BETTER DAYS Senator Sonny Angara Last week, we wrote about the myriad ways the COVID-19 pandemic has made our youth even more vulnerable than before. Over the past year, this was manifested in increasing cases of online sexual exploitation of children (OSEC), teenage pregnancies, failure to...
BETTER DAYS Senator Sonny Angara Earlier this year, one of our Senate seatmates, Senator Win Gatchalian, called attention to disturbing reports of school children selling sexually exploitative material of themselves to pay for distance-learning expenses, such as gadgets and internet connectivity....
BETTER DAYS Senator Sonny Angara Now that vaccines against the COVID-19 virus will soon be available, some may think we can finally lower our guard and put the pandemic behind us. But it’s very possible that this mindset is what’s driving the recent uptake in new cases in the country. Just...
BETTER DAYS Senator Sonny Angara The future is digital. When the COVID-19 pandemic required strict quarantine guidelines, it was no surprise that business, financial, and even personal transactions went online. One needs only to look into how more Filipinos now regularly use their mobile phones and...
BETTER DAYS Senator Sonny Angara The heart of Philippine culture is the family, and children are often the most cherished and protected. Hence, when a child is born with a congenital health condition, or suddenly develops a serious disease, it is an extremely difficult situation for parents and...
BETTER DAYS Senator Sonny Angara Christmas is the greatest story of a promise fulfilled. For many Filipinos, it is the embodiment of God’s greatest gift: his only Son becoming mortal, to serve as the instrument of our salvation. By following the example of Jesus Christ, whose life was...
BETTER DAYS Senator Sonny Angara The reconciled 2021 budget which Congress has approved is currently awaiting the President’s signature. We have worked diligently to ensure that through this budget, assistance is extended in a timely manner to those who have been affected by calamity, poverty,...
BETTER DAYS Senator Sonny Angara The Senate and the House of Representatives recently approved the bicameral conference committee report on the 2021 national budget, amounting to P4.1 trillion. This is historic because of the circumstances surrounding the budget’s passage—more so because of the...
BETTER DAYS Senator Sonny Angara In July, 2019, at the beginning of the 18 th Congress, we filed Senate Resolution 10, calling for the appropriate Senate committees to conduct an inventory and inquiry into the government’s initiatives related to our seas and oceans. Our primary aim...
BETTER DAYS Senator Sonny Angara The pandemic has disrupted many aspects of our children’s lives—their education, perhaps the most significantly. But as we adapt to distance and online learning, the difficulty of this change is more profound for Learners with Disabilities (LWDs). The ensuing...
BETTER DAYS Senator Sonny Angara Now that we are adapting to the “next normal” as required by the COVID-19 pandemic, assessing the opportunities for our economy to recover is imperative. However, there are many challenges to surmount in our bid to recover and move forward from the pandemic. In...
BETTER DAYS Senator Sonny Angara Early last week, I sponsored the committee report on 2021 budget, marking the beginning of plenary debates in the Senate. The national budget is one of the most important legislative measures that Congress must craft and pass every year. It is even more important...