JUL
24
2019

As PhilHealth data paints ‘graver’ dengue epidemic, Recto urges use of Calamity Fund

The actual number of dengue cases in the country during the first half of the year may be higher than the one reported by the Department of Health (DOH) if the number of reimbursement claims filed before the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) is the basis. “There is
JUL
23
2019

SONA’s important call is the ‘Six Million Challenge’

“Of all the challenges the President had laid out, the hardest is the liberation of 6 million of our countrymen from poverty. This is the Six Million Challenge that confronts us all. It is the overarching Priority No. 1. It is the most demanding because it means 2 million of our
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JUL
21
2019

Recto on SONA: A national pep talk that is a mix of report card and marching orders

A combination of “report card” and “marching orders”. This is how Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto foresees “the tenor and content” of the State of the Nation Address (SONA) President Duterte will deliver Monday afternoon before a joint session of Congres
JUL
20
2019

Recto files bill on ‘no expiry’ birth certificates, forbidding offices from requiring new ones

A bill conferring lifetime validity on a birth certificate and mandating government agencies to accept a birth certificate regardless of when it was issued has been filed in the Senate. Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said he introduced the measure to end the practice of
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JUL
19
2019

Recto files debt cap bill, “a red line in the debt meter that must not be hit”

A debt cap bill has been filed in the Senate, setting national indebtedness at an amount not more than 50 percent of the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Its author, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto, said the cap will not “handcuff the government” from securing
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JUL
18
2019

Deploy more Social Welfare Attaches as there is only 1 for every 624,000 OFWs

Government should consider Social Welfare Attaches (SWAs) as “priority hires” as there is currently only one for every 623,561 overseas Filipinos—the smallest employee-to-clientele ratio in public service today, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said.  Recto said
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JUL
17
2019

Fast titling, acceptance of CARP lands as collateral can help defeat ‘5-6 bankers’

Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) lands will remain a “5-6 paradise” unless roadblocks that prevent them from being used as collaterals for production loans from formal sources are lifted, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said. Recto said the free and speedy
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JUL
15
2019

To fight dengue, make screens mandatory in classroom building plans

With the number of dengue cases in the first half of 2019 double of what was reported in the same period last year, screened windows and doors should be included in the specifications of public classrooms to be built. “Kung ayaw nating madapuan ng lamok ang ating mga anak sa
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JUL
13
2019

“If we have forgiven billionaires’ debts, why not CARP loans of farmers?” –Recto

A bill condoning all the debts farmers incurred in owning lands under the government’s Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) has been filed in the Senate. Filed by Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto, the measure seeks the write-off of all unpaid amortizations,
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