On Rice Tariffication

10 October 2018, Comment are Off
This is a tough balancing act. We must hit the sweet spot that will protect farmers from bankruptcy and spare consumers from high rice prices. Hindi pwedeng busog ang isa, gutom naman yung isa. We should give what the rice consuming poor want without harming the rice producing...

SSS agrees with Senate on ‘endo’ insurance for workers

09 October 2018, Comment are Off
Social Security System members who will find themselves jobless will soon be entitled to unemployment insurance—if this Senate proposal will be included in the SSS Reform Bill that will soon be sent to President Duterte for signature. The provision’s sponsor, Senate President Pro...

Recto: Duterte right in putting rice “under one conductor”

20 September 2018, Comment are Off
Bringing the NFA under the control and direction of the DA Secretary is the right move. There should be no two separate orchestras, with a conductor each, when it comes to rice. Para isang kumpas, it should be one symphony under the baton of one conductor. I hope that this move...

Recto: No need for a regime change, only a refocusing of government priorities

11 September 2018, Comment are Off
People should rally behind the President and let him finish a term he won fair and square. There is no need for a regime change, only a refocusing of government priorities. It must re-pivot to the gut issues of jobs, prices, income. Criticisms are par for the course. The mandate...

Statement on the House of Representatives’ approval on 3rd reading of TRABAHO Bill (TRAIN2)

11 September 2018, Comment are Off
I support the objectives of TRAIN 2 to lower income taxes by rationalizing incentives, although I question the timing. TRAIN 2 may be inflationary because it increases taxes on domestic industries such as housing, power, petroleum, among other things. It will also increase taxes...

Gov’t told: Brace for typhoons Neneng and Ompong

10 September 2018, Comment are Off
Government should brace for typhoon Neneng instead of being focused on political storms. It should be able to distinguish between a tempest in a teacup involving a few and a Category 5 storm which may put millions in harm’s way. Communications-wise, what the public ought to hear...

Statement on the Revocation of Amnesty Granted to Senator Trillanes

04 September 2018, Comment are Off
When I lost my 2007 re-election bid, one of the first congratulatory calls I made was to the detained Sonny Trillanes. In my mind, here was a guy who, without setting one foot out of prison, was granted amnesty, not by one person but by 11,189,671 people. When he won the...

Recto : Suspend “third of triple whammy” that will hit motorists

04 September 2018, Comment are Off
Government was urged to freeze its plan to raise motor vehicle (MV) registration fees as it could be the third of the “triple whammy” against owners of 10.4 million vehicles in the country who are still reeling from higher taxes on oil and cars. Compounding the two TRAIN-imposed...