Press Releases

Budget space can be carved out of the P7.6 billion administrative cost of the government’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) in expanding feeding programs for malnourished children, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said today. Recto said the overhead expense of

Unspent royalty payments from Malampaya and other energy projects are expected to reach P180 billion by the end of year making it an abundant source of funds for projects government may undertake once Congress grants President Aquino emergency powers to tackle the looming energy

The Senate on Wednesday has passed on second reading the measure providing mandatory PhilHealth coverage to all senior citizens regardless of their social or economic status. Senate Bill 712, authored by Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto, would automatically enroll all

Government was told to earmark part of its P3.6 billion annual travel tax collection for the building of roadside rest rooms so that local and foreign tourists bound for the “sun, sea, sand, shopping” destinations will not “self pee” anywhere. Sen. Ralph Recto made the

Government will be spending P92.3 billion next year to hire more teachers, build classrooms, close logistical gaps and meet the growing needs of 25 million public school students. Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto described the proposed outlay as “unprecedented” both in

Is traffic-choked NCR ready for APEC summit 14 months from now? Are we ready for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit? With 14 months to go before 21 heads of government will converge in Metro Manila for the APEC Economic Leaders Meeting, Sen. Ralph Recto wants to

What about the PNR? While its focus – and resources – seem to be concentrated on the breakdown-prone Metro Rail Transit, Sen. Ralph Recto said government should also turn its attention to MRT’s poor cousin – the Philippine National Railways, “an aging workhorse which still

Sen. Ralph Recto said Congress should heed Chief Justice Lourdes Sereno’s appeal for a higher judiciary budget, but any increase, he said, can be attached to performance outcomes like faster disposal of cases. The plea to augment the budget of our courts has merit, Recto sai

What to do with the container vans clogging the port of Manila? Convert some of them into police stations, classrooms, rice storage, mobile clinics, libraries and housing for disaster victims, Sen. Ralph Recto proposed today. Recto said government should study the possibility of