Alagang Angara

Senator Nene  was a Filipino who did not go gently into the night – whether it was during Martial Law  or after  he retired  from the Senate. 

Whether it was a cry for freedom or a call for brave new laws, his was an influential voice in the public space  which contributed immensely in making our country better .  

Never the bullhorn of the powerful, he instead lent his big voice to  the  small people . That has been the story of his life – an advocate for the down and out, a champion of the powerless and the persecuted.

Traffic in Metro Manila is getting worse by the day, the mass transit systems are constantly breaking down and many commuters are left with no choice but to use motorcycles-for-hire or ‘habal-habal’ to get from point A to point B.

Technically, this increasingly-popular mode of transport is still considered illegal under the Land Transportation and Traffic Code, which covers the registration and operation of all motor vehicles in the country.

Angkas, for instance, was allowed to operate for six months starting last June 8 as part of a pilot-run of ‘motorcycle taxis.’

Seatmate Senators Sonny Angara, Joel Villanueva, Sherwin Gatchalian and Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri join the contingent led by Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III at the 141st Assembly of the International Parliamentary Union (IPU) in Belgrade, Serbia.

For bringing honor to the country with their respective gold medal victories in two world events, Senator Sonny Angara is set to file two resolutions congratulating gymnast Carlos Edriel Yulo and boxer Nesthy Petecio.

“Over the weekend, Carlos and Nesthy gave the entire nation two huge reasons to celebrate with their individual accomplishments in the fields of gymnastics and boxing. They have instilled so much pride in Philippine sports and served as inspiration to our athletes to excel in their respective fields,” Angara said.

"Transport crisis or not, the fact that thousands of commuters are having an extremely difficult time getting to their destinations should already prompt immediate action from the entire government.

While some people are preoccupied with arguing on semantics, the students and employees are dealing with their daily struggle with how to get to work and school.

Senator Sonny Angara called on the Department of Tourism (DOT) to encourage the country’s hotel operators to start providing toiletries and slippers from local sources in order to support the local industries.

Tourist arrivals to the Philippines continue to grow at a steady pace, with the DOT reporting 4.1 million foreign visitors to the country in the first half of this year.

With such a steady inflow of tourists, many of whom will most likely stay at the hotels, Angara said that this is an opportunity to promote quality Philippine-made products.

The Department of Health (DOH) will have a total of P7.54 billion for its national immunization program in 2020, Senator Sonny Angara said today.

Under the program, vaccines will be administered for free to children, pregnant women, men and women.

More or less 2.7 million infants will be given vaccines against tuberculosis, hepatitis B, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, measles, rubella, influenza and polio.  Two million of these infants will be given flu shots.

Senator Sonny Angara reiterated his call to hike the salaries of public school teachers in recognition of the critical role they play in the lives of our children and in nation building.

Senate Bill 131 filed by Angara calls for an increase in the starting pay of public school teachers, from the present Salary Grade 11 (P20,754) to Salary Grade 19 (P45,269) based on the fourth tranche of the Salary Standardization Law.

A corresponding upgrade in the salaries of the rest of the teachers above the entry level would also be implemented.

The Senate has received the House-approved General Appropriations Bill for 2020.

Our finance subcommittees are completing the hearings on the proposed budgets of the last few agencies. During the break, we will be consolidating all of the submissions into the committee report and once we resume sessions, we will be ready to sponsor the bill in plenary.

The Senate will work overtime to approve this most important piece of legislation so that the measure will be with the President for signing before the end of the year.