BETTER DAYS Senator Sonny Angara Last December 2021, President Rodrigo Duterte signed into law Republic Act (RA) 11635, which amends Section 27(B) of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997. This particular section of the NIRC deals with the tax treatment of proprietary educational institutions...
BETTER DAYS Senator Sonny Angara As of the writing of this column, the Department of Health (DOH) reported more than 10,000 new cases of COVID-19 infections, with a positivity rate of 31.7 percent (which apparently is a record high for the country). These numbers push up the active cases to...
BETTER DAYS Senator Sonny Angara Recently, the Senate ratified the bicameral conference committee report on the 2022 budget, which we sponsored as chairman of the Committee on Finance. Soon it will be transmitted to the Executive, with enough time for the President to affix his signature before the...
BETTER DAYS Senator Sonny Angara The Senate recently ratified the bicameral conference committee report on the “Inclusive Education” Act, which aims to institutionalize a policy of inclusion and services for learners with disabilities (LWD) across the country’s education sector. The measure...
BETTER DAYS Senator Sonny Angara In late November, experts in South Africa identified a new variant of the COVID-19 virus and were concerned. They were alarmed by the presence of several mutations, particularly in the spike proteins, which are believed to make the variant more transmissible and...
BETTER DAYS Senator Sonny Angara Recently, face-to-face classes in 100 public schools across the country were held for the first time in almost two years. This pilot run classes is very much welcome considering that the education of a significant number of students has been disrupted due to the...
BETTER DAYS Senator Sonny Angara In the past week, we sponsored the Senate Finance Committee’s version of the proposed national budget for 2022. Interpellations on the different agency budgets have since started and are expected to wrap up within the coming weeks. Notably, what we’re debating...
Better Days Senator Sonny Angara During our recent hearing on the 2022 budget of the Department of Trade and Industry, Sec. Mon Lopez noted that 16 percent of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) were closed due to the pandemic — a significant portion coming from the National Capital...
BETTER DAYS Senator Sonny Angara A September 2021 Bloomberg article on what the next six months of the COVID-19 pandemic will bring provides a very sobering reminder that is especially critical now as the Philippines takes steps to gradually reopen the economy and relax the tight restrictions of...
BETTER DAYS Senator Sonny Angara After languishing in the legislative mill for over a decade, the bill institutionalizing a Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers, which we co-sponsored, has finally reached the plenary debates in the Senate. We laud Senator Joel Villanueva, the Chairman of the Senate...
BETTER DAYS Senator Sonny Angara By the time this column comes out, two of the country’s biggest e-commerce platforms — Lazada and Shopee — would be wrapping up their respective “9.9” (September 9) online sales, where customers can purchase almost anything at either discounted rates or...
BETTER DAYS Senator Sonny Angara The Duterte administration has enacted several decisive measures aimed at making government processes simpler, more efficient, and more responsive to the Filipino peoples’ needs. One was signed last July — R.A. 11573, which simplified our land titling system by...
