Senator Ralph Recto, Finance subcommittee D chairman, stresses a point in today’s deliberation of the budget of the Department of Finance (DOF). With Recto are Senator Serge Osmena, Finance Sec. Cesar Purisima and other representatives from the DOF. (photos by Alexis

The annual “chalk allowance” of public school teachers will go up from the present P1,000 to P1,500 next year, courtesy of a Senate amendment in the 2015 national budget, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said today. “Chalk allowance “ is the popular term for the amount

Republic of the Philippines Congress of the Philippines Metro Manila Sixteenth Congress Second Regular Session Begun and held in Metro Manila, on Monday, the twenty-eighth day of July, two thousand fourteen. [ REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10647 ] AN ACT STRENGTHENING THE LADDERIZED INTERFACE

The Senate version of the 2015 national budget funds the setting up of free Wi-Fi spots all over the country so Internet access can aid learning, link farmers and traders to markets, and connect the public to information that will improve their lives. Senate President Pro Tempore

Government’s massive feeding program for undernourished children next year will cover even those not yet in school, as two million 2 to 5 year old tots will be fed healthy meals by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto

The 5,947-page national budget package may be as thick as an encyclopedia set, but it has one fault: It doesn’t tell what happened to funds appropriated in the previous national budget. Senate President Pro-Tempore cited this weakness of the current budgeting system in pushing

The senator who introduced the amendment to raise to P82,000 the tax exemption cap for 13th month pay and other bonuses says the amount merely restores the value of the peso which has been lost to inflation since 1994. Sen. Ralph Recto, principal author of the bill increasing the

Sponsorship Speech on the 2015 National Budget One hundred years ago the national budget was less than 30 pages long, that when folded, members of the Philippine legislature can carry it around in their pocket. Today, budget documents are hauled by forklifts and sent to Congress

All indigent senior citizens will be covered by the social pension program once a Senate amendment to the 2015 national budget is signed into law. Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said the Senate Finance subcommittee he heads has recommended to increase next year’s