00:00Hello, Matthew. You are an active counselor of Puerto Princesa.
00:10Yes, I'm on my fourth term now.
00:12Yeah, because 2013 to 2022, and then you took a break, and then ran in 2025.
00:18And I won again.
00:19Okay. Bakit hindi ka pumunta sa isang mas mataas na posisyon after three terms as counselor?
00:25Sometimes walang door na open for that.
00:27Noong time namin kasi sa Puerto Princesa, incumbent lahat nung pagbalik ko.
00:33Okay, I understand that.
00:34Walang open door, I mean, position sa higher position.
00:38Pero bukas ang iyong isipan doon sa pagpunta sa vice o kaya mayor o kaya gobernador.
00:45After all, your lolo was, you know, a governor.
00:48Yes. Yun naman talaga ang ambition na lahat ng mga sa public service, of course, to pay for a higher
00:54position.
00:55Pero sometimes you just have, dapat tama yung timing.
00:58Para sa akin, dapat, there's a time for that.
01:01Tama dapat ang approach mo, tama ang timing.
01:03Kung hindi, kung magkamali ka, iba eh.
01:06Tama. But you can't also be too careful.
01:08Yes, of course.
01:09Sometimes you have to jump, you know, into the unknown.
01:14Pero I know what you mean.
01:16Kasi I'm familiar with the politics in Palawan.
01:20Pero sa mga nangyayari ngayon, may impeachment trial, ang vice president ng bansa,
01:27at itong flood control heist, ika nga, na umaabot ng trilyon, kung talagang susumahin ang lahat.
01:35On the ground, sa local government, bilang konsihal, nasaan ka?
01:41Ganyan yung sinabi mo na, sa higher level, yun, ano, sa national level, yung mga nangyayari ngayon sa flood control
01:46and...
01:48Pero hindi kayo affectada?
01:49We are not that much affected.
01:51What about rock-netting controversies? What about DPWH controversies? Wala ang Palawan?
01:56Wala ang Puerto Princesa City because kami, LGU kami, we are not, iba yung, hindi kami under sa national, which
02:06is yung DPWH kami, sa local, local lang kami.
02:10So, walang mga controversy na may kinalaman sa pagnanakao sa kabanang bayan, wala, hindi umabot sa Puerto Princesa?
02:15Wala sa Puerto Princesa.
02:16Hindi ko affectada. But as a public official, what is your general take on what is happening in the context
02:24of corruption?
02:26Well, alam mo, napakahirap sagutin yan. Napakatagal na na problema yan, ano. Way, way before I started nang dyan na
02:35yan.
02:35So, I think, siguro, isa lang naman ang gusto ng lahat, to put a stop, to put a stop sa
02:41corruption. And I think, dapat doon yung maging direction.
02:46Pero kung wala mang flood control problems ang Palawan, may mga ibang problema. Wala ba kayong rock-netting problems? Wala
02:54ba kayong illegal logging problems doon?
02:57Palawan is a very strict environmental protection program. Napakadaming agencies nagbabantay sa Palawan. So, illegal logging, illegal mining, medyo talagang
03:07halos. Kung hindi wala, it's very, very, very, very small.
03:11Oo. Okay. As a counselor also, actively serving Puerto Princesa, itong araw-araw na napapanood natin sa telebisyon na impeachment
03:21ng Vice President, what is your take as a government official?
03:27Well, para sa akin, ano, sana matapos na. Yun lang talaga.
03:33Sana matapos na dahil?
03:35I mean, it's time to, you know, gawin na natin lahat ng kailangan gawin. The country needs to move forward.
03:43Tapos na, and then let's move on.
03:45Pero kailangan, we have to hold the guilty accountable, kung sino man. Diba? Kasi nakarating tayo doon sa impeachment na
03:53ito, dahil hindi lamang para sa ating...
03:57Kasi we can't move forward if we're not able to address the core problems also of the country.
04:01Yeah. Dapat talaga, yung root problem, I mean, magawa ng solusyon, malaman kung what really happened and how to fix
04:10it.
04:11Oo. Meron ka bang partido? Meron ka bang kinikilingan? May kinakampihan ka ba dito?
04:16We have our local party. Under ako sa mayor namin, which is, we have our own...
04:23Your mayor is?
04:24Byron. Mayor Byron.
04:26Okay. And Mayor Byron is aligned with?
04:30Right now, meron kaming sariling local na party.
04:33Ah, local. Pero pagdating sa mga national issues, kayo ba'y sumusunod sa posisyon ng inyong local party?
04:41Yes. Yes, we do. We do.
04:43Hindi ba kalabisan kung pwede kong tanuin kung nasaan ang inyong pwesto pagdating sa mga issues na ito?
04:49Sa ngayon, hindi ko ba sa...
04:52You'd rather not. Okay. I respect that.
04:55You'd rather not. Okay.
04:59You'd rather not. Yeah.
05:16You'd rather not.
05:44Transcription by CastingWords
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