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
JAN
30
2020

Recto: Put up temporary Great Wall vs Chinese visitors

“I think it is time to put a temporary ‘Do not enter sign’ on our doorstep for visitors from China,” Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said.  “Let us explain to them that we are not permanently closing our doors. This is not a permanent Great Wall. This is only during
JAN
30
2020

“If US restores Bato’s visa, are we going to stop the VFA abrogation process?”

The Senate and DOJ move to separately study the impact of the withdrawal of the Philippines from its Visiting Forces Agreement with the United States should establish “the weightier reasons” for its abrogation, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said.  “Dapat malalim
JAN
29
2020

Recto: Nat’l aid should start falling like volcanic ash on hard-hit areas

Government rehabilitation programs “should now start falling like volcanic ash on areas affected by the Taal eruption,” Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said.  “It is time to start blanketing these areas with aid to help them get back on their feet again,” Recto
JAN
27
2020

Returning Taal residents need a “VFA”

Now, the hard work begins. Rehabilitation is always harder than relief work. The latter is a sprint, bringing aid to displaced people fast. The latter is a marathon that takes a longer time to complete. Relief is about bringing food and providing food to temporarily displaced
DEC
22
2019

Recto on Angkas firing: ‘Unemployment is the saddest Christmas gift gov’t can give’

Christmas is the season of giving, not of taking away; of spreading cheer, and not sowing unhappiness. But for 17,000 Angkas drivers and their families, they got the saddest and meanest Christmas gift ever: their livelihood being taken away. The gift of unemployment is the most
COMMENT Off
NOV
20
2019

Recto: Enough budget space to comply with SC ruling on gov’t nurses pay

If the executive branch will not comply, the Senate will. If the Supreme Court has ruled that government nurses should occupy Salary Grade (SG) 15 position and not SG 10 and 11, and if such can only be enforced through an act of appropriation, then the Senate will do its part.
NOV
20
2019

Senate’s ‘united move’ averts mass endo of nurses

Not one of the nurses presently employed under the DOH Nurse Deployment Program will lose their jobs next year on account of the projected budget cuts. RN pa rin sila, Retained Nurses. This is the assurance made on record and in the open by Senator Go, the sponsor of the DOH
NOV
19
2019

Budget lack derails nat’l ID project timeline

The administration pressed Congress to pass the National ID Law, designating it a national project of the highest priority, certifying that funds are available for its implementation, and no wonder Congress complied. That was two years ago, when we passed the law certified as