Highlights of Senator Pia S. Cayetano's manifestations on the privilege speech calling for an investigation into the New Clark City sports facilities

Part 1

The project that her honor has flashed on the screen is very close to my heart. I am an athlete. I am also a national team player in my youth. And I was there when there were only beams. And I continually checked on it in the days [that came].

Mr. President, this is a world-class stadium built in record time, with the advice of no less than - if I am not mistaken, and I can check for the record - World Bank and/or ADB on how to finance and how to do this project.

Mr. President, the Southeast Asian Games would not have been as successful as it was if it had only the dilapidated stadium of Rizal Memorial, [and] Ultra. May I ask her honor if she has seen the place? Because the national track and field team, when they visited it around September, before the SEA Games commenced, they went there for the first time. Does her honor know that they cried when they saw the stadium? They cried when they had the opportunity to run on the turf. Bakit? Kasi doon sila nagpa-practice sa napakabulok na stadium. Ganoon ang kalagayan. That's how we treat our athletes. Ilan lang ang Manny Pacquiao ng Pilipinas who had the opportunity to raise himself and have sponsors. But not all sports are like boxing and basketball that have a strong following. Many of these athletes will never even be remembered. But on that day that we won the Gold Medal, the entire Southeast Asian countries gave their due respect to the Filipino athletes.

I am embarrassed that we cannot even honor that. I am embarrassed that we choose to make a political issue out of a world-class facility. Kaya tuloy wala nang mag-aabalang magpatayo ng matitino at kahanga-hangang mga infrastructure dito sa Pilipinas dahil magpatayo ka lang ng maganda, sasabihin na sa iyo na may kalokohan ka. So paano? Puro bulok na lang tayo? Para walang pumansin? Ganoon?

Paano magiging white elephant? Madam Sponsor, do you even know what are the conditions of our sports facilities para sabihin mong ang world-class na yun magiging white elephant? Hindi niyo ba alam na ipinasa natin ang National Academy of Sports? And doon mag-aaral, doon magte-training ang mga bata natin? Mga future Manny Pacquiao? Paano naging white elephant? Sana naman mag-ingat naman kayo sa mga paratang niyo dahil yan na naman ang ihe-headline. Hindi man lang natin binigyan ng kaunting parangal, kaunting respeto ang mga national athletes na alam niyo ba, kung hindi dahil sa Bayanihan 2 ay hindi pa magkakaroon ng allowance? Hindi thanks to PSC yan, ha? Thanks to [former House] Speaker Alan Cayetano, Congressman Bambol Tolentino, and Senator Sonny Angara.

So hinahalo ko yung mga mukha ng mga athletes na ito doon sa tinatawag n'yong white elephant. Kasi that is the only reason why you put up such a structure - for people, in this case, for young athletes. So I cannot separate their faces and their names from the structure that you now want people to cast doubt upon.

Again, I do not have the details. Wala akong hawak na papel (note: this was an impromptu manifestation). But I have to stand up for BCDA, for the architects, for the engineers, for every single construction worker that worked overtime. Madam Sponsor, alam niyo ba na 24/7 nagtrabaho yun para maka-deliver tayo sa Southeast Asian Games? Di ba mas kahihiyan yun na nag-umpisa Southeast Asian Games na hindi natapos yun? Nanood ho ba kayo? Nandoon ako. Nanalo tayo ng mga kung ano-anong event.

Yung pole vaulter natin, he claimed the gold. Si EJ Obiena. He was supposed to compete in the Olympics. Pero hindi natuloy ang Olympics. At least, nagka-Southeast Asian Gold Medal siya, diba? At least nanalo siya right before his own country. Napanood siya ng tatay niya na coach niya. Ganoon ang kalagayan ng mga athletes, Madam Sponsor.

Yung nanalo ng marathon, taga-Bukidnon siya. Umiiyak siya nung nakita ko siya after, hindi niya akalain na mananalo siya. Alam niyo bang na-lockdown siya dito for how many months, hindi nakauwi? Baka sabihin niyo na irrelevant na yun? Hindi, hindi irrelevant yun. Kasama yun sa mga sakripisyo ng mga athletes. Tapos ngayon, ang kaisa-isang nagawa natin for them, binibigyan pa natin ng malisya. Kaya ayan, yan ang mangyayari sa bansa natin. Puro malisya tayo, puro paghuhusga.

Part 2

Mr. President, like I said, I do not have the details dahil I am sponsoring CREATE. And I am the Senior Vice Chair of the Committee on Finance. Pero 'pag pinagpatuloy pa ni Senator Risa sa ganitong panahon na katulad nga ng sinabi ko, yung mga athletes na yan, na-lockdown, hindi nakauwi, sampung buwan walang allowance. Sampung buwan walang allowance. This is their livelihood. And you know, the only thing they have left is their pride. So when we do things like that, we slap them in the face. That is what we do, Mr. President. And when her honor chooses to use words like white elephant, you make the people who bother listening to us...to question our judgment. The more that they question the things that we do to make those who need more in life, to give them a better life. And that is exactly what that project was all about. Bakit, kakainin ba natin yun? Hindi. Bakit itinayo yun? Eh kasi nga may purpose. We were in line to sponsor, to host the SEA Games. Was there enough time to go through all the steps? I don't know. But I am sure there is a logical reason because the President of BCDA is one of those persons that is highly respected in this government. He was pulled in to assist the IATF with the testing, the capacity building, putting up quarantine centers. Hindi mag-aabala si Vince Dizon na mag-cut short lang ng corners para lang batikusin lang nang ganito. Ginawa niya yun para mapatayuan ng maipagmamalaki nating stadium ang Pilipinas.

I leave it at that, Mr. President. But I sincerely regret that inasmuch as we all have the right to stand up here for anything that we want to talk about - we do, lahat tayo may right - pero I sincerely regret na nagagamit ang floor natin para sirain ang napakagandang mga proyekto na tinayo, para lang naman bigyan ng kahalagahan ang ibang sektor ng ating bansa na normally hindi napapansin. They are normally training... Like I said, umiyak sila nung tumuntong sila sa turf ng track oval na yun. Umiyak sila. Sabi nila, "Wow, ang lambot." Sabi ko, saan ba kayo nagte-training? "Ma'am dun sa track oval na sira-sira na sa Pangasinan." Sabi ko, "Paano kayo nakarating ng Pangasinan?" "Wala na ho kaming mapag-training-an sa Metro Manila."

And then their facilities, nakatira na rin ako sa Rizal Memorial. As I said, I was a national team athlete. Yung tinirhan ko sa Rizal Memorial nung 1983, awa ng Diyos ganoon pa rin ang itsura. Kung hindi pa natin pinatayo ang track oval sa University of the Philippines, which is open to all, inabot ng mga anak ko, what 30 years after I graduated, the same track and football field ng UP. Siguro si UP, sinundan nila to the letter every single step. Awa ng Diyos, inabot ng apat na taon, nag-graduate na ang anak ko, never nila nakita ang field na yun. That is how infrastructure projects in the Philippines go along.

So if you don't want our people to dream, if you don't take a stand and give honor to what should be honored, the people who did right, then we'll just watch our country crumble because we are just going to be finger pointing every step of the way. And I take offense as an athlete, as a mother of athletes, as a mentor, and as a friend of all these athletes whose sole pride was to be able to see such a structure built in their honor questioned and castigated in this manner.

Salamat po.

Part 3

Mr. President, since you mentioned that by Olympic standards, you are right. That's a requirement, that you have the - they call it a warm up pool. So without that, you cannot get the proper accreditation. You will not receive that highest level of accreditation and you will not be able to sponsor international competitions.

In fact, Mr. President, during the Southeast Asian Games, as it was [happening], sa sobrang tuwa nung ating national sports association ng swimming, they already said yes to host this international competition. I am not sure if it was this year, so baka nga hindi natuloy because of COVID. Because they are now qualified to host those kinds of swimming events, which we could not do before. Kung familiar kayo sa Rizal Memorial tsaka sa Ultra, hindi ganoon ang swimming pool doon.

And I'd also like to spread into the record similarly for the track oval, the ones that you would have seen, for anyone here who watched it, that track oval is the main track. Kapag lumabas ka doon sa stadium, there is another track, Mr. President. Kasi ganoon din. It is required that there is a warm up track. And then, in addition to that, inside the stadium, indoor, merong mga 100-meter din na track. So kapag matagal ka pa (bago mag-compete), doon ka magwa-warm up sa labas. Kapag malapit ka na, pwede ka mag-sprinting doon sa loob. And then finally, in the main.

All of these would not be accredited. Again, yung white elephant na inaabala niyo, Madam Sponsor, we can now host international competitions. And that will even be cheaper for our athletes because they don't have to keep going abroad. We can host. It brings glory to the country, mura para sa ating mga athletes and coaches. May facilities naman doon para matulog... Hindi ko natapos ang kwento ko pero yung sinabi kong natutulog ako doon sa dorm sa Rizal na ngayon ay ganoon pa rin.

Now, we have world-class facilities. Nung nakita ng mga athletes, naiyak sila kasi mukha daw hotel ang kanilang kwarto. Anong sasabihin natin ngayon, "Dapat hindi mukhang hotel yan. Dapat mukha lang kayong ano, tabi-tabing dormitoryo." Hindi ba nila karapatan yun? Na humiga sa hindi iniipis? Humiga sa magandang kama? Na magkaroon ng magandang banyo? Yan ang kinekwestyon natin.

Anyway, Mr. President. It's because of you na dinagdag ko ito dahil nabanggit niyo ang swimming pool, dinagdag ko na rin po ang track oval. Thank you.