Senator Ronald dela Rosa, a former chief of police before become a legislator, has also renewed his push to revive the death penalty in the Philippines. In the 19th Congress, Dela Rosa only wants to push for the capital punishment for high-level drug traffickers.
Pimentel’s bill in particular is timely as it seeks to suspend the value-added tax and excise taxes on fuel, at a time when Filipinos are dealing with the soaring prices of fuel products, a worldwide effect of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Philippines does not produce its own oil and is dependent upon supplies on oil imports.
“Based from my experiences as governor, local officials have a better knowledge on how to effectively run their localities. They know what’s happening on the ground and they know what’s best for their constituents. Certainly, they are also more knowledgeable than any government officials who are just issuing directives and orders from their air-conditioned offices in Manila,” Escudero said in a statement.
Incoming Senate president Migz Zubiri, meanwhile, filed as his top pet bill a measure that would establish specialty hospitals in regions outside Metro Manila, with the goal of making healthcare more accessible. These medical facilities would be patterned after specialty hospitals currently located in Metro Manila, like the Philippine Health Center, the National Kidney and Transplant Institute, the Philippine Children’s Medical Center, and the Philippine Cancer Center.
Her brother, former House speaker and returning senator Alan Peter Cayetano, wants Filipino cultural and moral values to be better promoted in schools via his proposed National Values, Etiquette, and Moral Uprightness Act. The bill would make the education secretary as head of a new Commission on Filipino Values, which would craft a program to promote these values in educational institutions.
Infrastructure, meanwhile, is the top concern of two senators allied with President Marcos: Mark Villar and JV Ejercito. This does not come as a surprise for Mark Villar in particular, as he was previously the public works and highways chief under the Duterte administration. Villar is also the son of Senator Cynthia Villar.
“Since the NERS set its targets only up to this year, we aim to extend it and transform it into the National Employment Action Plan to go beyond the target of creating 2 million jobs for the next few years. Job creation should be sustained based on the prevailing socioeconomic trends while facing any crisis,” Villanueva said in a statement.
In lobbying for his bill, Tolentino argued the work-from-home and telecommuting arrangements that were put in place due to the pandemic have blurred the lines between work and the personal time and space of employees.