Other Issues

Sen. Bam on revocation of Sen. Trillanes’ amnesty

Habang pumipila ang mga Pilipino para sa bigas na may bukbok at nalulunod pa sa taas ng presyo ng bilihin, pagpapakulong sa oposisyon ang inaatupag ng Duterte Administration. 
 
Suportado natin si Sen. Sonny sa laban na ito.
 
Ngayong matindi ang banta sa mga tumututol sa gobyerno, lalong hindi kami aatras sa pagbunyag ng katotohanan at pagtrabaho para sa ikagiginhawa ng taumbayan. 
 
Imbis na insultuhin, gipitin at takutin ng administrasyon ang mga may sariling isip at salita, harapin na lang sana ang mga problemang hinaharap ng ating mga kababayan araw-araw.
 
Huwag na tayong lumayo sa mga tunay na problema ng bayan. Tama na, sobra na ang pananakot at pang-aabuso sa mga tulad ni Sen. Trillanes na hinding hindi magpapatahimik.

Sen. Bam: Solve real problems like inflation, time is wasted on fake allegations

Sen. Bam Aquino said he would rather work on solutions to real problems of Filipinos instead of waste time on fake news and baseless accusations against opposition leader, Vice President Leni Robredo, and her hometown, Naga City.

“Bakit pa tayo mag-aaksaya ng panahon sa mga pekeng balita? Ang tunay na isyu, nagugutom na at nahihirapan ang mga Pilipino dahil sa taas-presyo. Solusyunan at aksyunan na natin ito,” said Sen. Bam.

“Sana pakinggan ng administrasyon ang totoong hinaing ng tao,” added Sen. Bam, referring to the cries of Filipino people due to the high prices of goods caused by the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law.

Sen. Bam remains hopeful that the government would see the urgency of enacting the Bawas Presyo Bill into law to spare Filipinos, especially the poor, from additional burden.

“Ito ang totoo, magtataas ulit ng excise tax sa petrolyo sa Enero. Dagdag dalawang piso kada per litro. Saan na tayo pupulutin? Suspindihin na natin ito,” stressed Sen. Bam, one of four senators who voted against the ratification of the TRAIN Law.

In his Senate Bill No. 1798 or the Bawas Presyo Bill, Sen. Bam wants to suspend the excise tax on fuel under the TRAIN Law when the average inflation rate surpasses the annual inflation target over a three-month period.

Sen. Bam to NFA Administrator: Mahiya ka naman, mag-resign ka na

Sen. Bam Aquino questioned the government’s failure to lower the prices of rice in the market despite its promise that rice importation will solve the problem. 

“Sino na ba ang nagmamando sa bansa? Itong malaking krisis sa bigas, hindi man lang masolusyunan,” questioned Sen. Bam. 

“Nag-import sila para maresolba ang problema pero mukhang lumala pa ngayon ang sitwasyon at nauwi sa rice crisis sa Zamboanga City,” added Sen. Bam. 

Sen. Bam’s pronouncement came in the light of Zamboanga City’s plan to declare a state of calamity due to rice shortage. Prices of rice in the city went up to a high as P68 per kilo, with the lowest being sold at P55 per kilo. 

Earlier, the government approved the importation of 500,000 metric tons of rice to address the lack of supply of affordable NFA rice in the market.  

“Saan napunta ang ipinagmamalaking inangkat ng National Food Authority (NFA) para mapababa ang presyo ng bigas sa mga palengke?” asked Sen. Bam. 

Sen. Bam expressed fear that the imported NFA rice could land in the hands of traders who will sell it for a higher price, putting more burden on the shoulder of poor Filipinos. 

Sen. Bam renewed his call for the resignation of some NFA officials, led by its administrator Jason Aquino, for their failure to address the problem of lack of supply of affordable rice in the market.

“Mahiya naman sila sa taumbayan at mag-resign na. Dahil sa kanilang kapalpakan, nalulunod ang mga pamilyang Pilipino sa taas ng presyo ng bigas,” said Sen. Bam.

Earlier, Sen. Bam urged the NFA administrator to quit his post due to the agency’s failure to fulfil the 15-day buffer stock policy for almost one year, beginning March 2017. 

Sen. Bam asks Pope Francis: Pray for PH, poor Filipinos

ROME, Italy — In a private audience with Pope Francis here, Sen. Bam Aquino asked the Holy Father to pray for the Philippines and poor Filipinos amid the challenges of injustice and suffering that the country is facing.

Sen. Bam, who shared his experience of meeting Pope Francis on his Instagram page, also presented to Pope Francis letters from members of the Philippine clergy, such as Bro. Armin Luistro of the Purple Cross Movement.

“Holy Father, I have some letters from our religious leaders in the Philippines. Our country needs your prayers,” Sen. Bam told the Holy Father during the private audience. In response, Pope Francis smiled back, took the letters and blessed Sen. Bam and the rosary that the senator was holding in his hand.

Sen. Bam said one of the letters asked Pope Francis to pray that the violence in the Philippines comes to an end and for the welfare of the widows and orphans left by the drug war.

Sen. Bam had the distinct honor of meeting Pope Francis as the country’s representative to the 9th Annual Meeting of the International Catholic Legislators Network (ICLN).

In his message to Catholic and Christians legislators, Pope Francis said Christian politicians are especially called… with humility and courage, to bear witness to their faith.

Sen. Bam, for his part, said Pope Francis’ message encourages Catholics to stand up for God and for fellow Filipinos, against all odds and with all humility and courage.

“Kung totoong nananampalataya ka, dapat wala kang takot na manindigsan para sa Diyos at para sa ating mga kababayan,” said Sen. Bam.

Sen. Bam Aquino on Imee Marcos’ “Move On” Statement

Sinaktan ka na’t ninakawan, sasabihan ka pang mag-move on.

Hindi ba sa mga nawasak na relasyon, ang kadalasang nagsasabing mag move on ay ang nanakit, pero ang nasaktan ay naghahanap pa ng closure?

Mahirap maka get over pag walang closure, lalo na pag pinamumukha sa publiko na walang kasalanan ang salarin.

Klaro naman sa kasaysayan kung sino ang nagnakaw, nag-torture at pumatay. Napakadaling sabihing mag move on na lang, pero sa mga nasawi, napakahirap nito.

Sen. Bam Aquino’s message for Ninoy Aquino Day

Is the Filipino STILL worth dying for?
 
I get asked this question a lot these days from friends and relatives as if to say that these immortalized words from Tito Ninoy are no longer true.
 
Many of them are disillusioned and despondent with the state of our nation and the seeming lack of courage from the public and from public officials. Where is the anger at the thousands of deaths and the everyday violence in our streets? Where are the leaders of the country who vowed to speak for the poor, but are now so silent and even complicit to the worsening situation of our people? 
 
When they ask: ‘Is the Filipino still worth dying for?’, what they’re really asking is: ‘Are we Filipinos still worth the trouble and the struggle?’ 
 
But when Ninoy Aquino wrote these words, our country was not much different from today. 
 
It was 1983, more than a decade of the Marcoses in absolute power, corruption rampant, with the poor feeling the worst of it. 
 
Media was controlled and though there were pockets of resistance, the dictatorship reigned. People were afraid. 
 
I remember my parents saying that martial law showed us who our true friends were because nobody would want to be seen with those vocal against the government. 
 
My father lost clients; neighbors would avoid my mom at the grocery aisle. And Tito Ninoy was jailed for almost eight years. 
 
Ninoy Aquino went from being 1971’s Man of the Year and a promising Presidentiable, to being Martial Law’s Prisoner No. 1 and largely being forgotten by a once-supportive public. 
 
I asked my parents, ‘Kung mahal talaga siya ng mga tao noon, bakit ‘di sila nagprotesta o nag-rally?’  ‘Natatakot sila,’ they would say. 
 
Sentenced to death on fake charges and eventually (thankfully) exiled from the land he loved, student activists of the 80’s once told me they didn’t even remember who he was when he came home. 
 
He was 39 years old when they jailed him and 50 when they shot him. 
 
But in his last decade filled with loneliness, abandonment, disappointment and betrayal, it was in those times that he wrote, “The Filipino is worth dying for.”
 
In the end, he never lost that hope – in God, in himself and yes, in the Filipino. 
 
And if someone like Ninoy Aquino, stripped of popularity, power and potential, can keep his hope in the Filipino alive even at the darkest of times in his life and in our history, how can we lose hope today? 
 
Clearly the answer to the question, ‘Is the Filipino STILL worth dying for?’ is Yes! Yes! 
 
Yes, we are still worth dying for, we are worth the trouble and the struggle. No matter how difficult or dangerous times may get, let’s take the lead from Ninoy’s life. 
 
The Filipino is worth dying for, worth fighting for.  Tuloy ang Laban! 

Sen. Bam to gov’t: If fuel price is a major issue, support Bawas Presyo Bill

It is only logical for the administration to support his Bawas Presyo Bill after pointing to rising fuel prices as the reason for Filipinos’ perception that life worsened, according to a senator.

 “Ngayong umamin na ng gobyerno, siguro naman ay susuportahan na nila ang isinusulong nating panukala para sa suspindihin at i-rollback ang buwis sa petrolyo,” said Sen. Bam Aquino, referring to his Senate Bill No. 1798 or the Bawas Presyo Bill.

 “Aksyon at solusyon ang kailangan ng taumbayan, hindi debate at palusot. Ipasa na natin ang Bawas Presyo Bill para tulungan ang mga Pilipinong nalulunod na sa taas-presyo,” added Sen. Bam.

Sen. Bam’s measure seeks to suspend the excise tax on fuel under the TRAIN Law when the average inflation rate surpasses the annual inflation target over a three-month period.

The senator made the pronouncement after Malacanang attributed the results of a latest survey showing more Filipinos believe their lives worsened during the second quarter of this year to rising fuel prices.

 In its June 2018 survey, the Social Weather Stations (SWS) said that 32 percent of adult Filipinos claimed their lives improved while 27 percent said their lives worsened for a net gainers score of +5. The result was 15 percent lower than the 20-percent net score in March 2018.

During Thursday’s Senate hearing on the effects of the TRAIN Law, Sen. Bam criticized the Department of Finance (DOF) for not taking into consideration the indirect effect of the tax reform program on inflation.

An official of the DOF admitted that its earlier claim during Senate deliberation that 0.4 percent effect of the TRAIN Law on inflation was based only on direct effect.

  “Ang hirap tanggapin na hindi nag-forecasting ang ating economic managers. Kabuhayan at kalagayan ng mga pamilyang Pilipino ang maaapektuhan sa pagtaas ng presyo ng langis dahil sa TRAIN Law,” said Sen. Bam, one of just four senators who voted against the ratification of the TRAIN Law.

Sen. Bam on the 1st death anniversary of Kian delos Santos

Mabagal ang galaw ng hustisya para kay Kian at wala pa ring katarungan para sa libu-libong mahihirap na Pilipino na patuloy na pinapatay ng mga Death Squad.

Ilan pa ba ang kailangang mapaslang bago natin makita na ang lipunang dumadanak ang dugo ng mahihirap ay puno lang ng pagdurusa at hindi makalilikha ng maliwanag na bukas?

Huwag sana tayong maging manhid sa patayan at karahasan na nangyayari sa ating mga lansangan.

Matuto tayo mula sa kabataang Pilipino na pursigido sa bawat hamon at hindi nawawalan ng pagmamahal sa kapwa. Kapit lang! Ituloy natin ang laban.

 

 

Sen. Bam: Natatanggap ba ng mahihirap ang tulong pinansiyal ng gobyerno?

A senator urged the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to investigate whether the poorest of the poor families are benefiting from the government’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).

Sen. Bam Aquino made the call after the Commission on Audit (COA) reported that around P1.3 billion were left unclaimed by 1.9 million individual beneficiaries in 2017.

In its audit report, the COA stressed that the lapse of time that beneficiaries failed to claim their grants showed that they were not in severe need of the subsidy, which cast doubt on the eligibility of the listed beneficiaries. 

 “Sa totoo lang, imoral iyong may pondo pero hindi naibabahagi sa mga kababayan nating naghihirap,” said Sen. Bam, who plans to file a resolution to ensure that the poorest of the poor benefit from the 4Ps program.

Sen. Bam suggested that the DSWD should review the list of beneficiaries under the 4Ps program to make sure that they belong to the poorest of the poor or are really in need of government assistance.

“Hindi tama na nakatengga lang ang pondo para sa tulong habang nalulunod na ang marami sa taas-presyo,” Sen. Bam stressed. “Sayang naman ang pondo na maaaring pakinabangan ng iba pa nating mahihirap na kabababayan.

Also, Sen. Bam renewed his call to the government to fully implement the social mitigating measures under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law.

As of now, the government has yet to complete the roll out of the unconditional cash transfer (UCT) program for poor Filipino families and the Pantawid Pasada Program, which aims to help jeepney operators and drivers cope with the increase in oil prices.

 “Ngayong lalong tumataas ang inflation rate, higit na kailangan ng ating mahihirap na kababayan ang tulong mula pamahalaan. Huwag na natin silang pag-antayin pa,” stressed Sen. Bam, one of four senators who voted against the ratification of the TRAIN Law.

In an effort to lower prices of goods, Sen. Bam has filed Senate Bill No. 1798 or the “Bawas Presyo Bill” to roll back and suspend the excise tax on fuel under the TRAIN Law when average inflation surpasses the annual inflation target over a three-month period.

Sen. Bam to economic managers: Protektahan ang magsasaka’t mangingisda, suportahan ang ‘Bawas Presyo Bill’

The government must consider the welfare of farmers and fishermen when they tackle the proposed lower tariffs for meat, fish and rice, Sen. Bam Aquino insisted.

“Lowering the tariffs will lower the price. Pero sa pagbaba ng presyo ng imported, ang ating magsasaka at mangingisda naman ang masasagasaan,” said Sen. Bam during the briefing on the proposed 2019 National Expenditure Program.

“Kailangan natin protektahan ang mga Pilipinong nalulunod na sa taas-presyo,” Sen. Bam told National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) director-general Ernesto Pernia, who assured the senator that there will be consultations with the sectors regarding the matter.

Sen. Bam also asked the government’s economic managers to ensure that mitigating measures are in place for millions of farmers before implementing rice tariffication.

“Rice tariffication will have a detrimental effect to 3.5 million Filipino rice farmers. Bago pa ito ipatupad, dapat nakahanda na ang tulong sa ating magsasaka,” said Sen. Bam, who said the delays in mitigating measures convinced him to vote “No” to the TRAIN Law.

The government plans to allot P10 billion in assistance to farmers to improve irrigation, establish small water impounding systems and provide them with better seeds and equipment.

Sen. Bam also urged economic managers to consider his “Bawas Presyo Bill” as a means to address the unprecedented inflation rate.

“My bill will institute a safeguard to allow us to rollback and suspend the excise tax on petroleum products,” said Sen. Bam, referring to Senate Bill No. 1798.

Sen. Bam’s measure seeks to suspend the excise tax on fuel under the TRAIN Law when the average inflation rate surpasses the annual inflation target over a three-month period.

“We need this safeguard before January. Kung hindi ipasa ang ‘Bawas Presyo Bill’, mamimilipit tayo sa paghahanap ng legal na paraan para pigilan ang pagtaas ng excise tax sa Enero,” said Sen. Bam, one of four senators who voted against the ratification of the TRAIN Law.

Scroll to top