Press Releases

Due to conflicting estimates on the value of the “coco levy fund”, Sen. Ralph Recto has called for an audit to determine the present worth of the multibillion-peso fund which grew out of the levy on copra sales during the Marcos period. “There are lots of numbers being bandied

The annual “chalk allowance” of public school teachers will go up from the present P1,000 to P1,500 next year, courtesy of a Senate amendment in the 2015 national budget, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said today. “Chalk allowance “ is the popular term for the amount

The Senate version of the 2015 national budget funds the setting up of free Wi-Fi spots all over the country so Internet access can aid learning, link farmers and traders to markets, and connect the public to information that will improve their lives. Senate President Pro Tempore

Government’s massive feeding program for undernourished children next year will cover even those not yet in school, as two million 2 to 5 year old tots will be fed healthy meals by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto

The 5,947-page national budget package may be as thick as an encyclopedia set, but it has one fault: It doesn’t tell what happened to funds appropriated in the previous national budget. Senate President Pro-Tempore cited this weakness of the current budgeting system in pushing

The senator who introduced the amendment to raise to P82,000 the tax exemption cap for 13th month pay and other bonuses says the amount merely restores the value of the peso which has been lost to inflation since 1994. Sen. Ralph Recto, principal author of the bill increasing the

All indigent senior citizens will be covered by the social pension program once a Senate amendment to the 2015 national budget is signed into law. Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said the Senate Finance subcommittee he heads has recommended to increase next year’s

The country’s more than six million senior citizens could now look forward to spending their robust years as bonafide members of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) as President Aquino signed into law last week the measure granting automatic membership to them.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will disburse P17.5 billion worth of grants to civil society and local governments next year and a senator wants part of this earmarked for food production and processing projects that will benefit malnourished children.