Press Releases

High power rates stymie manufacturing growth Sen. Ralph G. Recto today reiterated his call on the Department of Energy (DOE) to let the Senate have a peek of what power rates would look like until 2016 to give business leaders a heads up in charting their investment or expansion

Sen. Ralph G. Recto today expressed alarm that despite billions being poured into the government’s flagship anti-poverty program called conditional cash transfer (CCT), many Filipinos are still going hungry and in fact an estimated 4.8 million of them are skipping meals once in

Sen. Ralph G. Recto yesterday pressed for the immediate deployment of a contingent of economic and business diplomats that would engage China and its business leaders in spirited discourse on the joint exploration of the vast economic potentials of West Philippine Sea. As the

Sen. Ralph G. Recto today urged Malacanang to seriously consider engaging China, not through diplomatic protests, but through a possible joint exploration agreement in the Spratlys Islands. “Every stand-off, the territorial tension only escalates and we’re not gaining anything –

Solving Mindanao’s power crisis Sen. Ralph G. Recto today said government should make up its mind whether it would privatize all state-owned power utilities in the country or not. “A piece-meal approach in the power situation in Mindanao might not be the proverbial light at the

Increasing royalties like ‘walking to a trap’ Sen. Ralph G. Recto today warned government against approaching the issue of mining as a revenue-enhancing tool by increasing government’s royalty share from mining operators, over proposal to increase mining tax. “Royalties are

Sen. Ralph G. Recto today said boxing sensation and Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao deserves better treatment from the tax bureau, which is unwittingly potraying him as a tax evader. Recto stressed Pacquiao’s earnings from his fights in the United States (US) should no longer be

Sen. Ralph G. Recto today said any reduction in the 12 percent value-added tax (VAT) should be off-set by existing revenue streams that are not reflected in the annual national budget. Recto, Senate ways and means chairman, likewise objected to a multi-tier VAT rate for different

Sen. Ralph G. Recto today said government should expedite the fixing of its air infrastructure once tourist-drawing projects come in full swing like the opening up new gaming complexes for foreign players. “The air war must be won before we can claim victory on the touri