"I Did Not Vote For This Constitution But I Swore To Defend It"

Ems forwarded this message to me and this pretty much sums up how I feel about the gloriagate issue right now.

Senator Gordon just said it better...

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photo: Philippine Senate website

(TRANSCRIPT OF SENATOR RICHARD J. GORDON'S INTERVIEW WITH SENATE
REPORTERS ON MOUNTING CALLS FOR GMA RESIGNATION, 2:00 PM, 8 JULY 2005,
SENATE BLDG.)


Q.Sir at the time when political parties who are allied with the
administration are saying that they do not support the President
anymore and some members of the Cabinet have resigned and are saying
the same, what is your political assessment?

GORDON: People should ask themselves and look at the seriousness of
these people who are doing this because there is a Constitution that
they voted and campaigned for.  I did not vote for this Constitution
but I swore to defend it. And the Constitution says, the President can
resign, indeed, but she cannot be forcibly asked to resign. Second, if
she resigns fine. We will support Vice President Noli de Castro and
the process continues.  If she does not resign then they must have an
impeachment process and whether it's fraud or not, that is what you
have otherwise you are going to have two presidents claiming that they
were removed illegally. Meaning Joseph Estrada saying "I won by my 30
percent as most popularly elected and was not impeached. I did not
resign, I was forced to resign". You are now going to have another one
like this.

When I look at the parties, I have to question their motivation. The
Liberal Party was around GMA two weeks ago. They were also showing
allegiance to her. Now they are saying no.  So to my mind, kailangang
bantayan yan.

If you look at the process, I will not be able to sleep well if Noli
de Castro is put there in office principally if it was done through
force. Why? In the last two events that we have had, in EDSA 1 which
was well motivated, there was a clear violation of the Constitution.
The canvassers walked out. The church, military, Cory and the people
were the common denominators.  In the second EDSA, the church, Cory
and the military again were there and again there was a clear
violation. There was a very close person, identified with the former
president who explained that he got money. Here now, there were tapped
telephone conversations.  We said, inadmissible in law, nonetheless
she owed up to the fact that she called the COMELEC. Gloriously
inappropriate, guilty of impropriety but the Jury is not out on
whether she committed a crime and she can only be tried and removed by
way of impeachment. That is the process. If we do not remove her that
way then we are unstable. We are not predictable and people will not
like us. So, it does not matter to me who is the president. The
important part to me is that he or she is legally in office. That is
to me what matters and that the rule of law is clear to the whole
world.

The opposition will say the system is fraud. They will say "how can
you expect these congressmen and senators to move because they are the
majority". But that is the system that we chose, that they voted for,
that they campaigned for. The majority are the same people that were
elected by the people. So who else are you going to trust if the
opposition keep questioning it every time it doesn't suite them?


Q. Even former President Cory Aquino is now asking for resignation?

GORDON: That is my point. If Cory is asking for resignation, what was
she doing telling everybody to follow the constitutional process in a
Constitution that was drafted by a Commission that she had called for?
What is she doing talking to Susan Roces saying "relax lang, mayroon
tayong Constitution" and now she is going to turn her back against
that Constitution?  When that happens, will Noli be able to sleep at
night knowing the he can be intimidated by political forces around
this country who dictate who is going to be president not by legal
processes but by political processes? That is dangerous.

Right now we are hearing a lot of political noise. It is called
"continues-un-channeled-partisan-political-hysteria". We must learn to
sift from that noise. Look at the intention of everyone.  All of the
sudden, you see former presidential candidates coming out. You can see
former presidents coming out even suggesting that the Constitution be
changed so that in 2006 we can all be parliamentarians as all people
can be a prime minister. You have to look at this. The people of this
country must learn to analyze. In this particular instance...we are
the people in a labor case. We are the employer and our employee was
caught stealing. "Ang sabi natin oh nagnakaw ka pero ang sabi niya
hindi ako nagnakaw. Tinanggal ko siya ngayon at pagkatanggal niya ang
sinabi niya ay unfair labor practice dahil hindi mo tinapos ang
proseso. Dapat pumunta tayo doon sa labor arbiter para malaman natin
kung ano ang tunay.  Kailangang tapusin natin para sa ganoon kapag
natapos natin ang proseso alam natin nakasara ang libro hindi iyung
nakabitin tayo tulad ngayon". Si Erap noong una ang sabi niya "Ayaw ko
nang mag-presidente". Tapos nang lumabas ang survey na naman ang sabi
niya  "Uy magpi-presedinte ako. Ako ang tunay na presidente".  Ang
nangyayari talaga sa ating bayan kung tutuusin, we have learned to
have a history of not following the process. Aguinaldo and Bonifacio,
you cannot determine kung sino ang hero. The Collaborators, we have
never really judged the collaborators during World War II. We never
even have given justice to Wenceslao Vinzons and Jose Abad Santos for
their supreme sacrifice under the Japanese. And we cannot do justice
to Aquino and Marcos or the coup plotters of '87 and '89, to Estrada
and now another one here.


So when is it going to end?  It ends where it begins. It begins,
therefore, with the Constitution. A piece of paper that is supposed to
be the glue that puts us all together. The rules on which we govern
ourselves.  If we violate that, if we do not let the process come into
play then nobody will respect this country. We will not respect
ourselves. We cannot do that. We cannot say fraud yan. Hindi pwede
because ako pinatay ang tatay ko ng mga taong pinalabas sa bilangguan.
Hindi lamang isang beses siyang pinagtangkaan. Tatlong beses pa. Kung
ang proseso ay masama at talagang masama ang proseso sapagkat matapos
ma-convict yung mga maliliit na tao na pumatay sa tatay ko ay hindi
naman na-convict  yung mastermind kahit sinabi ng Supreme Court na
hulihin ang mastermind kahit sinabi pa nila ang pangalan ay hindi
hinuli. Worse na-commute pa ni Marcos and sentence nila.  So sa
susunod, nang pinatay ang pamangkin ko ng houseboy ng kapatid kon
noong Mayor na ako "Wag na nating sundin ang batas, hindi naman maayos
ang prosesong iyan eh. Barilin na lang natin anyway pinatay naman niya
talaga yung pamangkin ko na 9-year old. Patayin na lang natin". Ganoon
ba ang gusto natin?

Sa Amerika, Si Michael Jackson, alam ng lahat na pedophile talaga.
Bakit noong matapos ang proseso ay tapos na. Tulad ni OJ Simpson. Si
Gore at si Bush, nanalo si Gore sa popular vote pero natalo sa
electoral vote. Noong sinabi ng Korte Suprema na panalo si Bush,
tinanggap ang proseso. Dito walang katapusan ang proseso sapagkat
walang pumapayag maatalo sapagkat dinaya palagi kaya kailangan tapusin
natin at magpakulong tayo ng mga mandaraya at tiyak matatapos ang
proseso.

ON VICE-PRESIDENT DE CASTRO:

We cannot strengthen our country if we do not put the Constitution to
a test. Habang hindi natin nagagawa iyon ay walang mangyayari sa ating
bayan. Hindi makakatulog si Vice President Noli.  I will support Noli
kung magresign si Gloria. Eventually kung ma-impeach si Gloria I will
support Noli. Segurado at walang problema yan. Pero may duda ang
suporta kapag ganoon ang mangyayari na isasantabi ang proseso sapagkat
yung ginawa kay Gloria ay gagawin din sa kanya.

How can Noli sleep at night knowing that certain sectors of the church
and certain sectors of the military go together and remove him by
intimidating him or by starting something like from the opposition,
like in the previous cases and then gathering up the forces. No trial.
Resign ka. Baba ka.


Q. Sir, si Senate President Franklin Drilon nakapag-usap ba kayo?

GORDON: Tinawagan  ko siya.  We call each other. We are friends. We
can be civilized.


Q. Are you against sa move ng Liberal Party which he heads calling for
resignation?

GORDON: Ang ayaw ko lang bakit tayo parang balingbing. Hindi ba two
weeks ago sabi nila they are supporting the President. It was very
well published and on television.  Yung mga leaders natin, dati ang
position proseso, ngayon all of the sudden baligtad. Bakit na-prove na
bang guilty?


Q. Sir kaya pa bang i-retain ni PGMA  ang sitwasyon ito?

GORDON: Hindi si GMA ang problema. Ang sinasabi kong problema natin
dito, please understand me very clearly, I am railing not against
personalities, not really against Senate President Drilon. I am
railing against the system that we have put ourselves in. Against the
culture of political opportunism. Against putting our fate on the
winds of political partisan hysteria.


Q. Sir, what is your advise to the President?

GORDON: Do what her conscience tells her to do. If she wants to
resign, resign. If she doesn't want to resign and she says she is not
guilty, the system allows her to face up to the impeachment
proceedings.

END.



"What this country needs is not a change OF men but a change IN men."