Presidential Communications Office

Presidential News Desk

PRESIDENTIAL SPOKESPERSON ERNESTO ABELLA
Kaagapay ng Bayan with Marie Pea-Ruiz and Melany Valdoz
Reyes
[DZRB interview | 7 January 2017]
Q: Good morning po.
PRESIDENTIAL SPOKESPERSON ABELLA: Kumusta po sila?
Q: Mabuti naman po. Kayo, I hope youre doing good din, sir. I hope
youre good.
PRESIDENTIAL SPOKESPERSON ABELLA: Oo naman [laughs] yes,
were all good. Everybodys good. [laughs]
Q: Sir, kakamustahin po natin yung naging Command Conference po
ni Pangulong Duterte kahapon diyaan sa Malacaang.
Q: Ano yung mga naging direktiba ng ating Pangulo sa AFP at PNP po?
PRESIDENTIAL SPOKESPERSON ABELLA: Opo, well unang-una po
maam ibibigay ko sa inyo mga general ano lang, mga general
disclosures lang dahil meron siyang, syempre may mga items na for
private consumption yun ano.
Q: Tama po.
PRESIDENTIAL SPOKESPERSON ABELLA: Pero basically po, ano
to, traditional po ito na gathering, yung traditional New Year
Command Conference po ng lahat ng armed services ng Armed Forces
natin kasama na rin po ang pulis at tsaka ang Coast Guard.

Ano lang po siya, basically may security update tsaka po nagbibigay

ng mga current na mga law enforcement activities ng mga pulis tapos
ang ginawa po ng ano, ng Presidente, ni-reiterate niya ang kanyang
guidance regarding corruption lalo na, sinasabi niya yan kasi hindi
naman nawawala yan just like that and then yung campaign against
drugs and terrorism.
Tapos, ano po niya, idiniin din ng Presidente na yung kanyang
commitment no to end the ASG, yung Abu Sayyaf Group.
So ano po to, basically, yun po, its an annual traditional meeting. At
maganda naman po ang nangyari, it was a short meeting, ano lang po
mga two hours siguro yun pero it was a [anong tawag dito] it was a
substantial and a very fruitful meeting at --- which puts the President
in touch once more with this part, branch of government. Yun po.
Q: Opo. Sir, hingian po namin kayo ng mensahe para sa mga
kababayan po natin na dadalo ng Translacion sa Lunes, para sa Pista
ng Poong Nazareno.
PRESIDENTIAL SPOKESPERSON ABELLA: Opo. Ano po ito,
syempre we continue to appreciate no yung faith ng ating Philippine -- lalo na yung kalalakihan ano, the Filipino people no. Ito yung isang
expression ng kanilang Filipino spirituality.
Once more, well just say na please, of course you go in complete safe
but also to continue to be watchful and careful and syempre alam
naman po natin na ang ano, ang human nature of being what it is eh
may kanya-kanya po tayong kung baga [baltik?] ano. So let us just be
careful and let us still remain calm and sober and let us again po look
out for one another. Ano po tayo, we are careful and watchful pero on
the other hand, let us continue to enjoy the benefits of a folk
spirituality.
Q: Sir, may patanong lang po si Leila ng Philippine Daily Inquirer.
PRESIDENTIAL SPOKESPERSON ABELLA: Yes po.
Q: What does the President mean when he said he wants Russia to be
the Philippines protector? What kind of protection is the President

speaking from Russian and what kind of relationship does he want

Moscow and Manila to have?
PRESIDENTIAL SPOKESPERSON ABELLA: Tungkol po sa specifics,
tungkol po sa specifics, wala po tayong --- we cannot go into specifics
about the actual specifics of those statement.
Pero ang sinasabi lang po natin ay nagkaroon po ng in a sense,
nagkaron po ng break ng ano yung ---- na break po yung ating
mentality ng ating source of security comes only from one particular
country. Kumbaga po, nagbo-broaden at nagwa-widen ang ating
borders of support.
So basically, hindi lang naman po sa Russia yan kundi rin po sa ating
mga neighbors but also kumbaga, sinasabi ng Presidente is we are
beginning to recognize na --- tinatanggal natin yung [unclear] nung
bayan na yun, of that particularl country and we are beginning to
recognize that our borders are not necessarily limited or confined to
simply one country or one geopolitical force.
Q: Sir, we have a studio guest. Ang station manager ng Net 25, si
Weng Dela Fuente. She would like to greet you po and may isang
question lang.
PRESIDENTIAL SPOKESPERSON ABELLA: Yes, maam?
Q: Happy New Year, sir.
PRESIDENTIAL SPOKESPERSON ABELLA: Yes, maam?
Q: Sir, sa presscon po ni Ambassador ng China, hes saying na theyre
hoping soon magkakaroon daw po ng pirmahan regarding the defense
cooperation between Russia and the Philippines.
PRESIDENTIAL SPOKESPERSON ABELLA: Sinabi po ng China or
Russia?
Q: Ah Russia po, Russia and the Philippines.

PRESIDENTIAL SPOKESPERSON ABELLA: Meron po tayong ano,

meron po tayong --- meron po kasing na-initiate na Memorandum of
Understanding nung 2014 during the Aquino administration, sila po
yung nagpasimula ng ano, nung relationships na yan, we recognize
that.
Pero there are certain ambits of ano po yun. Yung pagsa-sign po ng
Memorandum of Understanding na iyan ay hindi lang po tungkol sa
Defense. It covers all areas of engagement including cultural, including
military-to-military, kaya may student exchange so malawak po yung
coverage nung Memorandum of Understanding and it may be part of
that.
Q: So sa pagbisita po ni Presidente sa Russia in the coming months,
may mga inaasahan ho ba tayo na mga agreements, specifically on
the Defense matters na paglalagdaan?
PRESIDENTIAL SPOKESPERSON ABELLA: I cannot categorically
say yes but Im sure thats part and parcel of it kaya lang hindi ko
masabi exactly ano yun.
Q: May wish list na din ho ba tayo with regards doon sa mga --- sabi
po kasi ng Russia, they can supply us with weaponry, even planes,
submarines and helicopters so ang hinihintay lang daw po ay yung
wishlist ng Pilipinas?
PRESIDENTIAL SPOKESPERSON ABELLA: In which case po, yung
wishlist na yan must come from the Secretary of National Defense.
Q: Thank you sir.
PRESIDENTIAL SPOKESPERSON ABELLA: Opo, opo. Okay. Happy
weekend.
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