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He said that in there is no place for discrimination or racism in the Belizean society:

Hon. John Briceno, PUP Leader
"I can't go into the details as to what is happening with the public service union. I am not well informed. I have listen to little snippets of the recording which as I am told was done without the knowledge or consent of the people that were there. But that in no way excuses them from what they said. I want to make that very clear."

"I am disappointed that in this day and age that we have people that still believe - that still have those types of views. I think it was the Father of the Nation that started out saying in the PUP that "all ah wi da one." All of are the same in this country and I've said it over and over, it doesn't matter if you were born in Orange Walk Town or Crique Sarco, we are all the same, be it if you are rich or poor, smart or intelligent or whatever race you are. We are all one. That is what makes us unique."

"Like everybody else, I think we all need to condemn this kind of inflammatory language that's being used. Any sort of racism or any sort of look down at any ground of people, any category of people be it religion, be it sexual orientation, be it by race or by economic standards - we need to condemned and we need to condemned it one hundred percent."

"We in the PUP condemned that and we hope that the PSU can find a way how they can heal these wounds amongst themselves. They play a very important role in this country. Unfortunately I don't think that have been active since 2008 when they should have been speaking out more openly and strongly about the issues that have been affecting this country, especially when it comes to the government of Belize when the outright corruption has been taking place in government. I think they have been way too quiet and now that this has happened, it is unfortunate that it can divide them further. I hope that they can find a way that they can heal those wounds."

So, while he was more circumspect in the interview, this evening, his party took on a more forceful position the Marvin Mora/Eldred Neal recording.

In a press release sent this evening, the PUP said, "We join the voices of those across the nation who are outraged at comments, purportedly made by these very important union leaders. Based on the comments made and heard in the recording, both Neal's and Mora's departure should not be a matter for discussion, but should be automatic. In any other country, they would have been gone already!" End quote.

But, viewers will remember that John Briceno himself was once in a similar type of trouble that that Marvin Mora and Eldred Neal now find themselves in.

In March of 2015, someone leaked a secret recording of Briceno and close PUP ally in which he was blazing his party, and the then Leader of the Opposition, Francis Fonseca. His recorded comments were interpreted as inside confirmation of mismanagement of public funds during the Said Musa Administration.

So, what's his take on the new trend of secret recordings made of persons making frank and embarrassing disclosures? Here's what he had to say on that one:

Hon. John Briceno, PUP Leader
"It is the times that we live, so we need to be guarded at all times, because in some instances, your friends are recording you. So it just make public officials to be more guarded and to be more careful on what is it that they say and even if they want to give, be it a sexist joke or a racist joke, it is no longer acceptable in our society."