Press Release
December 24, 2017

SEN. PACQUIAO DEVOTES HIMSELF, HEART & SOUL, TO HIS SENATE DUTIES

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 expectationby 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 wasSenate Bill No. 190 (The Wireless Internet Access Act) now known as RA 10929 or the Free Internet Access in Public Places.

The boxer-lawmakeralso filed several resolutions, including the controversial Senate Resolution No. 318, which amended Senate Rule XXV Sec. 72.

In said resolution, Sen. Pacquiaostood 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 harakiridue 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 tomany, 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 thathis 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 hadapproved SBN 1620, which aims to abolish the Road Board.

The Road Board exacerbates red tape in government and is seen as aheavy source of corruption.

The boxer-turned-lawmaker is also set to head the Sub-committee on Education, Arts and Culturewhich 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 betackled 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.

BILLS SIGNED
BY THE
PRESIDENT
REPUBLIC
ACT NO.
DATE
PASSED
PRINCIPAL
AUTHOR(S)
CO-AUTHOR(S)
1. POSTPONING OCTOBER 2017 BARANGAY AND SANGGUNIANG KABATAAN ELECTIONS 10923 October 15, 2016 ANGARA, CAYETANO, DE LIMA, LEGARDA, VILLANUEVA, ZUBIRI VILLAR
2. DESIGNATING CASINOS AS COVERED PERSONS UNDER AMLA 10927 July 14, 2017 RECTO  
3. PHILIPPINE PASSPORT ACT 10928 August 2, 2017 ANGARA, CAYETANO, EJERCITO, GORDON, LEGARDA, POE, RECTO, VILLANUEVA, VILLAR  
4. FREE INTERNET ACCESS IN PUBLIC PLACES 10929 August 2, 2017 AQUINO, PACQUIAO, PANGILINAN, RECTO VILLANUEVA VILLAR
5. EXTENDING VALIDITY PERIOD OF DRIVER'SLICENSES TO 5 YEARS 10930 August 2, 2017 RECTO, GORDON, EJERCITO, VILLANUEVA VILLAR
6. UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO QUALITY TERTIARY EDUCATION ACT 10931 August 2, 2017 ANGARA, AQUINO, EJERCITO, GATCHALIAN, LEGARDA, PANGILINAN, RECTO, VILLANUEVA  DE LIMA, GORDON, VILLAR, ZUBIRI
7. ANTI-HOSPITAL DEPOSIT LAW 10932 August 3, 2017 HONTIVEROS DRILON, GORDON, PIMENTEL, SOTTO  
8. AMENDING THE REVISED PENAL CODE (Adjusting the Amount Involved on which a Penalty is Based) 10951 August 29, 2017 DRILON DE LIMA
9. POSTPONING OCTOBER 2017 BARANGAY AND SANGGUNIANG KABATAAN ELECTIONS 10952 October 2, 2017 SOTTO, GORDON  
10. TAX REFORM ACCELERATION AND INCLUSION (TRAIN)  10963 December 19, 2017 ANGARA, AQUINO, BINAY, EJERCITO, ESCUDERO, GATCHALIAN, GORDON, LEGARDA, PIMENTEL, RECTO, SOTTO, VILLANUEVA, VILLAR, ZUBIRI  

  

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