The courage of Senator Nene’s convictions

20 October 2019, Comment are Off
While others sought comfort in numbers, Nene drew strength from his convictions. He was a maverick who could not resist a good fight, many of which by his lonesome, for he believed that one man with courage was enough to make a majority. And he paid dearly for being true to his...

7,107 nurses to lose jobs due to budget cuts

10 October 2019, Comment are Off
7,107 public health nurses ang nangangambang mawalan ng trabaho sa susunod na taon. Kasing dami ng mga isla sa ating kapuluan.  If not reversed, it will turn us into an archipelago of dismissed nurses. It is a kind of hospital discharge that is the most unkind.  This is...

P5K teaching supplies allowance is but 1 of 5 measures hiking teacher pay

07 October 2019, Comment are Off
Increasing their annual “chalk allowance” should be part of a package of amelioration measures for our public school teachers. The package should include a pay raise, an increase in their clothing allowance, a hike in chalk allowance, the creation of higher ranks, and increasing...

772K teachers stranded in deadend positions for lack of higher ranks

05 October 2019, Comment are Off
Nearly 772,000 public teachers are faced with a career roadblock because of a curable problem in the DepEd plantilla system. Many are stranded for years, or even forever, in deadend positions where promotion is delayed or impossible because of missing rungs in the DepEd career...

Thousands of college students face forced vacation due to P11.6-B cut in CHED budget

04 October 2019, Comment are Off
Delikadong ma-endo ang pag-aaral ng daan-daang libong mga estudyante sa kolehiyo kung matutuloy ang balak na tapyasan ng P11.6 bilyon ang budget ng Commission on Higher Education (CHED) para sa taong 2020. Instead of diplomas, government will be handing out dismissal slips. The...

PGH to get P456 M budget cut, unless Senate, House restore it

30 September 2019, Comment are Off
Funding for the Philippine General Hospital is the national barometer of our health priorities. It is the national hospital, so the money it gets from the government reflects the importance government gives to health. But for 2020, PGH will be getting a P456 million budget cut....

2/3 cut in hospital equipment funds must be restored

29 September 2019, Comment are Off
Ang Health Facilities Enhancement Program (HFEP) ang gamot sa kulang at bulok na mga pasilidad sa mga pampublikong pagamutan. Sa taong kasalukuyan, ang budget ng HFEP ay P15.9 billion. Ngunit magkano ang nireseta ng DBM para sa HFEP sa 2020? P5.9 billion. Two-thirds ang kinaltas....

‘Time to end the national bad habit of frequently scrapping brgy polls’

27 September 2019, Comment are Off
We have postponed the barangay elections six times since 1988. The proposed scrapping of the one scheduled in May 2020 will be the 7th. If it pushes through, it will be the 3rd under the Duterte administration, and the first three-peat of its kind in history. House and Senate...