SEN. PACQUIAO DEVOTES HIMSELF, HEART & SOUL, TO HIS SENATE DUTIES
By Aquiles Z. Zonio
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 24 Dec 2017
GENERAL SANTOS CITY - Things are going quite well, by and large, as far as Sen. Manny Pacquiao?s performance is concerned.
The neophyte senator, in fact, is exceeding people?s expectation by showing hard work and utmost dedication to his job as legislator.
The senator from Mindanao is hell-bent on making good his campaign promise to help improve the lot of Filipino people especially the poorest of the poor.
Since he assumed office, Sen. Pacquiao has accomplished many things despite his being a newcomer.
He has filed 36 quality bills, one of which was Senate Bill No. 190 (The Wireless Internet Access Act) now known as RA 10929 or the Free Internet Access in Public Places.
The boxer-lawmaker also filed several resolutions, including the controversial Senate Resolution No. 318, which amended Senate Rule XXV Sec. 72.
In said resolution, Sen. Pacquiao stood his ground against veteran lawmakers in adopting a measure that runs counter with the Constitution.
Fearless & uncompromising?
What is more remarkable, Sen. Pacquiao has displayed fearless and uncompromising stance in defending at the plenary what he believes is right and proper.
He stood for the revival of the death penalty law especially for the drug traffickers when everyone else was seemingly scared to death thinking that pushing for it is a virtual political harakiri due to strong pressure from various lobby groups, particularly the human rights and religious groups.
He filed the higher tobacco tax bill amidst strong lobbying from several vested interest groups and tobacco companies.
His Senate Bill 1599, proposing to increase the current tobacco tax rate of PhP30 pesos per pack to PhP60 pesos in 2018 and nine percent per year thereafter, was set for deliberation when Senate resumes session in January.
Lately, he literally opened a can of worms when he led a Senate investigation on the multi-billion fund scam involving payments by the Department of Public Works & Highways of the road right-of-way claims of fictitious individuals using spurious land titles.
The probe which was held shortly before the break of the Senate session in mid December had merely scratched the surface of another monumental fund scam perpetuated by a syndicate lurking in the dark nooks and crannies of several government agencies involved in the highly-questionable releases of road right-of-way claims.
The Senate investigation is expected to shift to a high gear when session resumes next month.
?I stand for what is right and I?m not afraid of being criticized if what I?m doing is for the common good,? Sen. Pacquiao said.
Pending legislations?
Unknown to many, Sen. Pacquiao?s proposed bill on OFW Handbook had already been approved at the committee level.
The bill aims to provide OFWs with a handbook that would serve as ready reference if and when they need to assert their rights as migrant workers.
Through this measure, Sen. Pacquiao was hoping to put an end to the country?s perennial problem on human trafficking.
His 180 Days Maternity Leave for all Women Workers (SBN 194), which was substituted by SBN 1305, is expected to be passed by the Lower House soon.
He was expecting that his proposed measure, once enacted into law, would have a deeper impact particularly on the lives of working women whose well-being and welfare are often neglected if not disregarded in some workplaces.
Under his watch, the Senate Committee on Public Works had approved SBN 1620, which aims to abolish the Road Board.
The Road Board exacerbates red tape in government and is seen as a heavy source of corruption.
The boxer-turned-lawmaker is also set to head the Sub-committee on Education, Arts and Culture which will soon tackle the Citizen Armed Force or Armed Forces of the Philippines Reservist bill.
This bill seeks to revive mandatory military training for all junior and senior high school students hoping to establish a ready reserved force that can be mobilized for national emergencies.
As sportsman, himself, Sen. Pacquiao knew exactly whereof he speaks. Thus, he recognized the need to amend the Philippine Sports Commission?s charter to make it more responsive to the demands of time.
The Committee on Sports, chaired by Sen. Pacquiao, had approved the Expanded Philippine Sports Commission Act of 2017.
The bill is set to be tackled at the plenary as soon as Congress resumes its session in January.
Senate performance?
As of the moment, only 10 bills enacted into law by the Senate were approved by the President.
Most if not all of these laws are considered national in scope.
These laws include postponement of the 2017 Barangay and SK Elections, extending the validity period of passports and driver?s license, as well as, the Tax Reform Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN).
Hence, only six out of the 10 bills enacted into law emanated from the Senate and one of them -- the ?Free Internet Access in Public Places? was authored by Sen. Pacquiao.
For the purpose of clarity, please see the table below.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Aquiles Z. Zonio.
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