Recto to incoming PNP chief: Fill 26,000 cop vacancies

11 April 2018, Comment are Off
“Mission number one” for incoming Philippine National Police chief Oscar Albayalde is to fill the big number of personnel vacancies in the PNP, which is projected to hit 25,938 this year, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said. “If all of these positions are filled, and...

Recto: Observe suitable land use rule in Boracay

10 April 2018, Comment are Off
Whether it is urban or rural, upland or coastal, the rule we follow in land use is suitability, the optimal utilization that will yield the most income, the most jobs, the greatest economic value per square meter with the least social and environmental cost. There are lands best...

Guevarra inherits a DOJ grappling with manpower, equipment lack

06 April 2018, Comment are Off
Newly-appointed Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra should be given the “men and material” the Department of Justice needs as the “changing of the guards alone will not automatically lead” to improvements in an agency that is an important pillar of the justice system. This was...

New rice strategy must ‘plant for the future’

06 April 2018, Comment are Off
As there seems to be an unli-rice-loving gene in our DNA, we Pinoys consume an average 108 kilos each yearly. While producing rice is a problem, producing babies is not. Our population grows by 1.66 million a year. By 2028, our population would have increased by 16.43 million...

Recto hopeful Diokno-led ‘Manila River Transport’ revival won’t suffer fate of DOTR’s MRT

05 April 2018, Comment are Off
Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto backs a Department of Budget and Management-led rehabilitation and privatization plan for the Pasig River ferry “as it is the best chance to rescue the service from the inaction of the Department of Transportation.” “I have always said...

Attach ‘performance targets, countable outputs’ to Boracay’s 6-month forced closure

05 April 2018, Comment are Off
Government should attach a “performance target” to the six-month closure of Boracay “so there will be measurable outcome” of the island’s mandatory shutdown, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said today. “What are the countable outputs after 6 months? Ilang kilometro ng...

Recto: Marawi rehab should be ‘Made by Maranaos, not Made in China nor Made in the USA’

04 April 2018, Comment are Off
Manila should recognize the “Maranao’s culture and resilience as the strongest building blocks” in the reconstruction of Marawi City, and treat them “as active partners and not mere passive receivers” of rebuilding plans. This was stressed by Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph...

As PH copes with 1.6M new rice eaters a year, factionalized rice team could spike price of ‘volatile political commodity’

04 April 2018, Comment are Off
President Duterte should whip his “compartmentalized rice team” to get their act together because “rice is a volatile political commodity” in which the “slightest perception of shortage” could shoot prices up and hurt the poor most, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto sai...