Media

Press Release  23 August 2023 A barangay may be the basic government unit but together they occupy a big budgetary footprint, bigger than what is spent for public hospitals and colleges, House Deputy Speaker Ralph Recto said. For 2024, the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) of...

Press Release  20 August 2023 The good news is that the Marcos administration is seeking an almost half-a-billion peso increase – or to P2.02 billion – for cancer control and cancer patient assistance funds in the proposed P5.76 trillion national budget for 2024, House...

Press Statement of Deputy Speaker and Batangas Rep. Ralph G. Recto August 17, 2023 Teddy Locsin is the kind of diplomat “who can tell you to go to hell in such an elegant way that you’ll look forward with pleasure to making the trip.” But he will not be there to rabble-rouse, but...

Press Statement of Deputy Speaker and Batangas Rep. Ralph G. Recto August 10, 2023 Every policy has a reverse gear. By pausing Manila Bay reclamation activities, the President, as of the moment, merely placed it on neutral. This will give him time to sift through the mountain of...

Press Release  6 August 2023 The proposed 2024 national budget of P5.767 trillion translates to average daily spending of P15.8 billion, but only P11.7 billion of which is supportable by revenues, leaving a P4 billion hole which must be plugged by debt. “To fully grasp the...

Press Release  5 August 2023 The budget for the DepEd’s “School-Based Feeding Program” will double from the current year’s P5.68 billion to P11.71 billion under next year’s P5.76 trillion national budget. And if the proposed P4.1 billion for the DSWD’s “Supplementary Feeding...

Press Statement of Deputy Speaker and Batangas Rep. Ralph G. Recto August 3, 2023 Mag hunos-dili sana ang LTO. Ito’y kung totoo ang balita na nagbabalak itong pagmultahin ang mga may-ari ng mga sasakyang hindi pa kinukuha ang plaka mula sa ahensya. Kay tagal hinintay ng mga...

Press Statement of Deputy Speaker and Batangas Rep. Ralph G. RectoAugust 2, 2023 These are the four elephants in the room that the congressional scrutiny of the 2024 national budget will have to confront. Disasters, of the natural kind, have now graduated as a macroeconomic...

Sponsorship Speech by Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph G. Recto SB 1365: Extending the Validity of the Philippine Passport This bill is pretty straightforward: It extends the period of validity of the Philippine passport from five to ten years. But once it becomes a law, its...

Mr. Chairman, my dear colleagues: My nominee was my teacher at the UP College of Public Administration many moons ago. Whenever we meet, I never fail to call her “my favorite teacher,” to which she replies, and always in a loud voice for everyone to hear, that I was her favorite...

‘No Other Treaty Is More Important Than The One For Mankind’s Survival’ Explanation of Vote on the Resolution Concurring in the Ratification of the Paris Climate Treaty, by Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph G. Recto Mr. President, my dear colleagues: First, allow me to thank and...

One item in the government employee payslip turns 26 this year. In June 1991, pursuant to that year’s General Appropriations Act, a Personnel Economic Relief Allowance in the amount of P500 a month was granted to all government employees. Two years later, an “Additional...

Explanation of Vote of Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph G. Recto On SB No. 1304 – Affordable Higher Education for All Act 13 March 2017 Mr. President, my dear colleagues: The costs this bill would entail are not unrecoverable expenses. They are investments with high...

It is my pleasure to finally vote on a bill which I first filed in May 2014. Although the Free National Wi-Fi Project is now in full swing by virtue of another legislative route—through three General Appropriations Acts, including this year’s—still the best way to guarantee its...

Mr. President, my dear colleagues: A wag once said that if men were to get pregnant, “maternity leave would last for two years with full pay, and morning sickness would rank as the nation’s number one health problem.” Hopefully, the passage of this bill won’t lead to the mass...

Mr. President, my dear colleagues, magandang hapon po. The bill is pretty straightforward, so instead of reiterating its provisions, may I just describe the social context, the government culture, and the business atmosphere which makes its passage urgent. Red tape is an...