The Senate version funds new laws which were not yet passed when the 2019 national budget was being prepared at the executive level.

For months, we waited for the executive to propose funding for laws they themselves advocated.

In the absence of such, the Senate, in bipartisan fashion, decided to appropriate funds for landmark measures which were in danger of becoming unfunded mandates in their crucial first year of implementation.

I am proud to sponsor the following budget augmentations which were carried in the Senate version of the General Appropriations Bill for 2019:

· Universal Health Care, P18 billion

· Coco Levy and Coconut Modernization Law, P10 billion

· Rice Tariffication Law, 10 billion

· Bangsamoro Organic Law, P30 billion

The other branch may have forgotten to fund these laws. The Senate did not. We uphold these as sacred promises to our people which should be redeemed with funding.

I thank Senator Loren Legarda for supporting and shepherding the passage of these sponsored amendments of mine.