Government should treat the estimated P77 billion coco levy fund as “the low hanging fruit” that can be picked to help thousands of coconut farmers whose livelihood was “blown away by Yolanda,” Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto said today. Describing it as “frozen like a

Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph G. Recto has filed a measure seeking to increase the cap imposed by law on the amount of 13th Month Pay, Christmas bonus and other benefits exempted from income tax. Present laws exclude the mandated 13th Month Pay and the Christmas bonus from

Government should start rolling out acash-for-work program in Yolanda-devastated areas in order to “clear and clean”communities of debris and employ those whose jobs or livelihood werealso destroyed by the typhoon. “Disaster areas need a differentkind of emergency – emergency

Government can doublethe number of its operational C-130 planes to six next year byearmarking P1.5 billion in the 2014 national budget. Senate President ProTempore Ralph G. Recto said the cost of refurbishing one mothballedC-130 in the Philippine Air Force inventory is P500

As agricultural damages continue to mount due to the recent onslaught of supertyphoon Yolanda, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph G. Recto pushed for the immediate passage of a bill establishing a special insurance program for rice and corn farmers heavily hit by calamitie

Sponsorship Speech by Sen. Ralph G. Recto Senate Bill No. 2855 (Additional Relief to Families Act) Mr. President, my esteemed colleagues: It is my privilege to sponsor a bill that honors the State’s commitment to strengthen the family as the foundation of the Filipino nation. I

Co-Sponsorship Speech of Sen. Ralph G. Recto On the 2014 General Appropriations Bill Mr. President: This is an unconventional sponsorship speech but these are not ordinary times. When it comes to introducing the national budget, the parliamentary tradition is to rattle off a

We would like to remind thenational government to also address the devastation caused by Santi. As of October 16, according to theNDRRMC itself, the only assistance coming from the central government wasthe P6.6 million worth of relief goods from the DSWD. I am sure,however, that

It is perhaps time to thaw the frozen pork and use it to help victims of the Visayas earthquake, Typhoon Santi and the siege of Zamboanga. Withheld PDAF can be converted into a Priority Disaster Assistance Fund. To effect the release, the Senate can issue a resolution authorizing

Saying that disaster relief funds in the proposed 2014 national budget are not enough to finance the reconstruction of areas hit by the string of man-made and natural calamities, Sen. Recto today called for adjustments in next year’s budget to accommodate rebuilding w