Bill on Mandatory PhilHealth Coverage for All Senior Citizens

21 August 2014, Comment are Off
Sponsorship Speech of Sen. Ralph G. Recto on SB No. 712 Mr. President, my dear colleagues: If it takes a village to raise a child, then it must also take a village to care for the old. And one that does so is great, for that is how a society is measured – not by the strength of...

Recto files “Green Energy Government Offices Act”

21 August 2014, Comment are Off
Energy, water bill of gov’t offices to rise to P13 B With the national government coughing up more than a billion pesos a month for electricity and water in its offices, calls for conserving utility use in the bureaucracy have been aired anew in the Senate. Senate President...

1-ft thick, 11-kg, 5,020-page budget docs don’t show status of previous yr’s itemized projects

17 August 2014, Comment are Off
Although the proposed national budget is almost fully itemized, there is however no document which shows if indeed the itemized projects have been completed, Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto said today. Recto said that for all the voluminous budget documents that the...

DOTC wants P6.7 B for MRT subsidy

15 August 2014, Comment are Off
Recto says Senate will ask if it can deliver on its promises Government is asking for a P6.6 billion subsidy for the Metro Rail Transit for next year and the Senate will assess when it hears the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) 2015 budget if the MRT can...

2016 combatants urged to observe ‘political ceasefire’

14 August 2014, Comment are Off
Ang dapat pag-ukulan ng pansin  ngayon ay mga isyung malapit sa bituka – trabaho, suweldo, presyo, pagkain, krimen  – at hindi yung bagay na malayo pa – tulad ng 2016. Di hamak na mas interesado ang mga tao kung saan sila makakabili ng murang manok na lulutuin kesa kung sino ang...

Comelec budget jumps six-fold to P16.8 B, P3.7 B for PCOS machines

11 August 2014, Comment are Off
The proposed budget of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) for 2015 will soar to P16.8 billion, or six times its 2014 budget of P2. 8 billion, an increase Sen. Ralph Recto described “as a high price we’re being told to pay to have clean elections in 2016.” Recto said P3.76...

Recto: High PPP bids could lead to higher user charges

10 August 2014, Comment are Off
Sen. Ralph Recto today called for a review of the government policy of awarding multi-billion Public-Private Partnership projects to highest bidders as this scheme could lead to higher fees paid by the public who will use them. “If a public infrastructure or basic service is the...

Recto calls for immediate debate on bill raising tax exempt cap on worker bonuses

08 August 2014, Comment are Off
Sen. Ralph G. Recto today pressed for immediate debates on his measure raising the annual tax exemption ceiling on employee bonuses, 13th month pay and allowances to P75,000 from the current threshold of P30,000. He said changing the current limit is long overdue “as it was...