congress whispers By Pamsy Tioseco
Senate Flips New Page in History - New Budget, Welcomes Sen Trillanes
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ound of applause for the Philippine Senate and its counterpart, the House of Representatives, for successfully passing the General Appropriations Act for 2011, or the P1.645 trillion National Budget, the first time in 11 years, signed and approved by the President, on time. Previously, the nation had to make do with what was called a “re-enacted” budget, which was detrimental to our country’s economic development. In his speech during the signing ceremonies, President Benigno Aquino said, “The budget is the most important act of any Congress. Its early passage means that the much-needed programs for poverty alleviation and development can be implemented earlier.” Aquino said the early signing of the budget “will enable us to address the urgent needs of our people in a timely manner. Such needs include building more rural health units and providing immunization for children. This also allows us to construct new classrooms and hire new teachers, as promised to the Filipino people.” This year’s budget boasts of: P110 million for the maintenance and operating expenses of 80 state universities and colleges (SUC) and
20 Bagong Bayani January 2011
P200 million in subsidies for local government units (LGUs).
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nother welcome news is that with Senator Panfilo Lacson gone and still missing, the composition of the Senators will change with the release of Senator Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes. Senator Trillanes is the Chair of the Senate Committee on Civil Service. He would hold his Senate Committee hearings inside Camp Crame where he is detained. I remember Senator Trillanes presented to the public his first 100 days accomplishment report even if he was behind bars, to prove that he is seriously trying his best to serve and honor the trust gifted to him by the millions of voters who put him at the 11th slot during the May 2007 elections. In welcoming Senator Trillanes to the Senate, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile said certainly the discussions on the Floor would be more colorful.
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eanwhile, the public continues to keep a sharp eye on the new comers - Senators Bongbong Marcos, TG Guingona and comebacking, Senator Tito Sotto. Disaster after disaster is what the
country seems to get itself into. As of this writing, damage to infrastructure, crops and property has been pegged at P140 million as flashfloods and landslides ravaged through the Caraga Region. President Noynoy Aquino as Chair of the Climate Change Commission should convene the body to discuss how to judiciously utilize the recommended allocation pushed by Senator Loren Legarda, Chair of the Senate Committee on Climate Change, during the budget deliberations to build disaster-resilient infrastructures such as “green” classrooms, which are also used as evacuation centers. Legarda cited the World Bank report, which stated that, “every dollar invested in disaster reduction measures saves US$7-10 in losses from disasters.” This year, Legarda will be spending her free time going to different schools all over the country to start planting “pakbet gardens”.