Alagang Angara

The “shoe-tech” school being put up by the local government of Marikina City for those who want to go into the shoemaking business is a Tatak Pinoy model that other parts of the country can follow, Senator Sonny Angara said.

“We need more of these Tatak Pinoy initiatives to highlight the best of what a LGU has to offer. In the case of Marikina City, its expertise in making quality footwear is known by all. This is something that should be sustained and promoted further to ensure its continued growth, both domestically and internationally,” Angara said.

How do we expect our youth to be prepared for college and to find decent jobs later on in life when they're not getting the best education that they deserve in grade school and high school?

I think the scrutiny will be tough and thorough. In my seven years in the Senate what I have observed is that oftentimes, the hardest questions come from members of the majority. So the review actually is not just the minority’s job but of every member regardless of political affiliation.

The country cannot afford another delay in the approval of the national budget so both houses of Congress must do everything it can to avoid a repeat of last year’s sorry experience. 

Senator Sonny Angara, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, said there is reason to be optimistic that the P4.1 trillion national budget for 2020 will be passed on time based on the statements coming from the leadership of the House of Representatives.

The head of the Senate budget-writing committee wants the government agencies to detail their “anti-red tape performance and targets” in their 2020 budget proposals.   

Senator Sonny Angara said the different government agencies will be asked what they have done to implement “ease of doing business (EODB)” mandates when they face the Senate Committee on Finance during the hearings on the proposed 2020 national budget.    

Senator Sonny Angara called on the local chief executives of Metro Manila to look after the welfare of their constituents who will be affected by the ongoing clearing of roads in their respective areas of jurisdiction.

Angara said that while he fully supports the clearing operations in order to help ease traffic in Metro Manila, the displacement of sidewalk vendors and removal of structures such as barangay halls are consequences of the process that should not be ignored.

With so many Filipinos struggling to find ways to gain access to medicine due to lack of funds, Senator Sonny Angara aired his concern over the continuing problem of the Department of Health (DOH) with the overstocking of drugs and medicine.

Angara, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, has filed a resolution calling for an inquiry into the overstocking of close to P20 billion worth of drugs and medicine by the DOH in its warehouses, as cited by the Commission on Audit in its 2018 report on the agency.

With the enactment of the Republic Act 11350, creating the National Commission of Senior Citizens (NCSC), our beloved lolos, lolas, titos, titas and for some, parents too, will now have a national government agency dedicated to their needs and concerns.

As one of the authors of the law, Senator Sonny Angara said the creation of the NCSC sends a strong signal to the senior citizens that their welfare is of great importance to the government.

Nagpapasalamat tayo sa desisyon ng Pangulo na ipagpatuloy na ang operasyon ng lotto. Wala nang panganib na magkaka aberya ang pagsasatupad ng Universal Health Care Act at iba pang mga programa ng gobyerno para sa ating mga kababayan dahil sa kakulangan ng pondo. 

Hindi na din kailangan mamuroblema pa ang mga operators ng lotto outlets at ang libo libong empleyado nila kung saan nila kukunin ang pang araw araw nila na gastusin dahil sa pansamantalang pagtigil sa kanilang hanapbuhay. 

Yesterday’s Batanes earthquake presents three challenges, which should be addressed during the debates on the bill creating a Department of Disaster Resilience (DDR), its author, Senator Sonny Angara, pointed out today. 

“One is the creation of our national fleet of disaster response ships. It is a must in an archipelagic country like ours,” Angara said.  

“Hindi lang para dun sa mga isla.  Kahit doon sa may airport at naaabot ng kalsada. But when airports are damaged and roads are blocked the only way to bringing help to victims is by sea, Angara said.