MAY
19
2020

P100 B left in SAP money for Part 2 distribution even in GCQ areas—Recto

Senators who wrote the provision in the Bayanihan to Heal As One Act granting P200 billion in cash aid to the poor said the second installment should still be given to beneficiaries even if their residence has been downgraded to a general quarantine area. “Klaro sa records ng
MAY
19
2020

Stimulus requires “medicine cabinet”, not band aid approach—Recto

Government’s economic stimulus package “should be as big and as bold” as the problem it is addressing, as “any piecemeal approach will just be wasting money without achieving the desired goals,” Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said.  Recto said he understands
MAY
06
2020

ABS-CBN does not deserve death penalty

The last thing we need in this season of death is an issue that rends our people apart when their attention and energy should be focused on fighting our common enemy.  At a time when more than 1.6 million of our countrymen have lost their jobs, we should not be putting an
APR
20
2020

On the death of former Senator Heherson Alvarez:

Manong Sonny was a colleague in the House of Representatives during the 11th Congress. He crafted policies, defended these on the floor and interpellated in plenary with the skill of a seasoned parliamentarian and the undiminished passion of a patriot. He had the gift of gab and
FEB
20
2020

If needed, gov’t should charter planes to bring home Pinoys from quarantined ship

Tama ang desisyon ng pamahalaan na i-repatriate ang mga kababayan nating nagtratrabaho sa barkong na-quarantine sa Japan.  If we have to charter a plane, then let us do it, if only to send a powerful signal to Filipino seafarers that when in distress, the
FEB
18
2020

Recto confident that biker-in-chief will back motorcycle taxi bill

Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto is confident that the nation’s “biker-in-chief” will sign into law the Motorcycle Taxi Bill, which lifts the 56-year ban on two-wheelers as a PUV. “The motorbike is the ride of choice of the President,” Recto said in his speech sponsoring
FEB
18
2020

Lifting of travel ban for HK, Macau OFWs ‘right thing to do’—Recto

The decision of the government to allow Filipinos to return to their work in Hong Kong and Macau is a step in the right direction.  This will save the jobs of thousands of Filipinos who were vacationing in their home country when their government imposed a travel ban to those two
FEB
10
2020

Virus, Volcano, VFA: What’s the cost of each?

We are grappling with the three Vs—virus, volcano and the VFA—and each will cost us money. Hopefully, the virus will not spread, Taal will not erupt, and the VFA will not be scrapped for now.  Taal‘s behavior is up to the God above, or whatever geological factors there are
FEB
06
2020

VFA-exit could come later, not yet time to do a Pelosi and rip it up

This is not the time to do a Pelosi and rip up the VFA. A VFA-exit could come later, in a manner that is not rushed, but planned and programmed, and not out of pique.  Certainly not this time when an intruder has built and continues to build what have become the bases of our