Don’t pack Con-Com with ‘federalism halleluiah squad’

02 September 2016, Comment are Off
Senate Minority Leader Ralph Recto said he will not oppose the creation of a Constitutional Commission, calling it “a study group whose output will have to be submitted to Congress for consideration, and whatever Congress recommends will still have to be ratified by the people in...

Recto scores P.8-B slash in DSWD’s child feeding budget

01 September 2016, Comment are Off
Gov’t feeding budget for malnourished kids is worse than ‘preso value meals’  Government is spending P13 per meal to feed a malnourished child which Senate Minority Leader Ralph Recto lamented is lower than the P16.70 “preso value meal” that is served to a...

DPWH urged to deploy 24/7 ‘pothole patrols’

31 August 2016, Comment are Off
‘Hindi mo kailangan ng special powers upang i-vulcanize ang mga butas sa kalye’ Senate Minority Leader Ralph Recto has urged the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to deploy “pothole patrols” that will undertake minor road repairs round-the-clock in Metro Manila and...

P74K yearly budget per prisoner is thrice bigger than gov’t spending per student

30 August 2016, Comment are Off
Recto presses release of old, ailing, infirm prisoners Every ailing or elderly Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) prisoner paroled or pardoned will save taxpayers P45,670 in annual costs to guard and feed him. And taxpayers will save P87,178 annually if one Bureau of Jail Management...

Senior pension budget to double to P18 B, to cover 1.6 M more beneficiaries

29 August 2016, Comment are Off
The budget for the government’s pension for indigent senior citizens will more than double next year to P18 billion, which would allow the enrolment of an additional 1.613 million 60 year olds and above to a program that grants each a cash aid of P6,000 a year. Senate Minority...

Minority demands itemization of ‘tens of billions’ in budget lump sums

29 August 2016, Comment are Off
Senate Minority Leader Ralph Recto has served notice to heads of agencies who will appear before the Senate hearings on the proposed P3.35 trillion 2017 national budget “to be ready to itemize lump-sums in their budgets.” Breaking down “block allocations,” Recto said, will result...

Don’t cancel barangay polls without adjusting Comelec budget—Recto

28 August 2016, Comment are Off
If the October barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections will be moved one year later then the Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) 2017 budget must be increased to accommodate the estimated P3.4 billion estimated cost to elect the officials of the country’s 42,028...

Cut expenses, red tape first before imposing new taxes

28 August 2016, Comment are Off
Save and simplify – these the government must first do before it imposes new tax measures that will bring in two-thirds of a trillion pesos in fresh revenues annually. Senate Minority Leader Ralph Recto urged the administration to scout for frivolous and unnecessary expenses...