The Senate minority bloc is sharpening its pruning knife to be used on the 18 bills of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., which he revealed on Monday’s State of the Nation Address (SONA).
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. said the 18 legislative measures of the President appeared to be ‘’shotgun".
He emphasized that he found nothing new ("Walang bago") in the President’s SONA because he had heard them before.
The former Senate President said he and Senator Risa Hontiveros, which compose the two-man Senate minority group, would keep in touch with the minority bloc at the House of Representatives.
"We may be outnumbered but not outfought. We will provide a check and balance,’’ Hontiveros said.
Pimentel said his teamwork with Hontiveros is important as well as ‘’time management and division of labor".
‘’As time passes by makikita nyo ang independent stand ng mga kasamahan namin they will help us perform task of minority (As time passes, you will see how our colleagues {in the 24-member Senate} will adopt an independent stance because they will help us perform the task of the minority),’’ Pimentel said.
Senator Alan Peter Cayetano and his sister, Senator Pia Cayetano, have decided to stay independent.
Pimentel acknowledged that the Marcos administration has the support of the majority blocs in the Senate and the House of Representatives.
‘’The minority group is open to all. Welcome. Let it flow naturally,’’ he said.
‘’Maraming kakulangan ang SONA pero sa dami ng problema ng bansa di nya madidiscuss lahat pero akala ko ba ang priority nya ay agri o pagkain (There were many missing links in President Marcos’s SONA and he could not discuss all the problems of the country. I think his priority is on food or agriculture),’’ he added.
‘’The 19th legislative measures {proposed by the President appeared to be) parang shot gun,’’ he stressed.
’’As a lawyer, naghihintay ako sa justice, marami rin ang problema dyan sa (I am waiting for justice) tremendous delay in cases, justice delayed is justice denied, human rights violation. on corruption how do we fight. even latest survey top priority pa rin ang corruption, salary of teachers, endo (end of contract) federalism,’’ he stressed.
Pimentel twitted President Marcos for failing to emphasize the need to press for the adoption of a federal form of government through constitutional amendment since he ran under the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP).
Senator Robinhood Padilla, who ran under the Partidong Demokratikong Pilipino (PDP-Laban) party, Cusi wing, has filed a resolution seeking the adoption of a federal form of government.
Pimentel’s father, the late Senate President Aquilino Pimentel Jr., had pushed for a federalism through constitutional amendment.
‘’If you run under the party, you advocate with the program,’’ he added.
‘’He wants the success of his administration determined by scientific measurement, marami sya binanggit imomonitor natin yan (he mentioned many issues and we intend to monitor them), there is one metric na sama tignan din (we will look into the) gap between the rich and the poor, kung gusto natin gumawa ng measurement di lang sa per capita nakatingin (we want to make a measurement not only looking at the rising net per capita), tumataas ang net capita natin, rich are getting richer, look at the bottom 10 percent),’’ he said during a press briefing with Hontiveros Tuesday morning.
He also urged the President to sign into law the Creatives Industry Bill that the Senate had passed.
Pimentel says smuggling at the ports would be a thorn in the President’s food program.
`’’Whatever is your program sisirain ng smuggling yan. Wala na pong choice (he has not choice) he will encounter smuggling ...a big problem. Bureau of Customs is a big player,’’ he said.
Hontiveros, nevertheless, gave her thumbs up to the President’s economic team.
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