Gov’t is underspending, “funds must be released like waters in dams”—Recto

16 November 2020, Comment are Off
Stepped up spending is the best calamity response, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said, “as keeping funds in the treasury is like withholding rice in the bodegas when people are hungry.” Recto said billions in unreleased balances in the 2020 national budget should now...

Recto: Budget must fund rehab of ‘agri powerhouses’ that feed the nation or hunger looms

16 November 2020, Comment are Off
In a country that sits atop the earthquake corridor and is the doormat to the typhoon alley, it is but inevitable that disasters become macroeconomic assumptions of the national budget. Typhoons, floods, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions do not only rearrange the lay of the land,...

Recto to PITC: Waive commission in buying COVID-19 vaccine

11 November 2020, Comment are Off
If the DTI-attached Philippine International Trading Corporation (PITC) is the designated COVID-19 vaccine buyer, then it should waive its customary 1 percent to 4 percent service fee. This is not the time to reap a pandemic windfall. When private corporations are waiving fees...

2021 Budget: Daily revenue of P7.44 B dwarfed by P12.35 B daily expenses

10 November 2020, Comment are Off
Breaking down next year’s P4.506 trillion national budget on a daily basis reveals “the gravity and the gaps” which the pandemic has wrought upon government spending, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said. “We are budgeting P4.506 trillion next year, of which only P2.717...

Sinas’ mission orders, like faster crime response time are in 2021 national budget

10 November 2020, Comment are Off
Some of the important “mission orders” of newly-appointed Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Debold Sinas are spelled out in the “performance guarantees” that the PNP has attached to its P190.8 billion budget request for 2021, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said....

‘Our man in Washington DC well-positioned for Biden presidency’

08 November 2020, Comment are Off
Our man in Washington DC is well-positioned to help steer our country’s interest through whatever changes a Democratic White House would bring to PH-US relations. Long before he allowed himself to be conscripted for foreign service, Ambassador Babes Romualdez already had enough...

Vaccines “not a job for one Superman, but for a broad Justice League”

04 November 2020, Comment are Off
I wish General Galvez good luck on his additional assignment as vaccine czar. No mission is tougher and no stake is higher than providing vaccines for all. But that burden is too heavy for one man to bear. This is not a job for one Superman. He has to assemble his Justice League....

Tap ‘plantreetos, plantreetas’ for govt’s P5B reforestation program next year

30 October 2020, Comment are Off
Government’s tree-planting drive next year should join other grassroots jobs initiatives, as mobilizing “plantreetos and plantreetas” could shield its proposed P5.1 billion budget from wastage and delays. This is just one of the proposals of Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph...