01:53.2
Set-up ko lang dito.
01:56.7
Narinig nyo ako, mga kamets?
02:30.0
Ayan na! Ayan na! Kamusta kayo d'yan?
02:57.1
Ayan! Mga ka-BBM!
02:58.8
Mga ka-Solid North!
03:00.6
Mga ka-Pink! Ayan!
03:02.6
Mayroon pa rin bang mga ano? Dilawan!
03:05.6
Ayan! Mga ka-Meta, of course!
03:09.1
Hindi naman! Mga ka-Meta!
03:14.2
Alright! So, ito ha!
03:16.1
Bago tayo pupunta sa topic natin today,
03:18.2
pag-usapan natin ito na
03:19.4
may latest na survey
03:22.4
na lumalabas. Very objective!
03:24.4
Very credible! Institution na ito.
03:31.3
Pag-usapan natin itong bagong survey.
03:43.8
Of course, ang tanong is,
03:44.8
even if that's accurate,
03:46.4
even if that's gonna be
03:47.3
the final outcome,
03:49.8
pag-usapan din natin yan,
03:51.1
being part of the Senate
03:52.1
doesn't give you sovereign immunity.
03:53.6
So, the question is, so what?
03:54.7
Okay, maging senador ka, so what?
03:56.4
So, pag-usapan din natin
03:59.2
yung mga ibang senators,
04:00.2
yung mga kasalukuyan na senators
04:02.4
at medyo nag-aalala na,
04:04.9
as we talked about it,
04:08.1
andito na po yung ICC,
04:09.5
International Criminal Court.
04:10.6
In fact, umamin na
04:11.5
ang gobyerno natin na
04:13.9
the International Criminal Court
04:15.5
is actually already here.
04:17.1
They're conducting investigations and all.
04:19.3
Now, whether ang...
04:21.6
Sorry, nakatay dyan.
04:24.1
katulad ang pinag-usapan natin,
04:25.2
the International Criminal Court
04:26.4
is almost certainly here already
04:28.5
in the Philippines.
04:29.2
At sa late November,
04:31.0
there was a statement
04:32.0
by the government,
04:33.1
found out in the second,
04:33.7
this is the solicitor general,
04:36.2
na essentially inamin nila
04:39.3
na hindi nila i-stop, no?
04:41.8
Hindi nila pipigilan ng ICC
04:43.7
if they want to conduct
04:44.5
investigation here, no?
04:46.2
Ibang usapan na, of course,
04:47.5
if they're gonna fully cooperate
04:49.6
with them in terms of
04:51.0
if ever may issue
04:52.2
ng mga arrest warrants,
04:53.9
specifically against
04:55.1
very high-level officials
04:56.1
for the former administrations.
04:57.8
there's a degree of
05:03.3
the diocese is already here.
05:05.9
Pinag-usapan din natin yan
05:07.1
with our good friend
05:07.9
si Ronald Llamas,
05:10.3
So, later this week,
05:13.5
kasama natin ulit si...
05:15.0
minamahal natin si
05:19.1
Eh, bukas na pala yan, ha.
05:20.8
Lost track of time.
05:21.6
Bukas na pala yan.
05:24.0
we'll have a proper
05:30.7
and what are the big things
05:31.9
to look forward to
05:34.5
in previous vlogs,
05:36.1
pinag-usapan na natin
05:37.4
big stories of 2023
05:40.0
with our good friend
05:43.9
We were hoping to have
05:45.3
also a year-ender
05:46.7
with Lele Claudio
05:47.8
and Ronaldo Llamas,
05:50.4
but mukhang si Cristiano,
05:55.4
I'm not sure kung
05:56.4
ma-ano namin, eh,
05:57.5
ma-organize namin
05:58.3
because of logistical.
06:02.2
nasa probinsya na,
06:04.8
Shout-out kay Lola.
06:08.1
alanganin yung internet
06:09.0
connection natin.
06:11.3
dun sa interview natin
06:13.2
kay Director Pepe Jok
06:16.3
which, of course,
06:19.8
ay nag-expand na.
06:21.9
including in Iloilo
06:22.9
are gonna show Gumburza.
06:24.8
So, please check it out
06:25.6
dun sa mga kameta natin
06:29.8
and Mindanao region,
06:31.0
nag-expand na itong
06:32.1
availability of Gumburza.
06:33.8
dito sa Solid North.
06:39.2
ay galing sa amin.
06:41.3
Pupunta kayo sa Vigan.
06:42.8
Last time I checked,
06:47.9
mapakita itong Gumburza
06:49.4
in the north of the Philippines,
06:54.8
Okay, okay, okay.
07:00.1
na mga developments.
07:04.8
from a very credible agency.
07:07.2
O, ito, ito, ito.
07:13.8
in the 2025 elections
07:37.0
So, in a statement,
07:38.2
sinabi ng polling firm na yan
07:41.1
voting disposition survey
07:53.1
and an impressive
08:01.3
na lang si tatay.
08:10.5
O bakit 59 na lang?
08:11.9
Napaka-baba naman.
08:22.8
lang ang approval.
08:33.6
senador si tatay.
08:37.5
yung approval rating.
08:40.3
ng approval ratings
08:43.7
nagmamahal sa kanya.
08:44.7
So, I'm surprised.
08:46.6
a great president
08:49.8
bakit for senado,
08:52.2
less complicated job
08:57.0
that's a bigger question.
09:02.0
community involvement
09:07.7
voting predisposition
09:12.4
statistically tied,
09:20.7
Nakausap natin siya.
09:23.6
na-interview din natin
09:26.0
recently na-interview din
09:27.5
senator Rafi Tulfo.
09:28.6
So, it looks like
09:33.4
Philippine Senate
09:35.7
But, the thing with
09:37.0
actually he topped
09:38.7
surveys including
09:43.4
Sir Prof. Ranjit,
09:44.4
happy birthday, sir.
09:49.2
two other surveys.
10:02.3
Vicente Tito Soto
10:03.5
tsaka Rodrigo Duterte.
10:06.5
magkamali naman tayo
10:09.2
Speaking of which,
10:12.0
Nag-ano na naman tayo.
10:13.0
Nagkalat na naman ako.
10:15.8
nagpapasalamat tayo
10:19.9
Bea din ang pangalan.
10:26.5
mga friends natin,
10:29.0
I want to thank her
10:31.0
she gave this very nice
10:33.0
Christmas dedication letter.
10:36.1
I appreciated that.
10:37.1
Very kind of her.
10:40.3
biglang ang natag.
10:47.7
Mamarites tayo dyan.
10:48.9
Anong pinagsasabing
10:53.5
gagawa tayo ng marites dyan.
10:55.8
End of the year marites.
10:58.6
hindi si Bea Alonso.
11:00.7
Hindi ko talaga maintinan
11:02.1
bakit siya yung natag.
11:03.8
I'm not even sure
11:04.6
if she's following me.
11:05.6
yung mga ibang artista naman
11:06.6
nagpa-follow sa atin.
11:11.6
yung minamahal natin
11:12.8
ang kaibigan si Jano Gibbs.
11:14.9
my heart goes to you, brother.
11:16.3
To your family and loved ones,
11:17.7
my prayers with you.
11:18.6
Anyway, bago tayong ano,
11:20.6
bago tayong magtito,
11:23.9
doon sa mga ibang surveys
11:25.5
na nakikita natin,
11:27.5
sa Occulum survey,
11:28.4
I think in the Pulse Asia survey also,
11:32.8
nakikita natin na consistently
11:34.4
si Erwin Tulfo comes on top.
11:35.8
In fairness naman,
11:36.8
President Duterte usually is in top five.
11:38.5
But, according to this survey,
11:40.2
very high level survey.
11:44.7
on track si former President
11:47.2
to join the Senate
11:49.6
should he, of course,
11:51.0
choose to contest the elections
11:53.7
Which is, of course,
11:55.5
because last time I checked,
11:57.4
the former President promised
11:59.2
to retire from power.
12:00.5
And remember, hindi siya nag-attend
12:01.7
doon sa inauguration speech
12:04.4
kasi pagod na daw siya,
12:05.6
gusto niya nang umuwi,
12:07.0
ano, sabik na sabik na umuwi.
12:09.2
Pero mukhang retirement
12:11.2
doesn't seem to be an option
12:13.1
And what we see is
12:14.1
constant statements,
12:15.3
constant criticism,
12:17.2
constant intervention
12:18.2
by the former President
12:19.5
when it comes to key, key policies
12:21.6
ng kasalahuyan na administration.
12:26.8
President Duterte
12:28.0
doesn't come number one
12:29.2
in other surveys,
12:30.0
but he has very good chance
12:31.0
of ending in top five.
12:32.6
Which then again raises the question
12:33.8
why a person who had a 90%
12:35.5
supposedly approval ratings
12:38.5
is not, you know, winning
12:41.6
of preferred voters
12:43.8
which is a far more,
12:45.9
you know, I mean,
12:46.3
far less complicated, let's say,
12:48.2
compared naman sa Presidency.
12:49.6
So, that begs its own question, right?
12:52.6
if you look at the survey
12:53.6
for Vice Presidency in 2022,
12:57.3
mababa rin si Digong doon
12:58.6
kumpara doon sa mga numbers niya
13:01.1
I think 30% or so lang eh,
13:05.7
There was no assurance
13:06.9
that he would win the Vice Presidency
13:09.0
if ever Duterte ran
13:10.1
for the Vice Presidency in 2022,
13:13.6
which tells you na,
13:15.0
you know, maybe, maybe
13:16.0
there's appreciation of what he did, whatever,
13:18.7
But it doesn't mean that's forever.
13:20.2
It doesn't mean, you know,
13:22.2
people appreciate whatever he's doing
13:24.2
through time and space.
13:25.8
That's not true, right?
13:28.3
in terms of his supposed numbers,
13:30.4
even if, even if supposed
13:31.5
leading shadow senator,
13:32.5
his numbers are barely,
13:34.0
are just over half
13:35.5
in terms of trust rating,
13:38.2
in terms of preference rating,
13:40.1
40 plus percent, right?
13:42.3
Again, I'm saying, like,
13:43.2
if you are such a great President,
13:44.8
up at 100%, 90%, 80%,
13:49.8
Oh, meron kang universal recognition na,
13:52.7
Name recall ka na.
13:54.3
So bakit ang preference mo?
13:55.9
Bakit ang name recall mo 100%,
13:57.7
ang preference mo less than 50%, right?
14:01.0
Now, my point is,
14:05.4
there's a bigger,
14:06.9
bigger dynamic to this.
14:08.6
Now, President Duterte being in the Senate,
14:10.9
he could become the rallying cry
14:12.5
for the opposition,
14:14.1
de facto opposition, rather.
14:15.9
I doubt that Lenny Robredo
14:17.7
or any of the major opposition leaders
14:19.8
are gonna contest for the Senate next year.
14:24.3
So if Duterte becomes,
14:26.4
or if he were to become a senator
14:29.4
and potentially top three senators,
14:31.1
if not top senators,
14:33.2
then I think he will definitely try to transition
14:35.5
or present himself as the fiscalizer,
14:39.4
which is quite an interesting thing
14:40.6
because a fiscalizer is the position
14:42.3
that people like Leila de Lima took against him
14:46.3
So as you know, President Duterte,
14:47.3
has a lot of disagreements with the BBM,
14:50.9
doon sa confidential fund ng anak niya,
14:52.8
ang dami niyang pinagsasabi,
14:54.0
doon sa ETCA ni BBM,
14:55.6
with the US, marami siyang pinagsasabi
14:57.6
on the fighting NPA,
14:59.6
and the issue of red-tagging,
15:01.7
marami siyang hanash.
15:03.9
Pagdating sa issue ng China,
15:05.9
relations with China, ayan.
15:07.3
Yung minamahal niyang China,
15:09.2
province of China, ayan.
15:11.1
Mayor of province of China, ayan.
15:13.6
So he has a lot of disagreements.
15:14.9
So you can expect him to be the rallying cry.
15:16.9
But ang point ko naman dito, mga kameta,
15:18.9
is even if he were to be a senator,
15:22.9
perhaps he could be quite an effective rallying cry
15:25.4
for the ex-members of the UNI team, right?
15:30.8
He could try to provide a cushion
15:32.6
for people close to his heart
15:33.8
who are still gonna be in high positions of government.
15:36.5
But the point is,
15:38.3
if the goal here is to have some sort of immunity
15:40.8
from potential warrant of arrest
15:44.9
or all the way investigations,
15:46.6
by an international criminal court,
15:48.5
no, the Senate is not gonna give that to you.
15:50.7
So even if manalo ka ng Senate,
15:52.0
no matter what's your ranking,
15:53.8
you can still face investigation
15:56.7
or potentially even warrant of arrest
15:58.5
by the international criminal court.
16:00.5
Or you could face sanctions
16:01.8
and other forms of punitive measures
16:03.5
under the Global Magnitsky Act.
16:06.3
So let's be very clear about this.
16:08.6
So actually, it is true
16:11.5
na may tinatawag na sovereign immunity.
16:14.9
Remember, we're talking about an international criminal court,
16:16.6
or talagang international institutions.
16:19.2
May tinatawag na, of course, diplomatic immunity also.
16:21.7
So yung mga diplomats natin abroad,
16:23.5
they have a certain degree of immunity
16:25.5
from lower-level types of crimes.
16:29.7
I mean, kung medyo may petty na crime
16:31.7
or something like that,
16:32.7
mayroon a certain degree of diplomatic immunity
16:35.0
para to avoid diplomatic crisis.
16:38.5
Nevertheless, the concept of sovereign immunity
16:40.3
is very important.
16:42.2
And let's try to understand this concept of sovereign immunity.
16:45.1
Now, the first time when I understand
16:46.6
I really paid attention to the Council of Sovereign Immunity
16:50.4
elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi
16:52.9
as their Prime Minister,
16:55.1
right? So, as their top leader.
16:57.1
And as some of you know,
16:58.1
Prime Minister Narendra Modi actually was banned
17:00.7
from entering the United States for quite some time.
17:02.8
He was not issued visas
17:04.9
if he were to, you know,
17:07.6
United States back in the day.
17:10.5
For a long time, I think for more than a decade,
17:12.4
he was facing some sort of a visa ban
17:14.2
for his alleged involvement
17:16.8
or lack of proper
17:18.9
intervention during a horrible
17:20.7
pogrom, right? And sectarian
17:22.5
violence that happened in his state
17:24.8
of Gujarat. So, this is in the early
17:28.8
So, the first time I came across this idea
17:30.8
of Sovereign Immunity at the highest level
17:32.7
was when Narendra Modi
17:34.6
immediately the United States
17:36.3
made it clear, now, whatever
17:38.5
travel ban or restrictions they had against him,
17:41.0
it's going to be lifted. Because
17:42.6
Narendra Modi is now the head of state.
17:44.9
So, he's not just an individual, a private
17:46.8
individual, he embodies
17:48.5
the state of India. And therefore,
17:51.0
you cannot sue the whole state,
17:53.0
right? Now, ibang usapan na, we can talk about
17:54.8
International Court of Justice, we can talk about
17:56.9
other arbitration bodies where two sovereign
17:59.0
states can go against each other. But ibang
18:01.0
usapan niyo, when we're talking about
18:02.4
individualized crimes here, the moment that
18:05.2
or alleged, for that matter,
18:07.3
the moment that you are
18:09.1
the head of state, automatically meron kang
18:11.2
tinatawag na sovereign
18:12.6
immunity, alright? Now,
18:16.3
were not aware of it. So, nakita ko
18:18.9
nung time na nanalo si BBM,
18:21.4
marami dun sa mga opposition ay tuwang-tuwa.
18:23.2
Sabi niya, okay, nanalo si BBM pero
18:24.9
hindi siya makapunta sa US kasi may mga kaso
18:27.0
daw yung pamilya niya
18:27.9
dun sa US, may mga pending cases sila,
18:31.2
may alleged contempt case, etc.
18:33.4
You can google it yourself, right?
18:34.9
Hindi mahirap is research yet. But I always
18:36.9
said, no, no, no. Once you're the president
18:38.9
of the Philippines, you have
18:41.1
sovereign immunity. And in fact,
18:42.6
that's exactly what the number
18:44.8
two back then in the State Department
18:46.6
of the United States said when she visited
18:48.8
the Philippines. I'm talking about Wendy Sherman, a very
18:50.7
high-level diplomat. She visited
18:52.5
President Marcos Jr., actually President
18:54.8
-elect Marcos Jr. back then and made
18:56.7
it sure, you know, that meron
19:00.4
immunity. So, let me just explain to you guys.
19:06.4
sorry, di ko dala kasi yung ano eh.
19:13.3
ibang laptop kasi ang gawin ko.
19:16.0
Hindi ko dala yung OBS para makapakita ko sa inyo.
19:17.9
But don't worry, I'm gonna post the
19:21.9
to these sites, no? So,
19:23.8
ayon kay Wendy Sherman, when someone
19:25.7
is head of state, they have diplomatic
19:27.4
immunity and would be welcome in the United
19:29.6
States, right? So, they're very clear about it.
19:31.8
Just to explain, let's be very clear
19:33.6
with the concept of sovereign immunity.
19:36.3
So, you can find their
19:37.6
definition. So, Cornell Law School, for instance,
19:39.5
Cornell University Law School, their definition
19:41.4
of sovereign immunity,
19:43.5
sovereign immunity refers to the
19:45.5
fact that the government cannot be sued without its
19:47.3
consent. Sovereign immunity was
19:48.8
derived from British common law doctrine
19:51.3
based on the idea that the king could
19:53.4
do no wrong. In the United States,
19:55.3
sovereign immunity typically applies to the federal government,
19:57.4
state government, but not to municipality.
19:59.8
So, you have to be head of state.
20:01.8
Federal and state governments, however, have the ability
20:03.4
to waive their sovereign immunity. The federal government did this
20:05.4
when it passed the Federal Tort Claims Act
20:07.5
which waived federal immunity for numerous types
20:09.4
of tort claims. So,
20:11.4
you have to be head of state.
20:13.4
But, usually, the idea is that
20:15.0
if you're head of state, so president in the case
20:17.2
of the Philippines or prime minister in the case of
20:19.3
parliamentary system governments,
20:21.2
you will have that kind of sovereign immunity.
20:23.2
But, that does not extend
20:25.2
to other high-level officials
20:30.6
the state within which they were elected.
20:33.7
So, for instance,
20:35.2
pag senador ka, hindi ikaw yung head of state.
20:37.1
You're a senator. You're just one of
20:38.8
12 elected this year and one of, what, 24?
20:41.4
out there. So, you don't get
20:43.1
the same level. You don't get the same
20:45.1
treatment, right?
20:46.8
This is very important. And, actually, that's the context
20:49.0
within which that you have no less than
20:51.1
Senator Bato de la Rosa
20:52.2
expressing his concerns
21:01.1
throughout the years, he expressed a lot of confidence
21:03.5
na hindi siya takot, hindi siya concerned.
21:07.2
this year, the Department of Justice of the
21:09.3
Philippines released some sort of a cautionary
21:15.2
reminded certain senators who are
21:17.1
potentially on the list of ICC investigation
21:18.8
not to travel abroad, especially to United States
21:21.4
or some of the Western countries
21:23.1
which are bound by ICC
21:24.9
or are bound by, in the case of
21:27.1
United States, the Global Magnitsky Act.
21:28.8
So, the U.S. is not part of the ICC, but it has the Global
21:31.8
so there's some level of
21:34.8
overlap sa dalawang yan. So,
21:37.1
ito yung sinabi ni Senator de la Rosa,
21:39.1
sabi niya recently,
21:41.4
he feels he should be, quote,
21:42.8
ready for any eventuality
21:44.7
following President Marcos Jr.'s
21:47.4
disclosure that the Philippine government is studying
21:48.8
the possibility of returning to the ICC
21:51.4
officially. Ayon sa kanya,
21:53.4
during the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific
21:55.3
Parliamentary Forum, I feel that I should
21:57.3
be ready for any eventuality because the political
21:59.4
situation in the Philippines is very fluid
22:01.2
so I have to be ready. So, you have this
22:03.4
kind of recognition by the
22:05.4
Senator and former
22:14.7
of the President during the drug war.
22:16.9
As I've said, I'm willing to face Filipino courts,
22:18.9
I'm willing to be tried by Filipino courts,
22:20.7
but by a foreign body, I'm not willing.
22:23.5
At yun, of course, yung
22:24.5
pinoint out ko, babalikan ko ngayon. Sabi niya,
22:26.6
baka sabihin niyo, si Sibat na si Bato,
22:28.7
hindi ako lalayas. Pag sinabi ng
22:30.6
ating gobyerno, sinabi ng ating
22:32.7
korte, Bato, harapin mo yan,
22:37.2
Dito, dito ka sa amin.
22:38.8
Amin, humarap. Then, harap ako, harapin ko yan.
22:41.1
So, essentially, your province said, I will escape,
22:42.9
I will not leave if the gobyerno court says
22:44.8
Bato, face it, face us, then I will face them.
22:48.7
court, right? If it were, sorry,
22:50.8
a local court. Now,
22:54.3
as I always said,
22:55.0
one thing I find fascinating with some of our
22:57.1
great leaders, especially
22:58.9
in the Senate, is pagdating sa
23:00.9
ICC, napakatapang
23:07.5
hindi ako magpapahu
23:09.7
sa foreign court,
23:11.7
sa mga western bodies,
23:13.7
sa mga putay. Meron pa minsan may
23:15.1
racist attack pa.
23:17.1
In fact, the current
23:19.6
head of the ICC and the previous head of ICC are
23:21.6
technically not white people.
23:23.9
Karim Khan is not, quote unquote,
23:25.7
you know, a European person.
23:27.8
I mean, of course, he's from UK, but
23:29.4
you know what I'm saying? I mean, he has an Asian background.
23:33.7
head of the ICC actually was from Africa,
23:35.8
Sub-Saharan Africa.
23:37.5
This idea of trying to dismiss ICC, etc.
23:39.9
as, you know, white men's
23:41.3
imperialist, blah, blah, blah, well,
23:43.5
it's just factually questionable.
23:45.6
Although, as I said, marami rin kakulangan
23:47.6
ng ICC. Ang ICC napakabilis
23:49.9
when it comes to investigation sa Ukraine,
23:51.6
pero kamusta naman yung manangyari sa Kitang Silangan,
23:54.0
for instance, or other kind of conflict.
23:55.4
So, I don't think ICC is above
23:57.4
criticism. There are a lot of shortcomings
23:59.6
of the ICC. But remember, ICC also has very
24:01.6
limited resources.
24:03.4
It cannot go to war with
24:05.5
countries. It cannot force itself on other countries.
24:07.5
It relies on a certain degree of cooperation
24:09.7
with member states.
24:11.5
Or even not member states who
24:13.5
may agree with the principles of ICC.
24:15.9
So, United States, for instance, is not part
24:17.7
of ICC, but they have their own Global
24:19.6
Magnitsky Act, which
24:21.3
provides some sort of extraterritoriality
24:23.9
in terms of jurisdiction,
24:26.2
in terms of trying someone
24:27.4
who may have allegedly
24:29.4
committed mass atrocities.
24:31.1
Now, going back to this,
24:37.5
of Justice actually also released a statement
24:39.4
warning dun sa ICC
24:41.8
na if you travel to a certain country,
24:45.5
even if sa Pilipinas, you know,
24:47.7
still the government is not
24:49.8
100% cooperative with ICC. But if you go to another
24:51.7
country that is still cooperative with ICC,
24:53.7
pwede ka madali. Now,
24:55.5
again, for me, the thing is, I find it amusing
24:57.9
that certain people, when it
24:59.6
fits their purpose or it serves their
25:01.6
interest, napakatapang laban
25:03.6
sa ICC at mga ganyan na institutions,
25:05.6
sovereignty, national independence. Pagdating sa
25:07.3
West Philippine Sea,
25:09.1
ano yung gagawin nila? Aside from, you know, watching
25:11.2
gilas Pilipinas and cheering
25:12.9
Philippines against China and wearing
25:15.2
like yan, an extra size, whatever,
25:17.3
West Philippine Sea. Aside from,
25:19.4
you know, performative
25:20.9
antics, right? Ano po yung
25:23.4
mga sinasabi nila? When President Duterte
25:25.1
back in the day was quipping that,
25:27.5
you know, China, you should make us,
25:29.0
you know, we should be a province of China. Now,
25:31.1
some people say it was a joke, but, you know, it's a
25:33.0
bad joke. It's a horrible joke. You don't joke about
25:35.0
those things. And some wonder if it were really
25:37.0
a joke or whether it's a half-men joke, right?
25:39.3
You don't have to be a province of another
25:41.0
country to be their province. You can be just a
25:43.0
subservient country and they can more or less
25:44.9
control your country indirectly. Ang tawag po dyan,
25:47.3
new colonialism, right?
25:49.6
Superpowers tend to do that.
25:51.4
Russia has been trying to do that in Ukraine
25:53.1
for quite some time. So, Russia has been
25:55.0
trying to control Ukrainian politics
25:56.9
through their proxies and through
25:59.0
Russia majority provinces
26:00.8
in the eastern parts of the country. So, we have
26:03.0
many cases around the world whereby
26:04.7
larger powers can exercise
26:07.0
semi-colonial control or influence
26:09.2
over other countries by not officially integrating
26:11.3
them, but having control over
26:12.8
their politicos and politicians.
26:15.2
Obviously, we hear a lot of that criticism usually
26:17.2
against Western countries. This whole new
26:19.3
colonialism rhetoric is
26:20.8
about how Western multinational companies,
26:23.6
Western superpowers bully
26:25.0
post-colonial nations. We can have
26:27.2
a long discussion about that. And, of course, there's
26:29.2
a lot of things that we can point out. I think
26:31.1
some Malay Western countries
26:33.1
are also not above
26:35.3
criticism. They have made
26:37.0
a lot of mess around the world, including in the Middle East.
26:39.2
I can talk about that for a long time.
26:41.4
Pero, I just find it
26:43.2
fascinating na may mga sobrang tapang
26:45.1
pagdating sa ICC, independent sovereignty,
26:47.3
tapos pag binuli tayo,
26:48.8
over and over and over again. Diyan sa
26:51.1
Second Thomas Shoal, sa West Philippine Sea, ayan,
26:53.2
tahimik. Ano ulit yung statement niya, no?
26:57.0
ginawa ng China sa
26:58.8
Second Thomas Shoal? Ano po ulit?
27:01.4
Hinihintay ko pa.
27:03.1
Yun na interesting, eh. May mga tao tayo dyan.
27:05.1
Ang dami mga hanash about all the things.
27:07.0
All sorts of issues all around the world about United Nations,
27:09.3
about conflict here and there. Pero pagdating
27:13.0
sa atin, sa sarili natin bakuran, biglang
27:14.8
tahimik sila. So, that's a deafening silence.
27:17.3
Very problematic silence. And in the same
27:19.0
spirit, I've also criticized ASEAN.
27:21.4
Alright? Because ASEAN, you know,
27:23.5
sariling sigap lang mukhang nangyari
27:25.2
dito, eh. Walang solidaritin support
27:27.1
even when we showed support to Vietnam and other countries
27:29.2
when they were being bullied. So, yun ang
27:30.8
konteksto ng sinasabi natin. But just to be clear,
27:32.9
okay, so let's just
27:34.0
summarize anong pinag-usapan natin, mga kamer,
27:37.0
so just to be clear.
27:39.3
So, if you triangulate
27:41.5
different surveys, it looks
27:43.1
like President Rodrigo Duterte,
27:45.2
he may not be as popular
27:46.9
as before. He may not have the same trust rating
27:49.2
as before. We're no longer talking about 70%,
27:51.1
80%, 90%. But the
27:53.1
large plurality of Filipinos, more than 40%
27:55.3
of Filipinos, at least in some surveys, say
27:57.0
that they would be okay with him to be a senator.
27:59.2
So, that means Duterte is not super
28:01.2
popular and loved by everyone as before.
28:03.5
But a large plurality
28:04.9
trust him or want him
28:06.9
to still occupy a high position in government.
28:10.9
if Duterte were to be a senator,
28:12.7
I think he could be quite an influential
28:14.9
and important pivot
28:17.0
for the opposition to the current
28:18.9
administration as the UNITEAM essentially
28:21.1
falls apart. And I think that will be
28:22.6
official after 2025
28:24.8
elections. Although, some see that UNITEAM
28:27.1
is already over as early as right now
28:28.9
and that 2025 elections could actually be
28:31.1
a fight between two major dynasties
28:33.4
as we speak. Now,
28:35.2
going back to this,
28:36.9
if some people think that
28:39.2
having a position, a seat in the
28:41.4
Senate, gives them immunity
28:42.7
from international
28:47.2
seeking to get to the bottom of the drug war,
28:49.8
international bodies that are trying to
28:51.3
do the job that our own institutions
28:53.4
have not been able to do. Because don't give me this
28:55.3
nonsense about, oh, we have
28:57.4
working institutions because si Leyla
28:59.4
de Lima ay pinalay. Like, okay, Leyla de Lima
29:01.3
is one out of how many questionable
29:03.4
unresolved cases,
29:05.7
right? And I'm not even talking about the UNITEAM.
29:06.9
I'm talking about the EGK cases of tens of thousands
29:08.8
based on some reports, right? So you cannot say
29:10.9
something is working when your rate of success
29:13.1
is one out of, I don't know, 30,000
29:15.2
questionable cases, right?
29:17.2
Of miscarriage of justice
29:19.0
or weaponization of law
29:21.1
or all sorts of different
29:22.7
deviation from the
29:25.9
people are talking about international bodies because
29:29.1
international bodies come
29:31.0
in when domestic courts or judicial
29:33.0
institutions are incapable to or
29:34.9
unwilling to or perhaps
29:36.9
even open to collaborate with international bodies
29:38.9
to ensure justice for thousands,
29:40.9
thousands of people
29:41.9
who still want to figure out ano ba talaga nangyari?
29:45.0
Anong konteksto ng mga alleged
29:46.9
EGKs back in the day, not to mention
29:48.9
more than 100 children
29:50.2
who lost their life
29:53.1
during the drug war based on the reports
29:54.8
we're seeing, alright? So don't give me this
29:56.9
nonsense, oh, sorry na lang,
29:59.4
collateral damage.
30:01.2
Of course, it's easy for you to say that
30:02.9
when it doesn't affect you and your loved ones
30:05.0
but God forbid, diba?
30:06.9
I mean, if, you know,
30:09.1
it's easy to say that, you know, every life
30:10.9
matters. A single innocent life matters,
30:12.9
alright? So hindi pwede bata-bata
30:14.6
fourth world mindset, alright? You can do that
30:16.7
whatever you want but not,
30:18.7
this is the 21st century,
30:20.6
2023. So, the idea that
30:22.7
kung manalo ka ng Senate that gives you sovereign immunity,
30:24.9
no, it's not gonna work that way.
30:26.7
Sovereign immunity applies
30:28.0
particularly in the context of our conversation, dun sa
30:30.9
mga heads of state. Prime ministers
30:32.7
of parliamentary systems,
30:34.7
and this was the case with Prime Minister Narendra Modi of
30:36.7
India, when he's,
30:39.0
you know, he was able to go to the United
30:40.6
States and be treated with all the honor
30:42.6
and dignity of the head of state
30:44.3
once he was elected as the highest
30:46.8
official of the land.
30:48.8
So, nawala nyo yung travel restrictions
30:50.6
sa Kanya for a long time based on allegations
30:52.8
of, you know, inaction or
30:54.6
other forms of, you know,
30:56.8
supposed, you know,
30:58.3
culpability during the
31:02.8
Having said that, when it comes to President PBM
31:04.6
also, he also enjoys sovereign immunity
31:06.7
because there are also pending cases against the Marcos
31:08.6
in the United States. You can just Google it on your own.
31:11.1
Yes, they may have won some cases
31:12.7
here and there, but there's still a lot of cases there.
31:15.2
But he has sovereign immunity because
31:16.6
he's the President of the Republic. He embodies the Philippine
31:18.7
State, right? So he's not just himself
31:20.7
as an individual, but he embodies
31:21.9
the Philippine State, and therefore he
31:24.6
enjoys sovereign immunity. At naklarify
31:26.8
yan ni Wendy Sherman, the former
31:28.6
number two at the State Department.
31:31.7
if you're a senator, it's good,
31:34.6
it's fantastic, but it doesn't give you sovereign
31:36.6
immunity. So let's be very clear about that.
31:38.6
So let's see if the former president is gonna run
31:40.6
for the Senate, but it's something worth
31:42.6
watching because at the end of the day,
31:45.2
the Dutertes are still popular.
31:46.7
They're not as powerful as popular as before,
31:48.6
but they're still popular.
31:51.1
And aside from Duterte, you can also
31:52.6
see other kind of semi-populist or
31:54.5
populist figures, for instance, Erwin Tulfo.
31:57.2
They're also doing very well
32:00.5
you know, pre-election surveys,
32:02.6
which still tells you
32:04.3
that as far as our voters are concerned,
32:06.6
they're still attracted to that
32:10.1
doer kind of leader. We can have a long
32:12.5
discussion about whether these specific individuals
32:14.4
are the right person to be leaders,
32:16.4
but it looks like yung mga ating mga kababayan
32:18.6
yung pa rin na hinahanap nila ay someone
32:20.4
as a doer who get things done, even if
32:22.5
sometimes medyo ka rin na brutal, right?
32:24.4
So which tells you, may pagkakulang
32:26.5
pa rin ng opposition, that the opposition still has
32:28.6
to rear a kind of charismatic
32:30.6
leadership that both protects human
32:32.6
rights, at the same time,
32:34.1
sane evidence-based public
32:36.2
policy that actually works
32:37.8
and delivers for the Filipino people.
32:39.9
On that note, thank you very much sa mga kameta.
32:41.9
Of course, yung mga nagtotroll din sa atin.
32:44.1
Maraming salamat for trolling, for pushing up our
32:46.0
engagement. We always appreciate that.
32:48.1
And yeah, good luck. Talk to you guys
32:50.1
soon. So hopefully we'll be back with R&R
32:52.5
at pag-usapan natin
32:55.9
highlights of the year.
32:57.7
But for me personally, I think one of the political
32:59.9
highlights of the year was
33:01.2
Senator Laila de Lima, former Senator
33:03.9
Laila de Lima, pinalayan na siya
33:07.2
that what happened in the past was not only
33:09.7
miscarriage of justice, but weaponization
33:11.8
of law. Maraming salamat.
33:14.0
Thank you very much. Mabuhay po
33:15.9
kayo at have a good evening.
33:18.1
Talk to you soon. God willing.
33:20.4
Salamat guys. Thank you very much.
