Senator Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada has called on lawmakers to consider legislating a value-added tax (VAT) refund mechanism for foreign tourists to boost visitor arrivals in the Philippines. Estrada said granting a rebate of the 12 percent VAT on goods they bought from the country, similar to...
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian has called on the Department of Education (DepEd) to open up its education-related data for analysis so that the government can address learning loss in the Philippines, brought about by school closures during the Covid-19 pandemic, more effectively with the help of...
Congress should move to pass laws that would punish government officials who are involved in the facilitation of smuggling of agricultural products. Similar to the country’s anti-trafficking laws, Senator Risa Hontiveros said it is high-time that government officials who facilitate, conspire...
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Thursday, May 18 called on the government to proactively address the ongoing mental health pandemic in the country by putting in place intervention programs for vulnerable sectors. Gatchalian reiterated his call as the country celebrates Mental Health Action Day as...
Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda has urged the government, private sector, and all citizens to prepare for hotter and drier days due to a high probability of El Niño emerging in the coming season and persisting until the first quarter of 2024. Legarda issued the statement on Thursday, May...
Despite President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s order to import an additional 150,000 metric tons (MT) of sugar, the price of this commodity is unlikely to drop to its previous low level unless more sugar importers are allowed to penetrate the market. Sen. Risa Hontiveros pointed this...
'TOL VIEWS Just when the world thought Covid-19 was over, we now fear the resurgence of this deadly virus which took millions of lives worldwide, crippled world economy and halted the people’s lives. The Department of Health declared last Monday that new confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the...
The Joint Congressional Energy Commission (JCEC) is set to tackle the current energy crisis plaguing the country and the various proposals seeking to revoke the franchise of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), Sen. Rafael "Raffy" Tulfo said on Wednesday, May 17. Tulfo made the...
Senator Christopher “Bong” Go on Wednesday, May 17 said he is elated to hear Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian’s commitment to support and further strengthen the Malasakit Centers program among other initiatives that can help uplift the lives of the...
Senator Risa Hontiveros has filed a bill seeking to prosecute government officials and employees who conspire with agricultural smugglers be prosecuted and penalized. In filing Senate Bill No. 2205, Hontiveros wants certain provision of Republic Act No. 10845, also known as the Anti-Agricultural...
Senator Francis N. Tolentino formally received his third Master of Laws degree from the Ivy League-institution Columbia Law School after he attended the graduation rites in New York City yesterday (Tuesday, Philippine Standard Time). The Philippine senator wore a Filipino flag-inspired sash over...
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III has thrown his full support to a call of Senator Rafael ‘’Raffy’’ Tulfo for the Senate to use the budget process to hold government agencies, particularly the National Irrigation Administration (NIA), responsible for losses of billions of pesos...
