Top off P7.5 B immunization budget with funds to fight fake news

28 August 2019, Comment are Off
Government should “top off” the proposed P7.5 billion national immunization budget for 2020 with funds for an information campaign that will roll back fake news-triggered “vaccine hesitancy” among parents. The proposal was made by Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto, who...

“Let Leila participate in plenary session”

27 August 2019, Comment are Off
I support the Drilon-Lacson resolution allowing Sen. Leila de Lima to participate in our plenary sessions through video conferencing. She may be imprisoned, but Senator Leila remains an incumbent, who, lest we forget, was elected by 14.1 million citizens of this country. Her...

PH hog industry is 8th biggest globally; gov’t must aid raisers in the event of ASF

22 August 2019, Comment are Off
Government should open up a new front in contingency preparations for African Swine Flu, on how to financially help people in the P280 billion a year industry if tests prove that the deadly disease is already here. “I think that a study group should be convened to assess the...

Recto backs Duterte’s Rx: Buy P19.1 B worth of drugs in ’20, send 80 percent to promdis to avoid spoilage

21 August 2019, Comment are Off
Malacañang plans to buy P19.1 billion worth of drugs and vaccines in 2020 and will send 80 percent of these to provinces, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said. Recto said the “purchase order” is contained in President Duterte’s 36-page Budget Message for 2020, which...

Senator backs Duterte’s order that foreign ships must seek permission to transit

20 August 2019, Comment are Off
The President is in the right in directing foreign ships who will sail on our seas to ask clearance from the proper government authority well in advance of the actual passage. If we accost jaywalkers and fine drivers who change lanes abruptly, then why should we not demand the...

Gina was great “secretary of defense of our natural resources”

19 August 2019, Comment are Off
Gina was not a debutante infatuated with green causes to which she had a passing fancy. She was a lifelong warrior for Mother Earth. She walked her talk, be it in defense of helpless children or displaced communities, or in nursing back to life polluted waters or ravaged forests....

Probe sought on yearly delays of hundreds of NIA projects worth billions

19 August 2019, Comment are Off
Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto wants a Senate probe on the “monumental delays” in irrigation projects, warning that the country’s food security and the income of its farmers will be hurt “if these projects will not flow like water.” Because one cannot grow crops without...

Make elevated walkways part of infra menu–Recto

17 August 2019, Comment are Off
From just four types, a senator is pressing the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to debut next year a fifth – elevated walkways – in its infrastructure menu. “It is time to elevate wide pedestrian and bike lanes, whether ground-level or elevated, to the league of...