THIS HISTORICAL LANDMARK MUST RISE FROM THE ASHES

22 May 2023, Comment are Off
Press Statement of Deputy Speaker and Batangas Rep. Ralph G. Recto May 22, 2023 Government should rebuild the National Post Office Building. Fast, and not in slow mail fashion. So when they come knocking on the doors of Malacanang for help, the postmen must not ring twice. Pwede...

On Malampaya Contract Extension

15 May 2023, Comment are Off
Press Statement of Deputy Speaker and Batangas Rep. Ralph G. Recto May 15, 2023 Malampaya gas is a bulwark of our energy security. It fuels  base-load power plants in my home province of Batangas. At one point, it provided 40% of the energy needs of the almost 57 million people...

Cabinet men are casuals who can be ‘endo’ anytime

13 May 2023, Comment are Off
Press Statement of Deputy Speaker and Batangas Rep. Ralph G. Recto May 13, 2023 The President has the power to hire and fire. A Cabinet member is just the highest paid casual employee in his department. As such, pwede ma-endo anytime. Walang forever. In this country, a Cabinet...

Reg’l heart, lung, kidney centers to spare ‘medical evacuees’ of going to big cities, create teaching hospitals for MD scholars

12 May 2023, Comment are Off
Press Release 12 May 2023 The recently passed House bill effectively regionalizing heart, lung, kidney and 13 other specialty centers will help “medical evacuees” who flee to big cities for treatment and medical scholars whose studies are funded by the government in order to plug...

Congress passes 9 bills on final reading upon resumption of session

09 May 2023, Comment are Off
Just the second day of the week and the People’s House has already passed on Final Reading nine (9) bills, including the National Network of Specialty Centers in Government Hospitals; Early Voting for PWDs, Seniors and Health Workers; Ban on No Permit, No Exam in Elementary...

BBM US trip a success

08 May 2023, Comment are Off
Press Statement of Deputy Speaker and Batangas Rep. Ralph G. Recto May 8, 2023 The trip of the President to the US was an unqualified success.  It helped that he had as wingmen Ambassador Babes Romualdez, a reliable DC hand who can speed-dial those who move the levers of power,...

𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐨 ‘𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬’ : 𝐏𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐱 𝐚𝐦𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐲 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧

07 May 2023, Comment are Off
𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝟕 𝐌𝐚𝐲 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑 Deputy Speaker Ralph Recto has appealed to his former colleagues in the “smaller House” to pass the bill extending the estate tax amnesty period for two years. A senator for 18 years, Recto believes his “former classmates can pass what is a simple bill”...

‘Complete check-up, not just power audit, and fund repairs from NAIA’s big income’

03 May 2023, Comment are Off
Press Statement of Deputy Speaker and Batangas Rep. Ralph G. Recto May 3, 2023 The Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) management said it would need P1 billion for a new electrical system.  Even if this light bulb moment had come too late, after the airport had been hit...

The Humor, Humility, Honesty Needed in the Little President

19 October 2016, Comment are Off
On the Confirmation of the Appointment of Executive Secretary Salvador “Bingbong” Medialdea Senate Minority Leader Ralph G. Recto Mr. President, fellow members of the Commission. I have always maintained the view that the President’s choice of Executive Secretary is a “privilege...

Time to Erase and Change the Chalk Allowance

19 October 2016, Comment are Off
Mr. President: Like anything written on the blackboard, we can erase and change the amount of “chalk allowance” our public schools teachers get. Which is what this bill precisely sets out to do – erasing “P1,500” and replacing it with “P3,500.” “Chalk allowance” is the popular...

Speech delivered by Senate Minority Leader Ralph G. Recto – Centennial Session

17 October 2016, Comment are Off
The burden of being a senator is that we are not only answerable to the present and to the future, but also to the past. And we are reminded of our being trustees of a proud heritage when we walk past the names of our predecessors etched on the plaques that hang on the corridor...

“Of ‘ADD’ and a DOLE on Auto-Pilot”

12 October 2016, Comment are Off
On the confirmation of Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III   Mr. President:   The nominee is our real peace czar. He is waging peace in two fronts: labor and rural insurgency. This has forced him to be our first Labor secretary in history to moonlight in another job, or work two...

‘The Best Taxman Is the One Who Is Not Intaxicated’

12 October 2016, Comment are Off
On the confirmation of the Appointment  of Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III Mr. President: While the nominee is not the youngest conscript in the Cabinet, he certainly is among the wisest. If the present crew of secretaries has been referred to as the professors who had...

On the confirmation of DBM Secretary Benjamin Diokno

28 September 2016, Comment are Off
Mr. President, I am endorsing the nomination of Dr. Ben Diokno as Budget secretary for reasons as thick as the national budget, but not the least of which is that he is a fellow Batangueño. Because history books often mention our forebears in tandem, then it is inconceivable for...

“Car Industry Must Help Solve The Traffic Mess”

14 September 2016, Comment are Off
Speech of Senate Minority Leader Ralph G. Recto 6th Philippine International Motorshow 14 September 2016 World Trade Center, Pasay City Magandang umaga po. Thank you very much for that kind introduction. For a moment there, I felt like a car whose specs were being read out loud....

Explanation of Vote (SB No. 1112): Postponing the Oct. 2016 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections

13 September 2016, Comment are Off
Elective officials in this land—from the president down to the barangay captain—have the same employment status: they’re casuals elected to fixed terms. They are hired or fired through the same process— via the ballot, with their employers, otherwise known as the electorate, each...