Alagang Angara

Hindi lang libreng tuition, libreng Wi-Fi din.

Sen. Sonny Angara is urging newly-appointed Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Gregorio Honasan to fast-track the setting up of free internet in the country’s state universities and colleges (SUC), a program which has been plagued by delays. 

Out of the country’s 112 SUCs, only 17 have been installed free Wi-Fi hotspots as of December 2018, based on DICT data submitted to the Senate during the hearings for the 2019 national budget.

Sen. Sonny Angara today filed a bill increasing the salaries of public school teachers, a move  that dovetails with President Duterte’s promise to the country's 800,000 public mentors that it will be their turn to get a salary increase following the one given to soldiers and policemen. 

In his bill, Angara  proposed that the present Salary Grade (SG) 11 of entry-level teachers be increased to SG 19. 

Senators will start filing their bills tomorrow, providing President Duterte “with a deep pool of measures he can support and ask Congress to immediately pass when he delivers the State of the Nation Address later this month,” reelected Sen. Sonny Angara said today. 

Angara urged Malacanang to choose what Senate proposals to officially back “so we can start the legislative year with a common agenda .“

Senator Sonny Angara has called on the government to make sure that all those involved in the “ghost” dialysis scandal hounding the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) will not go unpunished.

“We need some punitive measures—we need to punish those who are guilty—as well as preventive measures para hindi na maulit,” Angara said in an interview with CNN Philippines’ The Source.

Senator Sonny Angara assured that tobacco farmers will continue to benefit from the incremental revenues from higher excise tax to be imposed on tobacco products starting next year.

Angara said the new tobacco excise tax bill approved by the Senate and the House of Representatives provides that up to 20 percent of the incremental revenues from the additional duties will go directly to 23 tobacco producing provinces to finance programs that will provide support for tobacco farmers and workers.

Tribute

EDGARDO J. ANGARA
(24 September 1934–13 May 2018)
Statesman, Educator, and Institution Builder

Ma. Cynthia Rose Banzon Bautista

Senator Sonny Angara said the government will be in a better position to fill the massive funding gap for the universal health care (UHC) program with the passage of the bill increasing the excise tax on tobacco products.

“With the approval by both the Senate and the House of Representatives of the bill seeking higher tobacco excise taxes, we have come one step closer to giving the government more elbow room to plug the funding gap for the UHC program that aims to provide all Filipinos with affordable and quality health care,” Angara said.

Sponsored by Senator Sonny Angara, Chair of the Senate Committee on Local Government. 

Sorted according to date. 

Senator Sonny Angara on Monday endorsed to the Senate plenary a bill increasing the excise tax on tobacco products in a bid to reduce smoking prevalence among Filipinos and raise crucial funding for the government’s Universal Health Care (UHC) program.

This developed as the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, which Angara chairs, adopted a committee report on the consolidated measure that will raise the excise tax for every cigarette pack from P35 to P60 for the next four years.

I am honored that the Filipino people have allowed me to serve another term as Senator.