Bakit Ikaw: The Presidential Job Interview with Norberto Gonzales

Presidential aspirant Norberto Gonzales on Tuesday, February 1, gave his take on how to handle and resolve the country's most pressing issues on DZRH's Bakit Ikaw: The Presidential Job Interview.

Gonzales, former Cabinet official of ex-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, answered questions given by anchors, reporters, and citizens on how the government can move the nation forward.

Here are some of the highlights of Gonzales at the Bakit Ikaw: The Presidential Job Interview:

On the possibility of Charter Change if elected
Gonzales revealed that wants a change in the country's political system if elected as president in the May elections.

"Kaya ako simula pa lang, 'yung bahagi ng systemic change, sisimulan na natin sa pamamagitan ng pag-iintroduce ng posibilidad na baguhin na natin ang ating Konstitusyon," Gonzales said.

(What I will do from the start, as part of systemic change, we will start introducing the possibility of changing our Constitution.)

He said that introducing the possibility at the earliest possible time will alleviate the mistrust of the public over charter change.

"Napapansin ko noon nung panahon namin na 'yung charter change hindi matuloy-tuloy, kasi pinagduduhan na 'yung mga presidente na gustong baguhin yung charter natin, duda ng mga tao natin, gusto lang palawakin yung pag-stay nila sa gobyerno," he said.

(I noticed that during our time charter change cannot be pushed through because presidents who wanted to change the charter were doubted. Filipinos were doubtful, they think they just want to extend their stay in the government.)

On revival of united 'Malay civilization' in Asia
Gonzales said that his vision for federalism is not just for the Philippines, but for entire southeast Asia.

"Ang federalism para palakihin ang bansa, 'yung mga iba't ibang bansa nagsasama-sama. Magandang pangarap kung titignan natin ang ating ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) region kung magsasama-sama tayo napakalakas na bansa 'yan sa kinabukasan," he said during Tuesday's Bakit Ikaw: The Presidential Job Interview.

(Federalism is for the expansion of a nation, for countries to unite. A good goal for us is for the ASEAN region, if we unite, it could be a strong country in the future.)

Gonzales brought back the non-political confederation of Maphilindo, which he claimed was the dream of the country's heroes.

"Alam mo sinimulan natin 'yang ideya na 'yan, natatandaan natin yung Maphilindo? Malaysia, Philippines, saka Indonesia. 'Yan ay pangarap ng ating mga bayani katulad ni Jose Rizal, tinitignan nila ang pagbubuo ng tinatawag na Malay civilization dito sa Asia," he said.

(We already started with this idea, remember the Maphilindo? Malaysia, Philippines, and Indonesia. That is the dream of our heroes like Jose Rizal. They are looking into the formation of a Malay civilization in Asia.)

On cutting red tape in PhilHealth to stamp out corruption
According to Gonzales, he wants to simplify the system at the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) in order to identify and eradicate corruption there.

He made the remarks on how to resolve the corruption issues plaguing the agency.

"To me, the more complicated the process that we allow in our bureaucracy, the more corruption," he said.

"Let us simplify para huli ang manloloko, hindi natin mahuli eh."

(Let us simplify to catch the crooks, because we can't catch them.)

Gonzales added that the public has been guided by the "philosophy of mistrust," where doubts are projected on public servants.

"We are actually guided by the philosophy of mistrust, wala tayong tiwala sa kapwa, wala tayong tiwala sa mga naglilingkod sa gobyerno," he said.

(We are actually guided by the philosophy of mistrust, we don't trust others, we don't trust people who serve the government.)

On PH's territorial waters issue
Gonzales said that China has lost its respect to the Philippines due to the continuous fight over the West Philippine Sea.

"War is not about weapon system, it's also about showing others that if they're prepared to die, so are we for our territory," Gonzales said.

He said that countries during his time only sought respect over these matters.

Furthermore, he also noted that the country should stop seeking shelter from the United States each time a problem arises against China over the territorial waters.

"Kaibigang matalik tayo ng mga Amerikano, pero hindi tayo tuta ng mga Amerikano," Gonzales added.

According to the DFA, the Philippines has so far filed 231 diplomatic protests against Chinese activities in the West Philippine Sea since 2016.

Also set to discuss its plan and platform on DZRH's Bakit Ikaw: The Presidential Job Interview is Vice President Maria Leonor "Leni" Robredo on Feb. 2.

The Bakit Ikaw: The Presidential Job Interview is aired on all DZRH digital, Radyo Natin website, and other traditional media platforms. (DZRH)