‘Sycip was keeper of national ledger who told us that our assets are bigger than our liabilities’

09 October 2017, Comment are Off
The country has many Taipans but one true business titan, and that was Washington Sycip. His counsel was most sought after, his advice prized, that even among competing interests he was a shared resource, because having his name on the board is in itself a seal of good...

Recto bats for P15 B more for Marawi rebuild

08 October 2017, Comment are Off
Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto is proposing that Malacañang be given a standby fund of P15 billion for Marawi reconstruction, on top of the P10 billion that is already in the 2018 national budget bill. Recto said the additional P15 billion for the rehabilitation of the...

Teachers can have higher allowances, take-home pay by Jan. 1 – Recto

08 October 2017, Comment are Off
Threatened by a P30 billion cut, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto today called for the rechanneling of DepEd’s 2018 budget to “low hanging fruits” which can be used to increase a number of teacher’s allowances. If these “benefit amelioration” items will be added to the...

BOC told to right errors in balikbayan box rules, easy entry of disaster relief

07 October 2017, Comment are Off
The lawmaker who was the first to point out the tedious requirements in shipping balikbayan boxes today praised the order of Commissioner Isidro Lapena to freeze the Bureau of Customs’ guidelines on tax-free packages sent home by OFWs “as a blow against red tape.” Senate...

Recto to Bato: We find faults, but we also find extra funds

04 October 2017, Comment are Off
The Senate may find fault in the PNP, but it also finds funding for them. And the Senate helps the police when it does both. Far from ingrates, the Senate has expressed its support to the PNP by not only approving, year in and year out, a higher budget for the PNP, but adds more...

Brgy polls deferment must be the last one – Recto

04 October 2017, Comment are Off
This second postponement must be the final one. It should be a non-extendable deferment. If we scrap again the elections in May, it will constitute a strike three against democracy. I am counting on the palabra de honor of Malacañang that this will be the last cancellation....

Put budget promises like 15-min PNP response, 40-kph MRT speed in ‘BOSS’

30 September 2017, Comment are Off
One post-budget enactment document the government can publish is a catalogue of performance guarantees issued by agencies, from how fast travellers should exit out of airport immigration queues to police response time. Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto, who made this...

‘Extra judicial funding’ needed to fight crime, boost rule of law— Recto

29 September 2017, Comment are Off
One way to fight crime and keep communities safe is through “extra judicial funding” which will modernize courts and equip public attorneys and prosecutors with the resources that will reduce case backlogs and move the wheels of justice quickly, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph...