President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. at the Kapihan with the Media in India

Q&A:

Q: So, Mr. President, what are the major achievements during your attendance in this year’s BRICS Summit? Ano po ‘yung mga achievements for the Philippines and the ASEAN? And how do you balance ‘yun pong ating geopolitical alignments with other countries like China, Russia, the US, Iran, and others?

THE PRESIDENT: Many times with these things, just the fact that you have a chat about whatever the subject is, every time that you have that, it adds to your understanding of the other person.

Kahit sandal lang. But we tend not to talk about pleasantries. We pretty much – we can’t help of course – we just go straight to the point. “How the floods?” “What’s the rice…?” You know, “what’s your policy on this?” Almost immediately because we know we have very little time.

So that’s where it becomes useful. You don’t sign a treaty because of that. But you have a better understanding of each other. You have a better understanding of their country, what their concerns are. And that’s valuable. That’s very valuable.

So, in that sense, it’s an achievement. Secondly, the other thing is that it’s the first time the Philippines has been – ASEAN has attended BRICS. And again, that’s a good experience.

We came in as the Chair of ASEAN, which was – we are very grateful again to India for including ASEAN.

And besides that, on the purely Filipino aspect of it, we met with some companies, Indian companies, that have – that some have already put up facilities in the Philippines and some have not.

But all of them are saying, well, those that are already there, they’re saying that they will expand their operation, and those that are not yet, they have plans to come into the Philippines in various sectors.

So, a great deal was done.

You have to also remember, I was able to talk to and meet some of the leaders that we don’t normally meet. The leaders in Africa from Latin America who generally don’t come to these summits at least in this part of the world, simply because it’s so far.

So, again, that is an advantage. Because, you know, it really boils down when it comes to the level of all leaders talking to each other, it’s important just to be able to make the connection so that when you call him on the phone, he will answer your call. That’s all. That’s all.

That’s what we all try to engage. So, at the very least, at the minimum level, if I need something or I have something to talk to you about and I call you, you will answer the phone.

So, again, it’s those personal relationships that are very, very important. They play a very important role.

Of course, policy and ideology of course are front and center.

But in the you know cut and thrust of diplomacy, I think, the personal relationship plays a big part.

Q: Sir, going into domestic issues naman po, noong mga nakaraang briefing po ay nabalita ‘yung inyong meeting with Cabinet secretaries about po doon sa Middle East crisis at krisis po sa langis. Patungkol po doon sa pagkakaroon natin ng sapat na suplay ng langis at pati po ‘yung ayuda na ibinigay natin sa mga PUV drivers, ano pa po ‘yung ibang mga important measures na ina-undertake po ng administration in consideration of the crisis po in the Middle East and gaya po ‘yung giyera ‘di ba po nagkakaroon ng mga Pilipino na nadadamay po dito sa giyera po na ito?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, we have – ang polisiya talaga pagka kami pinag-uusapan natin ‘yung mga pangyayari sa nakaraang ilang buwan, ‘yung giyera sa Middle East, lagi basta’t napaka…Simple lang naman ‘yung aming iniisip basta hindi matigil ang takbo ng buhay.

Kahit mayroon siyempre maraming – ayun nagiging mahal. At ang su… Wala tayong… Iyong sila kung ‘yung parang the way I approach it, ang iniisip ko, you know there are certain things na you cannot control. You have no influence over, such as the war in Iran and the volatility of the prices of oil.

You can, however, do something about food. So, ‘yun ang tinitiyak namin. That’s why in the past few days, marami kayong naririnig sapat ang food supply dito sa atin sa Pilipinas.

And so that is another thing that I managed to do. I managed to take – we sat for 20 minutes with the President of Vietnam and we talked about rice and rice importation. I’m talking about a long-term contract. We talked about pricing.

Hindi pa tapos. We’ve been talking about this for a long time pero at least ‘yan nag-one-to-one kami tungkol diyan.

And so, because I am so concerned that the food prices have to come down, and we’re trying to do everything.

At patuloy naman ‘yung pagtulong natin sa mga hindi – walang maykaya para at least mayroon silang kinakain.

I also have to credit the LGUs because the LGUs have also been of great, great assistance to their people. First, as first responders pagka nagkagulo. Pangalawa, to support.

Kasi kahit dadating kami, mayroon kaming dala, mayroon din sila. And everybody has been pitching in talaga.

It’s become very much a whole-of-government approach. But I think I’m right when I say I’ve never seen national government and local government work so closely as I see it now.

But that was intentional. I really always, always thought that national and local should work much more closely.

So that’s another thing that came out of it. Patuloy lang. We will just continue to do what we are doing. We are reaching many people and we are being able to assist them.

The new danger now are our seafarers. Kasi doon tayo nagkakaroon ng casualty eh.

‘Pag inatake ‘yung isang tanker, isang barko, malamang may Pilipino doon. So the chances of a Filipino becoming a casualty getting hurt or getting killed is very much there.

Kaya nakakalungkot pero pagka may pangyayaring ganyan, kaya naman patuloy lang ang aming suportang ibinibigay sa kanilang pamilya, sa kanila.

And we try also to talk to the other countries na, ‘pag may Pilipino, huwag niyo nang bombahin.

And, you know, it’s just the consequence of a war. That’s what this is. This is a war.

‘Yun ng mga inaalala naman natin ngayon. Dahil lahat ng ating ginagawa na kayang gawin para suportahan ‘yung mga OFW natin, ‘yung ating mga transport workers, ‘yung mga nasa lower demographic ng lipunan natin, lahat ‘yan ay siyempre ‘yan ang aking iniintindi at inuuna.

But beyond that, we are doing everything we can do to help. We are very, very worried about the peril that some of our seafarers find themselves in. I wish them luck.

Q: Sir, follow up, Mr. President. Doon po sa oil crisis. Nakakaapekto rin po ba siya doon sa ating mga farmers lalo po mayroon na tayong El Niño ngayon and baka mas magmahal ‘yung fertilizer?

THE PRESIDENT: It’s the fertilizer, but fertilizer parang nahanap—found it’s level again. Kasi noong February 28 ‘yung unang attack, Marso talagang tumaas nang husto pero bumaba din.

So, fertilizer, the supply and the price – the price is still higher than it was before. But there’s sufficient supply and we’ll just have to pay the price and if needs be, we’ll subsidize that too.

But, what I prefer to do as much as possible because in an economic sense, it’s much more useful. Of course, you support people when they need your help, right? But I would rather—I think more important is you put them on a footing so that they don’t need your support and that—But more than anything, it’s not a lousy, a good one. You know, you can go to school or you can… we help them that way.

And that’s what we are trying to do. The kids have learned, the OFWs, we give them scholarships, whatever we can, whatever we can.

The UPLIFT Program is having a good effect, we see in the stats that those that are being reached by these programs are widening in terms of who gets assistance from the government as the systems becomes, the systems of assistance become more established.

Q: Happy birthday, Mr. President.

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Thank you.

Q: I will pivot to something more political.

THE PRESIDENT: Okay.

Q: In 2022, you ran promising Filipinos unity.

THE PRESIDENT: Yes.

Q: But today, Vice President Sarah is facing an impatient trial, a charge in a court, and she’s the first Vice President to be issued an unarrest warrant. And she’s now saying a lot of things against you, including a supposed plan of yours against her. What are your thoughts about the issues of the Vice President?

THE PRESIDENT: You know, I hear about them, but I don’t really even have a response. If she feels very angry, I suppose, with what’s happening to her. And I am the target of that anger, or the main target of that anger. What can I do? You cannot force anyone to love you. [laughter]

Q: Good afternoon Mr. President, happy birthday.

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you.

Q: Continuing lang on the political track. What is your comment on the arrest of former House Speaker Martin Romualdez and how do you respond to critics who say that he is being given special treatment or that his arrest is just part of a drama?

THE PRESIDENT: God, you see, do you think you talk to him and see if he agrees with you? I don’t think. Of course, but this is political, right? It’s not really a comment on what’s happening. It’s not really a belief that it is, in fact, drama.

It’s kind of may masabi, kailangan may masabi para insultuhin ka o to put you down, or sabihin mali yung ginagawa mo. Basta ang sasabihin basically pinapatunay nila na wala kang kwentang tao.

So they have to say that. So that’s what they’re saying. They’re not commenting about. That’s not a comment on the procedures of court. It’s just another attack. We get them a lot. [laughs]

Q: Hi, Sir. Good afternoon po, Sir, and happy birthday.

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you

Q: On the economic front, the peso is hovering below 63, closing Friday at an all-time low of 62.68 against the US dollar.

THE PRESIDENT: Yeah, I know.

Q: Analysts say the positive economic numbers from economic managers’ past statements are not actually felt by the majority of the Filipinos. And this is apart from the ballooning debt na nasa 19 trillion na po. So, how is the Palace planning to absorb this contradicting economic numbers?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, first of all, the problem, the real problem that’s driving all of this is inflation. And what is driving inflation is because if you look, there are several measures to inflation. ‘Yung tinatawag nilang core inflation does not include fuel and food.

Our core inflation is okay. We’re down in the mid two point, some two point between two and three. But, of course, oil, fuel, and food. Food follows fuel. It’s that. That’s where the inflation comes out from.

That’s why we’re trying to do everything that we can to keep prices down. That was one of the very first things that we did. But, you know, you have oil at 100. Because of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, there is no prospect of any new oil. There is constant threat to oil supplies because they bombed the pipeline, ‘yung sa kabila.

The Red Sea is also becoming a war zone. So, you know, nobody wants to do anything. Everybody is afraid of what’s going to happen next. They’re not sure of what’s going to happen next.

Maybe just a select group who know what’s going to happen next. Maybe they’re just clever than us, so they have good information, better information than we do. So that’s what’s happening in the world now.

And then, actually, what happened is also we are starting to increase again public spending so the growth rates kick up. And I think that will take effect very soon. You’ll begin to see how the public spending, because I think everyone knows what happened.

After my SONA, before last, all the construction contracts halted. Tapos inispeksyon, inisa-isa. Although the releases were made to DPWH from the budget, DPWH wasn’t spending kasi walang bagong kontrata kasi tinitingnan lahat ng kontrata, eh madami-dami ‘yun. Na-delay ngayon. That’s what happened.

So now, usually pagka lumabas ‘yung NEP, bini-bid na ‘yan eh, ‘yung mga kontrata, ‘yung mga project bini-bid na ‘yan November pa basta’t nandyan na ‘yung NEP. This time wala, walang nag-bid. Na-delay nang na-delay nang na-delay nang na-delay. That’s why public spending is now—but we are only, right now, we are maybe less than 10% below what we were year on year, if you look over all public spending.

So that’s okay. The peso to the dollar, it’s because of inflation, because of all the weaknesses that we are seeing. Unemployment went up. And that’s, again, because of lack of public spending. That’s the effect there.

So at least it’s something that we can do something about and are doing something about, which is the increase. We’re catching up. We will be, if you want to refer to it, we will be current in public spending in the next couple of months.

So, we should be back to. Although not normal kasi nandyan pa ang giyera. But we should be more than steady.

Q: Sir, last quarter, mag-i-improve kaya ‘yung numbers?

THE PRESIDENT: I hope so. I think so. I don’t know if you can say na tapos na ‘yung trabaho. I think you will see the beginnings of it start at the very least. Makikita mo na na may pagganda na.

I don’t promise anything about inflation because, again, you know as much as I do about what oil prices are going to do today, right? You watch TV, so do I. That’s it. So that’s the situation there. Yeah, it’s a tough time. We have to be very, very careful.

Oh, you mentioned the debt. I want, usually, you don’t, you know, when you look at debt and you say it’s X trillion dollars, whatever, it’s just a number in the air. It doesn’t mean anything.

I always remind people a balance sheet has two sides to it. There is the asset side and there’s the liability side. If you’re going to look at the liability side, which is essentially kung ano ‘yung utang mo, tingnan ni rin ‘yung asset.

Now, how do you make sure that those two are balanced, or in the right… acceptable balance, I’ll just put it that way. In an acceptable balance, right? By just looking at one number or another, you cannot. You must look at the, and then its ratios. Our rations of debt-to-GDP are fine.

Q: Thank you, sir.

THE PRESIDENT: Yeah, we are healthier than many, many, many, many other economies. Ask the financial analysts, they don’t know what I’m—I’m sure they understand what I’m talking about. It’s those ratios that are important. ‘Yan, debt-to-GDP, that’s a primary one. So that’s my advice on how you can look at both sides of the balance sheet.

Q: Thank you, Mr. President.

Q: Mr. President, yesterday we’ve had a meeting with the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, right? And patuloy po ‘yung ating laban against climate change. And nakapasok po recently sa ating bansa ‘yun pong mga substandard na bakal na natagpuan po [inaudible] sa Davao City na diumano po sa mga Chinese ‘no at nahuli po recently ng NBI and PAOCC. Baka hindi lang po ito nag-iisa, ngayon po na nagpupursigi tayo against climate change, paano po natin masosolusyunan ‘yun pong paglaganap ng mga ganitong negosyante sa ating bansa na ‘yung pong kanilang mga materyales ay mapanganib sa ating kaligtasan?

THE PRESIDENT: Mga ‘yan, kung titingnan mo ‘yung mga record nila, dumating sila—nag-umpisa ‘yung mga ganun mga 2018 nag-start dumami ‘yang ganyan. Mayroon pa siguro tayong makikita dahil tuluy-tuloy ang paghahanap natin at nung una akala namin iilan lang, tapos habang tumatagal ‘yung imbestigasyon, parang… baka mas mayroon pa pala.

Napakadelikado niyan dahil nga ginagamit ‘yung bakal. Eh, substandard nga ‘yung bakal, mayroon na tayong suspetsa na ‘yung mga ibang building na nalaglag ay dahil substandard ‘yung ginamit nila. Wala namang alam ‘yung mga contractor na nagtayo. Akala nila tama ang pagkagawa.

There are two—iyong ano, unang-una, maraming aspeto ‘yan eh, hindi lang tungkol doon sa bakal. Pero ‘yung sa bakal, that’s very dangerous because we cannot… if you cannot trust your building materials, you cannot trust the building.

And so, pinagpatuloy namin ang mga imbestigasyon, ang paghahanap at tinitingnan natin na mabuti what the… gaano kalaking mga operation ito. Dahil sa tagal na nilang nandiyan, siguro ‘yung natayo na nila ay madami-dami na ‘yan.

Kagaya siguro nung POGO ‘yan na nung hinuli natin, nagulat tayong lahat, ang laki na pala ng kanilang operation. I don’t think this will be that bad. But it’s bigger than most people know.

Q: Follow up lang, Mr. President. Ano po ‘yung ating message doon po sa mga contractors lalo po kailangan po tayong maghanda sa climate change, ‘yung mga contractors po natin?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, it’s really not up to the contractors. The contractors, for the most part, you know, ginagawa, sumusunod sila dun sa plano, sumusunod sila doon sa mga specs na kailangan.

It’s the inspector kaya ba’t nakalusot ‘yang bakal na ‘yan. May inspector ‘yan eh. Hindi lang sa building, doon sa paglabas ng bakal, you test it ‘di ba? Bakit hindi ‘yun ang ano, ‘yan ang kailangan ipatibay para habang bago pa mapunta sa isang building, mapunta, mabili pa ng contractor, bago gamitin nahuli na.

That’s, for me, that’s the way to go. ‘Yan ang tutukan natin. And unfortunately, mayroon talaga kaming nakita na substandard na palabas na, gagamitin na. Nahuli naman, but we’ll keep looking. We’ll keep looking, this is very dangerous.

Q: Mr. President, speaking of baha po, ako po kasi ay tubo po ako sa Calumpit, Bulacan which is known for being the, kumbaga parang ground zero, failed flood control projects. Ang sinasabi po o sentimyento po ng mga kababayan po doon ay kahit na may mga napapakulong o may mga napapanagot, ‘yung baha mas lumalala po. Actually, medyo baha pa po sa amin hanggang ngayon. Kailan po kaya madadama nung mga kababayan ko po ‘yung ginhawa?

THE PRESIDENT: Mahaba-habang ayos ‘yan. Ang talagang nangyayari dito ay napakalakas ng ulan. Sa buong kasaysayan ng mundo, hindi pa naging ganito ang mga weather – ‘yung El Niño, ‘yung Yolanda, tapos itong mga Habagat na ganito. This is described as extreme weather. And this is the weather that the climate scientists had been warning us for one generation, but nobody listened to them.

They said that once the temperature of the water increases by 1.5—no, one centigrade lang ‘ata, you will begin to see those effects. So, ‘yan na nga ang nangyayari. So, now we have climate change, we have heavy rains, we have severe weather so we have to adjust. Marami tayong kailangang gawin na medyo mahirap.

‘Yung mga tao na nakapagpatayo ng bahay, halimbawa sa mga no-build zone ay kailangan talaga naming kayo ilipat. Wala tayong magagawa kundi mauulit na naman ito, kayo rin na mababaha, baka maanod na kayo, delikado diyan.

And that’s not easy to do because, you know, these are their homes. So those are the things, the measures that we can take. But the real, not so long term, but not so—is we’re starting to dig basins. Halimbawa, doon sa kung saan nagbaha ang NLEX, maghuhukay kami diyan ng mga basin para dun pupunta ang tubig.

Kasi sa ngayon, well hindi, ngayon wala nang tubig. Pero, nung nababaha ‘yan, kahit ibomba mo ‘yung tubig, lahat ng… sa tabi ng kalsada, lahat ng sa tabi nung highway puro swamp na eh, tubig talaga lahat eh. Wala, walang epekto ‘yun. Basta’t ganun, babalik lang ‘yun.

So, they had to find a way na kailangan ‘yung tubig, mayroong paglalagyan ng tubig na tatanggalin mo doon sa pinagbahaan. Things like that. And then, the longer scale, time scale that you’re thinking of, are more of those, but all the way up to the mountains already to the Sierra Madre.

Again, these pools, even now, we have already identified five sites in Metro Manila, na huhukayin. Hindi ito basin, may nakapatong ito, ‘yung iba kung ano-ano – may mga building, basketball court na huhukayin, at saka gagawing basin. Tapos they’ll build on top of it ulit, para magamit ulit ‘yung lupa. Tapos nandoon ‘yung tubig, dun pupunta ‘yung tubig. Paglabas ng tubig papunta sa dagat, lalabas uli tubig,

But we’re trying to find Ways to use the water again out of the cistern, use it for irrigation, use it for household, use it for industry, whatever.

So that’s really the long-term solution. The first basins will be finished within a year, two years, the smaller ones, the others may be more. It will take more time. It’s not, we will have to examine also, but there are many variables still. So, although we’ve identified those sites, it’s not sure that those sites will be the ones where those cisterns will be made.

Q: Sir, what’s your comment on the Supreme Court overturning the graft conviction of former First Lady Imelda Marcos?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I’m glad that that case is over. It’s been hanging over our heads for about 40 years. All those cases were filed in 1986, and that’s how long it’s taken. Well, of course, I’m happy that, you know, she doesn’t have to be worried about it, because she does worry, that she worry about these cases any longer. Yeah, I’m glad especially for my mother.

Q: Sir, follow up lang po. How do you respond to people who are raising concerns over the possible influence of this in your choice of the next Chief Justice?

THE PRESIDENT: Which one?

Q: ‘Yung decision po, ‘yung possible implication po niya sa choice nyo sa next Chief Justice. Baka daw po ma-influence.

THE PRESIDENT: Why?

Q: Na maging pabor po sa kung sino ‘yung mga nag-decide?

THE PRESIDENT: Ah, no, no. That’s the first time I made any connection between the choice of Chief Justice and no, that’s never been, that will never entered our thinking in any way.

Q: Sir, this is the most serious question. Puwede pong malaman namin ‘yung wish nyo sa birthday nyo?

THE PRESIDENT: Sa birthday ko. [laughs]

Q: For you, for your family and for the nation?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, let’s do my family first. I suppose for my family, simple lang. I wish I saw more of all of you. And it’s not just my children, including the First Lady. Our schedules don’t match very well. We don’t see each other that much either. I wish I could spend more time with all of you, number one.

For the nation, it’s a big wish. I wish I’ll be able to get the beginnings of what we started in place, so that they continue.

It is, in many ways, it is a restructuring. And I just want to get the basics of that in place so that it will continue that we will continue to construct the government. We will continue to make it better.

We’ll continue down the road of engagement with other countries. We will encourage trade. We will encourage diplomacy. We will always be on the side of peace. That’s what I think about. Yeah.

Thank you.

—END—