Transcript of Interview Senate President Juan Miguel "Migz" F. Zubiri
in Kapihan sa Manila Bay with Marichu Villanueva

SENATE PRESIDENT JUAN MIGUEL "MIGZ" F. ZUBIRI: Good morning, everyone. Magandang umaga po, and of course, advanced Happy Chinese New Year and belated Happy New Year to everyone. It's nice to be here with all of you. This is my first media forum for the year, so buena mano, Ma'am Ichu.

Alam mo, maraming issues na nangyari these past few months. The good news is, naipasa po namin 'yong national budget nang maaga, and I think, magandang regalo po 'yan sa ating mga kababayan dahil hindi po nila naiisip na 'pag pinasa po natin 'yong budget nang maaga, nang walang budget impasse, pinapakitaan natin ng maganda senyales ang ating business community and all over the world, as a whole, that we are ready to do business in this new administration, and the country is ready to go and commit to its programs and projects. So, hindi katulad ng dati, na it would extend all the way to January, 'yong signing ng national budget. Ito po, second week of December, tapos na po natin 'yong ating budget deliberations.

So I'd like to thank the House of Representatives headed by Speaker Martin Romualdez, and of course, my colleagues in the Senate for a job well done. Again, nagdouble time kami, napagod kami lahat -- alam mo, nawalan ako ng boses, I told Sen. Angara, baka next year, pwede nating dagdagan ang mga araw. Let's extend it a little bit more, maybe just for a few days, just so we don't have to tackle five budgets, five departments in one day. Umaabot po kami ng 2 [o'clock] in the morning. Kung si Sen. Frank Drilon pa 'yong Minority Leader ko, by 11 o'clock nagsusungit na iyon eh. Nagagalit na sa akin 'yon. Buti na lang si Sen. Koko, game na game siya and he was also a hard worker, and allowed us to finish our deliberations up to 2 to 3 [o'clock] in the morning. Last time, we had a session na alas-tres na po kami natapos.

So, request ko kay Sen. Angara, baka pwede, instead of tackling this six working days, baka pwedeng, maybe, nine working days -- three weeks, instead of two -- that way, hindi naman puyatan ang ating mga kasamahan. But definitely, the idea is still to pass it on time and early as much as possible, as early as possible.

We also passed the SIM Registration Law, which, by the way, kung na-notice niyo, parang kumokonti na 'yong mga scam na pinapadala sa phone natin. 'Di ba, October -- June, July, August, September, October -- panay mga "Sali kayo" sa mga ganitong klaseng games, kung ano-ano, "Mananalo kayo, times five", ganito, ganyan. Ngayon, kumokonti na. Yes, in a way, the SIM Card Registration is really helping curb itong unscrupulous transactions over the phone, also curb terrorist acts, because now, if there's anything being done, illegally using cellphones, mamo-monitor na po natin kung sino ang may kasalanan nito.

And of course we passed the barangay election postponement, and several other bills are also pending with us in the Senate. And hopefully we can these on the first quarter of this year.

Iyong mga priority measures, 'yong sa LEDAC natin na priority measures, alam mo naman...iba 'yong dynamics dito sa Senado. Hindi po kami pwedeng mag-"Choo, Choo, Train" na sabihing "Ipasa ito, without comment, without discussion." With due respect to the House -- kasi galing din po ako sa House of Representatives -- sa House we have what we call "tyranny of numbers". Kapag sinabi ng Speaker, ng majority leader na "Ipasa na 'yan," ay talagang ipapasa na 'yan. Wala talaga tayong magagawa. You can raise hell and high water, you can debate and ask questions, pero 'pag na overrule ka ng majority, wala tayong magagawa. Sa Senate, we have rules and traditions, and we follow traditions more than the rules. Because we can do the same, but time and time again, the Senate has porven to be a bastion of democracy of our country and we allow all our colleagues to raise issues, questions, debate on it on the floor. Of course, except for filibustering. 'Yong filibustering hindi na po uso 'yan, dahil gawain 'yan ng ating mga ninuno sa Senado. Pero ngayon, for the good of the country, basta maganda po para sa ating bayan, ay pwede nating pag-usapang nang masinsinan, and of course, come up with a compromise na maipasa natin itong mga batas na ito.

So we are ready and raring to go by the first quarter of this year to take up all our priority measures like the Virology Institute; the creation of the Center for Disease Control; the medical -- bills that will help increase our economic standing, and many, many others. So 'yan ang pag-uusapan natin ngayon at of course, pagdedebatehan namin sa Senado this coming first quarter.

So I open the floor, Ma'am Ichu. Thank for the opportunity, for allowing me to be here with you today.

Q: That's one whole report of my questions and you answered it already. Can I go down to the specifics of what you have discussed? First, you have mentioned bout increasing the number of days, weeks in the budget deliberations, in the first place, how many legislative days are you supposed to conduct for the regular session?

SP ZUBIRI: Ang session naman natin kasi, Ma'am Ichu, is usually Monday to Wednesday, so ang ginawa namin dalawang linggo po kami -- actually, nag-umpisa po 'yong budget process on a Wednesday, the sponsorship of Sen. Angara of the budget, and then by Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and we went, the week after, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. So, technically we took it up in two weeks.

We can extend naman Monday to Friday. Ang sabi ko nga sa kanya, kung kaya (Sen. Angara), gawin na nating Monday to Friday, Monday to Friday. So dalawang linggong Friday schedule, para sa ganoon, hindi masyadong hirap 'yong mga agencies, at 'yong mga sponsors.

Q: No, what I meant is, for a regular session -- 'di ba three regular sessions kayo -- how many legislative days are you supposed to convene?

SP ZUBIRI: Oh, for the calendar? Legislative calendar is comprising of an average 100 to 130 session days per year. So we have, katulad niyan, nag-break po tayo last Christmas, balik po kami ng January 23, right? We come back on January 23, and then we adjourn again on March 23, for the Holy Week. Usually tatlong linggo 'yan. And then we come back end of April, first week of May, to tackle the other legislative agenda, all the way til June. And then we adjourn sine die. So tapos na itong First Regular Session of this Congress, and we'll have the Second Regular [Session].

So, medyo kulang-kulang din kami ng panahon, but masisipag naman itong ating mga kasamahan, so itulak natin.

Q: I was thinking baka gusto mong i-extend, or expand 'yong legislative calendar --

SP ZUBIRI: Possibly, we can do that.

Q: But you have to agree with the House?

SP ZUBIRI: Yes. We can expand only within a week, or allow a one-week extended time, without the House approval. Anything else than that we may stop the clock.

Q: You mentioned about, one of your best outputs for the past year was the approval, quickly, of the budget, and the SIM Registration, and now, are you satisfied with the initial implementation of these two landmark laws?

SP ZUBIRI: May comment nga si Sen. Ping, it's not the quick passage of the budget that is important, it is the proper utilization of the budget. In a way, tama po siya, I agree with Sen. Ping Lacson, that, well the ball is now in the court of the executive. Pinasa na namin nang maaga, eh baka naman may tinatawag na underspending ang mga government agencies. Because underspending and having a lot of savings mean na hindi niyo nagawa nang maayos ang inyong programa at mga proyekto para sa ating mga kababayan. That's the botomline to it. Ibig sabihin, hindi maganda 'yong utilization, absorption, absorptive capacity ng isang departamento na magawa itong mga programa.

That's why, with eagle eyes, we are going to look at this 2023 budget, we will see which departments will be underspending, will not be using their funds efficiently and effectively, so that we will be guided for the 2024 budget. Para makita natin, for example, DOTr, may savings, hindi nagastos P20 billion, tatanungin namin bakit, anong problema. Kadami-daming problema ng DOTr ba't hindi niyo nagamit itong budget na ito for what it's supposed to be used for? Definitely there will be a realignment of budgets by 2024. We will be using of course, the knowledge of what we have seen in this year's 2023 budget. That's the commitment that we do every year to our people: The efficient and effective use of our scarce resources, particularly, our budget, our national budget, through the oversight functions.

Kaya ang budget ay dumadaan sa Kongreso, sa Senado, taon-taon. Kung patulog-tulog ka lang diyan, hindi mo makikita itong mga brazen differences when it comes to budget spending. We'll have eagle eyes, bantayan natin talaga sila, and then pagdating ng discussions on October for the 2024 budget, tatanungin namin isa-isa itong mga ahensyang ito kung ano bang ginagawa nila sa ating pondo.

For example, dinagdagan ko po, together with Sen. Angara and Sen. JV Ejercito, the budget of the DOH when it comes to specialty hospitals. We added P10 billion, if I'm not mistaken...but we added about P10 billion more to the budget of the DOH to retrofit all the regional hospitals, to include the Heart Centers, Lung Centers, Kidney Institute offices in these regional hospitals. Nag-agree na po kami na hindi na po kami magtatayo ng stand alone. Ibig sabihin, kasi napakamahal, magtatayo ng isang building para sa Heart Center, Kidney Center, matagal at mahal. Retrofit na lang, kasi marami naman lugar ang regional hospitals, malalaki. Pwede tayong maglagay ng wing, a heart wing, or a kidney wing, of the regional centers. That's why we added P10 billion to start off with the large regional centers, like Northern Mindanao, Southern Mindanao, Vicente Sotto sa Cebu, Northern Luzon lalagyan din natin, syempre, sa Bicol Region. So ang mga kababayan natin di na kailangang pumunta pa sa Manila para magpagamot, they can do it now in the regional centers with qualified specialty doctors.

Now, 'pag hindi nila ginawa 'yan by the end of 2023, we will grill them, the DOH, on why they have not properly implemented the funds.

Q: Why wait until October?

SP ZUBIRI: No, ongoing naman po 'yan, Ma'am. So we can do it while we -- for example, the Committee on Health can always continue oversight functions on the implementation of that particular program in the DOH.

Q: Anyway, since you mentioned about the DOTr, given recent foul up, and now the emergency procurement of the circuit breaker and the UPS, how will legislation stop this kind of foul up in the airport?

SP ZUBIRI: Alam mo sa ibang bansa kapag nagkaroon ng snow storm na ca-cancel 'yong mga flights. That is a force majeure, that is a natural calamity, ika nga... that as nothing to do with their equipment, that has nothing to do with their personnel, incompetence or lack of budget for this particular program or equipment. It is unforgivable 'yong nangyari sa atin, why? Unang una, nakakahiya, buong mundo naging laman tayo ng balita na walang nakakaraan na airplane ni-isa sa Philippine airspace.

Kung makita nga ninyo 'yong flight tracker not a single plane from any country could go through the Philippines. Para naging no fly zone tayo. (No fly zone for six hours?) Oo eh and and daming dumadaan sa atin papunta ng Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia pati Australia dumadaan sa atin, so they have to divert all their flights. Pangalawa it has a big impact on tourism of the Philippines, talagang ang daming nagalit na turista. Alam mo 'yong mga Pinoy, medyo resilient sinasabi nila sa interview na ganun talaga, wala tayong magagawa palpak talaga, mga ganun. Eh 'yong mga Puti na ini-interview, 'yong mga foreigners hindi na daw sila babalik sa Pilipnas, pag-uwi nila sa kanilang bansa, iku-kwento din nila 'yong bangungot na naramdaman nila dito sa ating bansa.

Ako nga I was on a family vacation sa Japan nagsusuot ako ng mga gamit kase napakalamig nagsusuot ako ng jacket, naka-focus ako sa Japanese news biglang nadinig ko 'yong salitang Philippines, pagtingin ko a'yon na, 'yon na ang laman ng balita nila, 'yong no-fly-zone sa Philippines, of course I don't understand Japanese pero 'yon ang pinagusapan nila. Pinakita 'yong mga tao nakahiga sa sahig ng airport. Talagang nakakahiya and with due respect, the President is trying his best to sell the Philippines. Naka pitong byahe na siya sa abroad na talagang ang unang bukang bibig nya ay bumisita kayo sa Pilipinas. Maganda na ang Pilipinas. Bukas na ang Pilipinas para sa negosyo at turismo, pagtapos ito po ang nangyari sa DOTr. It does not give us faith. A trust and faith in our country. It does not give us a good picture of our country and so we are having a hearing tomorrow, Sen. Grace Poe will chair the hearing, ano ba ang nangyari? Ito bap o ay incompetence? Ito bap o ay kakulangan ng equipment? Ito bap o ay sabotahe? kase possible din. Ako unang naisip kop o ay nasabotahe tayo. That was my first instinct and if it was incompetence then people should be fired. I agree with the chairperson of the Committee on Public Services Sen. Grace Poe, sabi niya sa interview kahapon, pag may kapalpakan na nangyari sa mga tauhan ng DOTr, particularly sa CAAP tanggalin sila.

Imagine kung totoo nga 'yong switch para sa 240 voltz inilagay sa 380 na volts, kalikohan 'yon diba? Kapalpakan 'yon and we have to look into that, that it will never happen again and let's get properly trained individual to handle this because it's also a national security risk mga kababayan ko. This is a national security risk, ibigsabihin alam na ng possible nating mga kalaban kung may gusting gumawa ng gulo sa rehiyon, alam na po nila na may isa lang sila na kakalikutin dyan sa swith ay wala na pong makakalipad na eroplano sa buog Pilipinas. Not like before there was redundancy, when there was a similar situation in NAIA where nawalan po ng radar ang Luzon, pwede pa din mag land sa Visayas and Davao in the south. You can still land ni Visayas, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, in Davao, you can divert the flights because before it was never centralized.

I do not who is the genius that decided to centralize it to Metro Manila. Before, apparently I was told by former pilots na nakausap ko, kaibigan ko. It was spread out into three main islands Luzon, Visayas at Mindanao so that way pag may problem sa NAIA pwede mo ma divert sa ibang parte ng Pilipinas, eh ngayon wala total blackout ang Pilipinas and if there's an invading force it is very easy for them to switch that off and there will be no planes flying on our skies, for them to quickly and easily enter the Philippine airspace, dba? The question there that I will ask also tomorrow is, is our AFP ready for an eventual happening such as that? Do we have, Does the air force have their own backup system? Do they have their own programs for monitoring the skies? Because it will be, I would say a mortal sin, that if the civilian flights such as what had happened in January 1 are cancelled or all those systems breakdown that our air force as well cannot fly. They should have a backup system where our air force can flight and protect our skies. So 'yan ang mga katanungan natin, kase this is of course a risk to our country and it is important that we have to see their system. How the system is being operated and how we can rectify the situation of January 1. It is really an issue on national defense, it is a national security issue as well.

Q: Given your first experience on sugar import you investigated and the President already acted na tanggalin na ibang officals including the exec. Secretary now they have instituted proper. So do you expect the same thing to happen after tomorrow's hearing?

SP ZUBIRI: I hope so. Malalaman po natin yan bukas. We have to get a clear picture and we also have to make sure that hindi sila nag cocover-up. Kung may sabotahe ilabas nila, may nag-sabotahe, may nag hack. 'Pag may kapalpakan ilabas nila, na si so and so. Engineer so and so ginawa niya ito. Tapos tatanungin natin si engineer so and so bakit mo ginawa yan? Is it just mere incompetence? We have to bring that out. Such a large incident like that and I ask even my staff to check around the world. Apparently, it only happened three times in the world na nagka-systems failure, it's called... 'yong total systems failure nung kanilang landing...It's the air traffic control system. It only happened a handful of timesaround the world and sa aming research sa nangyaring ito sa ibat-ibang parte ng mundo, ang pag down ng system ay umaabot lang ng isang oras, pinakamatagal dalawang oras. Eh sa atin buong araw, isang buong araw, (six hours tapos nagkaroon ng domino effect) oo domino effect. Tapos pag repair napakatagal the plane started to resume landing in the Philippines late evening or the next day. So we hold again the distinction of having the longest outage of our air traffic control system. So gusto po natin maging first world, gusto po natin maka achieve ng tiger economy status. We cannot do that with this type of kapalpakan. There is also news na 'yong budget ay na divert into beautification program or whatever. Then let us see if that is true kung totoong may diversion and we have to ask the DOTr how we can finally resolve the situation.

Q: Parang nag kakaroon ng finger pointing?

SP ZUBIRI: Well we have to look deeper into it. Not only in this administration kase kakapasok lang. In fairness sa administration na ito si Sir. Jimmy Baustista nga was only confirmed last December so he was in acting capacity only until December. So we have to see also how far back this issue. How far back would this issue was actually taken up or this project and program was actually built so that we can see kung palpak ba ang nakuha natin na system? Do we need to buy a new system replace it? We need to create redundancy in term so protection of the system. Imagine power failure, when they said power failure sabi ng Meralco wala naman kami power failure tuloy tuloy ang pag bigay ng kuryente sa inyo. So we really have to go to the bottom of this. I am not a technician, I am not an engineer, tomorrow we will be able to get some answers.

Q: On the new appointees of President Marcos, Defense secretary, former OPAPP Secretary Galvez will be submitted to you when you resume session... My question is: Will Centino be subjected anew to ca confirmation that he was restored as chief of staff?

SP ZUBIRI: It's a new appointment by the President to the Armed Forces. A new appointment, wether it is lateral or vertical, will still need CA approval.

Q: Although he is already a confirmed 4-star general?

SP ZUBIRI: Yes. Kasi he is being reinstated as Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces. I dont think he will have a difficult time. He did not have a difficult time the last time when he was there last Congress. But Im sure there will be questions asked about the grumblings within the AFP about these particular situations that we have overheard the last few days.

When it comes to Galvez, I just want to put on record that I am fully supportive of General Galvez assuming the post as Secretary of National Defense. I worked well with Sec. Galvez for many years as the author of the Bangsamoro Organic Law. He was Chief of Staff at the time. Umiikot kami. Sa Marawi, sa buong Bangsamoro Region kasama ko siya. He is a man of peace. 'yong bukambibig niya: "Ipasa na natin 'yong political solution para hindi na mamatay ang ating mga sundalo at sibilyan dito sa isyu nitong Moro independence." We did pass the additional autonomy given to our Moro brothers through the Bangsamoro Organic Law. He was also retiring at the time. Ako po ang nag-recommend kay President Duterte na gawin po siyang head ng OPAPP, Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process. He was Secretary. Of course, we have seen him in many capacities as anti-COVID czar and nakita naman natin 'yong galing ng kaniyang pag-trabaho dito bilang anti-COVID czar. And then he was maintained by this administration as OPAPP head and he helped me shepherd the extension of the Bangsamoro Parliament, itong extension po nitong BTA - Bangsamoro Transition Authority - until 2025.

So I worked well with him. He has a great heart for our people. He knows fully well the security concerns of our country, both internal and external. Remember that he was also instrumental in the incorporation of the NTF-ELCAC in government, which dramatically brought down identified communist areas. So he's a great man for the job, I fully support him. I think he will have a great - not an easy - but he will have no difficulties in the hurdling the Commission on Appointments.

Q: And speaking of rumblings in the AFP...traced back to the passage of the law of the extension of the term for three years, and that has created that what we call rumblings within the ranks. How do you intend to solve that?

SP ZUBIRI: Actually, hindi lang major service commanders, pati yata generals...So ang daming positions ang na-extend. Nagulat nga kami diyan. Actually, that was sponsored by Sen. Ping Lacson. Our initial understanding then in the last Congress, the 18th Congress, was this was only for the Chief- of-Staff. And then nagkaroon po ng amendments sa bicam, nadamihan na 'yong posisyon. You have to remember, pag iyan po ay pinatupad natin, napakaraming colonels and even ranking generals, they cannot anymore assume positions. Walang, promotion. So titigil ang promotion. Kaya definitely, magkakaroon ng problema.

So we are now hell bent on amending the law. I've spoken to the chairman of the Committee, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, and we will set up a technical working group with several senators filing already amendments to the law. And personally, I am in favor of only extending the term of the Chief of Staff for three years. Everyone else will have to go through the process, the seniority process. Although there is a version also filed when it's the Chief of Staff and the major branches of service, which is the Air Force, Navy, and the Army. Ako, personally Chief of Staff lang.

So iyon ang tinitignan naming possibleng amendment, and we're looking at passing this first quarter of this year...I think makakatulong po 'yang amendment na 'yan sa pagbibigay ng stability po doon sa ating military establishments. Mawawala na po 'yong tampo ng junior officers. Kasi syempre, isang posisyon lang ang maeextend for three years, everyone else will have to go through the seniority process.

Q: There is also the long-standing problem that can be cured by legislation but...the elephant in the room on the begging of retirement, pension pay, of the AFP, which has become so enormous...and this has been causing us tax payers so much money.

SP ZUBIRI: Actually pinag-uusapan na natin 'yan during the 17th and the 18th Congress, commitment ni former President Duterte 'yan sa ating military...Totoo po 'yong sinabi ni Ma'am Ichu, for the public's information, ang pension ngayon ng mga veterans o dating mga sundalo ay mas malaki naa sa binabayaran nating sweldo sa active-duty personnel. Nagkaroon na ng disparity, malaking disparity and imbalance. Dati, maliit lang 'yong sa veterans, and then mas Malaki 'yong service personnel. Ngayon, bumaliktad na. It is now, we are paying, every year, through the funds, the General Appropriations Act, 'yong national budget ng bansa, an g inyong buwis, ay nagbabayad po sa retirement pay ng ating mga sundalo, which naman, they deserve kasi at one point in their life, pinaglaban naman nila ang ating bansa and they risked their life. Pero for me, if you ask me, that is sort of like a mismanagement of funds. What should be done is similar to a GSIS or an SSS kung saan may pension fund po tayo na nag-iinvest sa iba't-ibang mga income generating projects and programs para sa ganoon 'yong kanilang pondo ay self-financed like GSIS and SSS. Sa totoo lang, ang SSS at GSIS hindi dumadaan ng national budget deliberation yan, they are a stand-alone fund, napakaganda po ng kita ng funds nila, and buhay na buhay po sila. Wala po silang problema.

Q: Ang problema 'yong contributions nila hindi naman nag-iincrease.

SP ZUBIRI: Meron na pong mga proposals, hindi lang naitapos ng maaga. At that time, Sen. Ping Lacson, together with Sen, Bato Dela Rosa in the 18th Congress tried to push for a measure, naubusan lang po ng panahon. Because, kailangan din natin maglagay ng seed fund I believe, when you come up with an AFP pension fund, kailangan parang GSIS yan, or SSS.

Q: May palpak sila noon, di ba 'yong RSVS, di ba mismanaged 'yon? So ano...

SP ZUBIRI: Kausap namin po 'yong head ng GSIS, si Chairman Vic Veloso, ang sabi niya, ready po sila na ihandle ang pondo ng AFP and that is a professionally run fund, tapos mabuti na 'yon. Ako, personally, we can create the AFP retirement fund and put it as an attached agency of the GSIS, run by the GSIS. Maganda po yan, because yan na po ang mandate ng GSIS, all government employees. Meron na silang experience. So, there are bills that are pending. As a matter of fact, may inilabas na si Sen. Jinggoy, di ba for plenary discussion? Yes, 'yong unified military and police pension fund. So, yan, pagdedebatihan po namin yan, sponsoran ni Sen. Jinggoy on the floor, and we are going to debate it as soon as we get back to sessions end of this month. We have to finish that. We have to fix that, kasi kung hindi, it will balloon our expenses in the national budget. So, it has to be done this administration, particularly this congress.

Q: Yes, talagang may urgency 'yon.

SP ZUBIRI: Committed kami po diyan.

Q: Since you mentioned about investment funds, the House as we said has the tyranny of numbers. They quickly passed into law the Maharlika investment fund and now, because of so much debate on that Maharlika investment fund, it has taken a new twist that they are now proposing a sovereign development fund. What is your version of this bill?

SP ZUBIRI: Actually, wala pong nagfile na senador. Hinintay po natin 'yong House version. Pag-aralan po natin 'yong House version, kung ano ba ang pwedeng magamit doon, sa tingin namin ay magagamit, at sa tingin namin na hindi karapat-dapat na nandoon sa version na 'yon, we will amend and remove. Discussions have already taken place under the committee of Mark Villar, and Chairman Mark Villar as chairman of Banks and Financial Institutions shall have extensive deliberatons on the topic. We are also being invited, as a matter of fact, I invited Sec. Diokno and Sec. Mina Pangandaman to brief us on the first week of session. So, plano namin by January 24, I will ask them to brief us on this Maharlika fund. Silang dalawa muna kasi sila ang pinaka mahalaga diyan, which is DBM and DOF, tatanungin namin sila para saan ba ito gagamitin. Hindi rin masyadong clear sa amin kung saan po talaga gagamitin.

We will invite all senators to attend the briefing, and ask all the questions that they want to ask. That is a prelude to the committee hearings. We have an idea on where the government wants to go with this Maharlika fund. We are open to the idea, hindi naman kami nagsasabi na hindi natin ipapasa ito. Ang gusto lang po natin, pagusapan ng maayos ang iba't-ibang provisions ng batas so that it will not be prone to abuse, misuse, or leakage, which is corruption, di ba? Ayaw po nating mangyari 'yon. We want to make sure that the fund is invested in a safe investment. Hindi po Katulad ng nangyari sa Malaysia, na ang ginawa nila puro pelikula sa Hollywood na pumalpak lang, par amakilala lang pala 'yong mga artista na mga starring doon sa mga pelikula na 'yon, mga kapalpakan na ganoon, Gusto natin, wala 'yon. It has to be a safe investment, and also, we must safeguard the budgets of the GSIS and the SSS because I am one with many of those who supported the move to make sure that the GSIS and the SSS funds were not used for the Maharlika investment fund. Now, why? Tanong ng taongbayan, bakit hindi? May mga bankers na nagtatanong. Well, we must always...there are trust issues here. The people have to know that the government, the funds that are withdrawn from them every month, that is our, for example, kung ikaw ay isang trabahante sa pribadong sector, yan po ay SSS deductions, kung ikaw po ay government agency member or government employee, yan po ay GSIS deductions, kailangan meron pong sapat na tiwala ang ating mga kababayan na hindi mawawala ito sa darating na araw o pumalpak ang Maharlika funds. Dapat we have to make sure that the funds are safe and sacred and not to be utilized. Kasi, we want to see the fine print of the final version of the House because meron po doong nakalagay na it is possible in the future for them to invest. Maybe we will just take that altogether ano to give full trust and confidence to the people in their investment funds.

So, we are looking at those issues now, paghihimayin namin yan with a fine-tooth comb, but eventually many of my colleagues are open to the iedea. Marami na akong kausap na mga kasamahan na Katulad ni JV Ejercito, Joel Villanueva, our Majority Leader, and several other who were willing as long as there are safeguards in place and kung saan talaga gagamitin yan. For example, kung gagamitin natin to invest in for example, Malampaya. Meron daw mga balita na they want to use it to buy back Malampaya, why not? Who fits a steady investment such as that?

Q: We have natural gas in Malampaya.

SP ZUBIRI: Meron, wala lang talagang exploration. I'm sure meron pa 'yon. New exploration. So, things such as that, I think it is doable. So, pag mabigyan tayo ng liwanag kung saan nila gagamitin 'yon, I think hindi po tayo magkakaroon ng maraming problema. And it has to be professionally run, I must add. It has to be professionally run.

Q: By the President?

SP ZUBIRI: No, after the new version, hindi na po chairman ang presidente, it is now supposed to be a set of professional financial management, private sector individuals. So, maganda 'yon. Balita ko nga, they are eyeing Ayala, there is an Ayala investment banker that they are looking at possibly or other investment bankers. So, tingnan natin. Pagka ganoon yan, professionally run, it is run also like GSIS, SSS, where the funds are protected, it is possible.

Q: So, you think seed capital of P250 billion is enough? Kasi magiging sovereign guarantee, it has to be guaranteed by the government na may return on their investments.

SP ZUBIRI: Well, I think P250 billion is a safe number to start with. You don't also want to make it too high, because nga sovereign guarantee yan, so ibig sabihin, babayaran ng government yan kung may kapalpakan So, ayaw din nating masyadong mataas, kasi kung may pumalpak na investment doon, ang laki ng mawawala sa national budget natin in terms of payout doon sa fund na yan. So, I think P250 billion is a comfortable number, that is about a little less than $5 billion. So, I think, again, it all boils doon to saan nila gagamitin itong pondong ito.

(Part 1 of 3)