AUG
30
2016

P74K yearly budget per prisoner is thrice bigger than gov’t spending per student

Recto presses release of old, ailing, infirm prisoners Every ailing or elderly Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) prisoner paroled or pardoned will save taxpayers P45,670 in annual costs to guard and feed him. And taxpayers will save P87,178 annually if one Bureau of Jail Management
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AUG
29
2016

Senior pension budget to double to P18 B, to cover 1.6 M more beneficiaries

The budget for the government’s pension for indigent senior citizens will more than double next year to P18 billion, which would allow the enrolment of an additional 1.613 million 60 year olds and above to a program that grants each a cash aid of P6,000 a year. Senate Minority
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AUG
29
2016

Minority demands itemization of ‘tens of billions’ in budget lump sums

Senate Minority Leader Ralph Recto has served notice to heads of agencies who will appear before the Senate hearings on the proposed P3.35 trillion 2017 national budget “to be ready to itemize lump-sums in their budgets.” Breaking down “block allocations,” Recto said, will result
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AUG
28
2016

Don’t cancel barangay polls without adjusting Comelec budget—Recto

If the October barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections will be moved one year later then the Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) 2017 budget must be increased to accommodate the estimated P3.4 billion estimated cost to elect the officials of the country’s 42,028
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AUG
28
2016

Cut expenses, red tape first before imposing new taxes

Save and simplify – these the government must first do before it imposes new tax measures that will bring in two-thirds of a trillion pesos in fresh revenues annually. Senate Minority Leader Ralph Recto urged the administration to scout for frivolous and unnecessary expenses
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AUG
27
2016

Truce with Reds should allow Digong to concentrate on Abu Sayyaf

Government should seize its ceasefire with communist guerillas as an opportunity to shift men and material to its fight to bring the resurgent ISIS-affiliated Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) to its knees, Senate Minority Leader Ralph Recto said. “If the truce with the New People’s Army
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AUG
27
2016

Using P40 B gaming income is good Rx to boost anemic gov’t budget for meds 

Earmarking all state gambling income for the purchase of medicines “is the shot in the arm” that will boost anemic government purchases of essential drugs, Senate Minority Leader Ralph Recto said. Recto said about P40 billion in Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) and
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AUG
23
2016

Palace must study impact of fuel tax on price of rice, fish

In selling its tax proposals, the Duterte administration should attach exemptions and safety nets on each, so that a skeptical public would at least give it a fair hearing of its explanations. One of these, Senate Minority Leader Ralph Recto pointed out, are the farming and
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AUG
20
2016

Before pitching new taxes, Palace must first issue rules on new PWD, balikbayan box laws

Before it rolls out its tax proposals, Malacañang should first issue the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the law granting tax breaks and other benefits for persons with disabilities (PWDs) and those of another law raising the tax-exempt value of balikbayan boxes. The
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