Press Release
August 24, 2007

Position of Senator Pia on major issues of the day

1. Sin Taxes

"Yung dagdag na buwis sa mga bisyo o yung 'Sin Taxes,' ay dapat ibinabalik sa kalusugan ng mga tao. Mas malaking 'sin' sa taumbayan yung 'di pagreremit ng gobyerno sa DOH at Philhealth ayon sa pinag-uutos ng batas."

2. GMA's inaction on 90 graft cases filed by PAGC

"The Executive Branch, instead of lecturing the Senate on how to conduct its own business, appears to have a lot of house-cleaning to do itself. Malacanang should do well to mind its own business, including going after big-time grafters since this has a bigger implication on our international image."

3. Vidal Doble / Hello Garci hearings

"The issue of priority is not really a problem. The Senate has always been a multi-tasking chamber. It has shown that it could deliberate on the National Budget and many pending bills at the same time, and with dispatch. I don't see the 'Hello Garci' hearings conflicting with the priority measures.

"As Chairperson of the Senate Health Committee, I'll see to it that priorities like the cheaper medicines and the breastfeeding bills are given the attention they deserve. On the environment, we'll be prioritizing the National Land Use Plan, the various reforestation and log ban bills, the Land Administration Reform Act (LARA), and the proposed protected area measures.

"On the legal questions raised that the wiretapped conversations were illegally acquired, I believe that the Senate should focus instead on the fact that the privacy of communication had been violated by the very agents of the State who are supposed to be protecting the people. These involve serious issues that deserve to be thoroughly investigated by the Senate. Personally I believe the hearings should push through so we could finally put a closure to this nagging issue."

4. JPEPA

"The gov't needs to step up efforts to explain JPEPA to senators and the public or lose by default should the agreement gets junked by the Senate. You don't see our trade secretary or agriculture secretary running after senators to explain to us the merits of JPEPA, unlike Ambassador to Japan Domingo Siazon who's been a one-man lobby team, and I laud him for it.

"So far, I've spoken to groups and academicians who are critical of JPEPA, and I heeded their request to sponsor a forum or venue where they could articulate their concerns. If this deal doesn't pass the Senate, it would be the Executive's fault, not the Senators."

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