I met Chinese ambassador to discuss WPS, not Eleksyon 2022 –Pacquiao

Presidential aspirant Senator Manny Pacquiao said on Saturday that he met a Chinese ambassador to discuss the heightened tensions in the West Philippine Sea, clarifying that they did not talk about the upcoming May 2022 polls.

Pacquiao did not disclose the name of the Chinese ambassador.

“Hindi po kami nag-usap about sa election ang pinagusapan namin yung dispute dito sa West Philippine Sea at ang discussion namin ay kailangan talaga ng may paguusap kasi wala naman daw pong kumakausap sa kanila,” Pacquiao said in an interview with DZRH.

(We did not talk about the election, we are talking about the dispute here in the West Philippine Sea. And based on our discussion, we need to have a dialogue because, according to them, no one is discussing the matter with them.)

If he is elected president in Eleksyon 2022, the senator said he would create a peace panel to communicate with the involved countries to resolve the territorial dispute.

“Hindi naresolba ang problema na ito sa isang paguusap lamang kaya maraming dapat conversation na paguusap kaya sinasabi ko doon magbuo yung sinasabi kong magbuo tayo ng peace panel para tututok sa problema na ito,” he added.

(This problem will not be solved in just one conversation. There should be many discussions. We need to build a peace panel to focus on this problem.)

Asked if the Chinese ambassador would respect the decision of the peace panel, Pacquiao said, “Kung may paguusap po siguro maiintindihan din naman pagdating sa huli."

(If there is a discussion, maybe they will understand it in the end)

In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands, following a case filed by the Philippines, invalidated China's sweeping claims over the waters.

Beijing does not recognize the ruling.

Absences in Congress

Pacquiao admitted that he was “unmotivated” to attend sessions during his term as Sarangani representative which resulted in his numerous absences from the House of Representatives.

Out of 69 session days during the First Regular Session of the 16th Congress, Pacquiao was only present for 30 sessions.

He was deemed present in eight more sessions, putting his total attendance at 38. Of his absences, 30 were constituent work-related and only one without notice of absence.

“Ako kasi kadahilanan nung congressman ako ay tinatamad ako doon sa congress dahil pagprivilege speech ng congressman sa kanyang probinsya matagal mahaba and then wala naman akong pakielam doon sa issue ng probinsya niya,” Pacquiao explained.

(When I was a congressman, I was too unmotivated to attend Congress because a congressman's privilege speech took so long. And I was not focused on the issues of other provinces.)

The senator said he instead focused on providing Pacman villages in the provinces and helped to give livelihood to the people in the communities.

“Ang minabuti ko doon ako nanatili sa probinsaya dahil nagpapagawa ako ng mga Pacman villages doon, doon ako nakaktutok dahil mas mabuting nakatutok ako sa mga pabahay ko roon dahil excited ako nabigyan mo yung mga pamilya ng sariling tahanan libre,” he said.

(What I did was I stayed in the province and built Pacman villages there. I focused on providing housing for the people. That got me more excited, providing houses for the people.)

He, however, underscored that he was now more focused and consistent in attending Senate hearings, adding that he was dedicated to his duties and responsibilities.

“Kung ichecheck yung record ng Senate wala na akong masaydong absent dyan, kung makaabsent ako isa o dalawang araw dahil may importansya o medyo may masamang karamdaman. Dedicated po ako sa trabahong ito focus po ako lalong lalo na dito sa hinahangad kong tunay na pagbabago sa ating bansa,” he added.

(If you check the Senate records, I’m hardly ever absent. If I will be absent, it's just for one or two days because of something important or whenever I am sick. I am dedicated to this work, I focus especially on the real change I seek for our country.)

More trains, skyways in Metro Manila

If he gets elected president, Pacquiao vowed to build more trains and skyways in Metro Manila to lighten traffic.

“Kailangan po natin ng additional skyway, kailangan po natin ng Metro Rail Transit (MRT), paramihin pa po natin yung MRT natin para yung mga tao hindi na magisip gumamit ng sasakyan mas mabilis sa MRT,” he said.

(We need an additional skyways. Let's create more MRTs so people don't have to use their private cars.)

“Dagdagan natin yung linya around Metro Manila at outside. Yung subway na ginagawa pagnatapos yan kulang pa ‘yan sa dami ng sasakyan sa ating bansa,” he added.

(Let's increase the MRT lines around Metro Manila and outside. The subway that was being built would not be sufficient due to the number of vehicles in our country.)

— DVM, GMA News