Bill raising teacher’s ‘chalk allowance’ to P3,500 now on Senate floor

22 October 2016, Comment are Off
It will be approved before the end of the year – Recto The Senate has started floor debates on a bill more than doubling the public school teacher’s yearly “chalk allowance” from P1,500 to P3,500. Sponsored on the floor last Wednesday, October 19, was Senate bill 812, which...

On the ‘end’ of US relations, joining Russia-China ‘axis’

21 October 2016, Comment are Off
Foreign policy rebalancing should not mean that we swing the pendulum to the other extreme, that we dump old friends for new suitors. We should practice big-tent diplomacy, welcoming all, and shunning no one. The national interest is served by extending amity to all, and...

On the passing of Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago

29 September 2016, Comment are Off
To borrow Kennedy, Senator Miriam’s mastery of the Constitution was awesome that when constitutional experts will be summoned to the Senate in the future, it can only be regarded as the greatest gathering of legal minds in one room, second only to the times when Senator...

As chronic malnutrition worsens, Recto pushes for national child health program

26 September 2016, Comment are Off
Alarmed by the worsening malnutrition problem among Filipino children, Senate Minority Leader Ralph Recto has proposed a comprehensive health and nutrition program that will provide protection and support for mothers and their children from conception to childhood. A lynchpin of...

Recto : Palace must review, monitor “anti-red tape, fast action” targets of underlings

25 September 2016, Comment are Off
Malacanang was told to familiarize itself with the “anti-red tape and quick response” targets that its underlings have promised the  public in the 2017 national budget so it would know if pledges of fast document processing and rapid reaction to distress calls are being met. The...

PH to hold 1st Centenarian Day but no funds in ’17 budget for cash gift

24 September 2016, Comment are Off
The country will observe the first official National Centenarians Day two Sundays from now, on October 2, but funds for cash gifts for 100-year-old Filipinos pursuant to a new law have not been included in the 2017 budget, prompting Senate Minority Leader Ralph Recto to prod both...

Recto : Investors are attracted by incentives, not repelled by invectives

23 September 2016, Comment are Off
Hard-nosed investors are attracted by incentives, and are not easily repelled by invectives. They go to where money can be made, and the Philippine is an irresistible large market of over 100 million consumers. Kung saan pa nga ang maraming mura, doon nila gusto – murang...

Recto files reso on impact of unli rice import plan

23 September 2016, Comment are Off
Senate Minority Leader Ralph Recto is pressing the Senate to host a faceoff between supporters and critics of the administration’s audacious plan to liberalize the importation of rice. In Senate Resolution 146, Recto said “the ramifications of the rice trade liberalization”...