Media

We are grappling with the three Vs—virus, volcano and the VFA—and each will cost us money. Hopefully, the virus will not spread, Taal will not erupt, and the VFA will not be scrapped for now.  Taal‘s behavior is up to the God above, or whatever geological factors there are...

This is not the time to do a Pelosi and rip up the VFA. A VFA-exit could come later, in a manner that is not rushed, but planned and programmed, and not out of pique.  Certainly not this time when an intruder has built and continues to build what have become the bases of our...

“I think it is time to put a temporary ‘Do not enter sign’ on our doorstep for visitors from China,” Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said.  “Let us explain to them that we are not permanently closing our doors. This is not a permanent Great Wall. This is only during...

The Senate and DOJ move to separately study the impact of the withdrawal of the Philippines from its Visiting Forces Agreement with the United States should establish “the weightier reasons” for its abrogation, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said.  “Dapat malalim...

Government rehabilitation programs “should now start falling like volcanic ash on areas affected by the Taal eruption,” Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said.  “It is time to start blanketing these areas with aid to help them get back on their feet again,” Recto...

Now, the hard work begins. Rehabilitation is always harder than relief work. The latter is a sprint, bringing aid to displaced people fast. The latter is a marathon that takes a longer time to complete. Relief is about bringing food and providing food to temporarily displaced...

Christmas is the season of giving, not of taking away; of spreading cheer, and not sowing unhappiness. But for 17,000 Angkas drivers and their families, they got the saddest and meanest Christmas gift ever: their livelihood being taken away. The gift of unemployment is the most...

If the executive branch will not comply, the Senate will. If the Supreme Court has ruled that government nurses should occupy Salary Grade (SG) 15 position and not SG 10 and 11, and if such can only be enforced through an act of appropriation, then the Senate will do its part....