripe na 'yung mga project na 'yan. Sa palagay ko there would be a lot of interest today in that PPP forum, for at least those two projects. Malaki ang maitutulong din n'yan sa Metro Manila, sa traffic natin. Pero, hindi sapat 'yun. Tama 'yun pero hindi sapat. Kailangan dagdagan din 'yung kalsada. Dumadami ang tao. Metro Manila will double in size in twenty to twenty-five years. You have to build also not only mass urban transcript, but also new roads, new bridges along the Pasig river, halimbawa.

Q Isn't it about time you also give attention to the old railway system, PNR?

R Tama po 'yun. Naumpisahan na rin 'yan kung tutuusin natin, but we want to see a follow through. Sabi ko nga sa hearing natin sa committee deliberations natin dito sa DOTC, sa Europa, sa China, the trains are competing with the airlines. Mas mabilis gumamit ng tren sa mga bansang 'yun, kaysa sa eroplano. Kasi kung eroplano ka, may waiting time ka pa sa airport, dalawang oras. Noong isang lingo, galing ako sa Shanghai. From Shanghai to Nanjing, one hour ten minutes, ang takbo ng tren, 350kph. 300 kilometers 'yung distansiya. Mas mabilis sumakay ng tren kaysa gumamit ng eroplano. Merong Maglev pa sa China, tumatakbo ng 600kph 'yung tren. Isang oras 'yun kung by car, one hour and a half from the airport to Shanghai. Mag tren ka, pitong minuto. So, dapat, doon tayo Pupunta. Maliwanag, alam natin doon dapat tayo Pupunta.

Q The PNR railway had been rotting from here to Legaspi for decades, bakit hindi man lang nirerehab 'yun?

R Naumpisahan na nga 'yung rehab n'un. Tingnan ninyo ngayon. Ako, galling ako ng SLEX kanina. From Alabang papunta dito, nakita ko 'yung tren. Hindi siya Maglev, hindi siya bullet train, pero nauumpisahan na 'yung rehabilitation. I am saying let us continue with that. Nakakaligtaan nila 'yun. We have a thousand kilometers of rail in the country, only 55 kilometers ang napapakinabangan. Nandoon sa ADB report, nandoon sa World Bank report. In the committee deliberations, binanggit ko na rin ito.

Q The Northrail system is bogged in scandal, di ba?

R 'Yun ang sinasabi ko. Better project identification and implementation.

Q Has Northrail been settled?

R Hindi pa, kasi ang problema d'yan, pinilit 'yung project na 'yan nung nakaraan, hindi pa ripe in the sense that pinirmahan 'yan, wala pang engineering design. Nandoon pa 'yung mga settlers, wala pang right of way. Kagaya n'yan, in the budget for next year, dapat mag-allocate ka na nag pera para sa right of way, pinaplano mo na, binibili mo na 'yung right of way, para pag nabili mo na, then the next year you do the construction. Hindi mo masasabay-sabay. There must be a vision. There must be a follow-through. Meron na alam na pupuntahan, and it begins by having a smarter city. Let's develop Metro Manila as a smarter city. If this works, then there is a model throughout the Philippines. If Metro Manila fails, sino pa ang magtitiwala?

On infrastructure

Q If infrastructure is an important tool for progress, bakit po 'yung present economic managers natin allotted small budgets for infrastructure?

R Because they are hoping that the private sector will take up the slack and do the PPP as well. Okay lang, naintindihan ko 'yun. I have no problem with that. But, let's finish all those feasibility studies, all those engineering designs immediately.

Q Walang existing daw na maga design?

R Hindi pa ganun ka-ripe lahat.

Q Are there plans in case the private sector does not accept the invitation to participate in the infrastructure program?

R Clearly, there will be a lot of interest but a lot of those projects can also be locally funded. Like I'm saying, use our resources.

On KLM threatening to pull out if we don't change our local taxes

R I am not familiar. Anong local taxes 'yun? I will take a look at it but you know, that is something that I think the DOT secretary and the Finance secretary should talk about. If legislation is needed, then they can tell us and we can make corresponding changes. Pero sa tingin ko d'yan, marami d'yan interpretation lang. They can do it by themselves. So dapat naguusap sila and they can get back to me. I will look into it as well.

Q You ran under the banner of PNOY. He almost did a George Bush when he said, no new taxes. Will that hold?

R There is no urgency to impose new taxes. Your debt to GDP is going down, the economy is growing by 8%, na-credit upgrade pa tayo recently, interest rates are going down, there is no need. You want people to consume as well. Walang urgency to impose new taxes. If at all, you can rationalize certain taxes next year. The SIN tax law, halimbawa, you can review that. Rationalization of fiscal incentives, you can review that. But to make a drastic overhaul, wala akong nakikita sa pansamantala. And the best way to raise revenue is to make the economy grow at a faster rate today, if you can grow the economy faster, you will collect more taxes. If more people are with jobs, then you will collect more taxes. If you do all these infrastructure project, I will make a bet, job generating 'yan because it improves the competitiveness of your economy. You need to build these infrastructure projects. Hindi yayaman ang Pilipinas kung hindi natin gagawin 'yan. Lahat ng proyekto ng pamahalaan, in choosing the resources of the government, titingnan mo the best way of spending these resources. Will it contribute to the growth in the economy? And you must have an employment odometer. Ilang trabaho ang mabibigay nito?