Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon has rejected insinuations he is delaying the passage of bills that seek to obligate the national government to fund several provincial hospitals needs. Drilon said this after a lengthy verbal exchange with Senator Christopher “Bong” Go who was frustrated...
The Senate committee on local government endorsed on Thursday, May 20, the approval of the bill that would postpone the first elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) to 2025. Senator Francis Tolentino (Senate of the Philippines) Senator Francis Tolentino, committee...
Candidates do not need to be bothered by money when campaigning during elections, as donations or contributions will come to them if they are really set to win. This was Senator Cynthia Villar's two cents as the Senate discussed Wednesday, May 19, the bill seeking to increase the allowable campaign...
Hospitals are now scrambling for funds to continue operating as the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) has yet to settle a "huge" amount of unpaid reimbursements for treating COVID-19 patients. (JANSEN ROMERO / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN) Dr. Jaime Almora, president of the...
OF TREES AND FOREST Former Senate President Manny Villar I was reviewing my new website ( www.mannyvillar.com.ph ) that we recently launched. It is a beautiful website that includes information about myself and what we have built over the years in terms of our business. It is meant to inform but...
Two big farmers’ groups have sought the intervention of the Senate regarding the recently issued Executive Order (EO) 135, which temporarily reduced the import tariff rates for rice coming from non-ASEAN countries. In their separate letters, the Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) and Samahang...
Senate President Vicente Sotto III on Tuesday announced that 73 percent of the Senate’s employees are already vaccinated. “As of today, the Senate has all the employees vaccinated at 73 percent. In other words, 73 percent of the Senate employees are already vaccinated, for the record,” Sotto...
Members of the Senate approved on third and final reading Monday, May 17, a bill that would make April 28 of every year a special working holiday in the province of Aurora, to commemorate the death anniversary of Aurora Antonia Aragon-Quezon, the Philippines' first official first lady. Twenty-two...
The Senate approved on third and final reading Monday, May 17, a local bill that would establish a third legislative district in the province of Bataan. The province of Bataan (Google Maps) House Bill No. 8664, contained in Committee Report No. 204, hurdled the Upper Chamber as Congress resumed...
The Senate will work on passing soon the bills aimed at reviving the Philippine economy, such as the proposed amendments to the Public Service Act and to the Foreign Investment Act, among others. (Senate of the Philippines) Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said senators agreed on this...
Senator Christopher “Bong” Go has renewed his appeal to fellow senators to support the proposed creation of the Department of Overseas Filipinos (DOFIL) as Congress resumes session today, Monday, May 17. Go had filed Senate Bill No. 1949 which seeks to consolidate all government agencies and...
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Friday, May 14, asked the Senate to immediately decide on the proposals to postpone the first parliamentary elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). (COMELEC) At the last hearing of the Senate local government committee on...
