Alagang Angara

Government will sustain its “indigent senior pension program” with a P23.18 billion allocation next year that will grant 3.8 million senior citizens a P6,000 annual stipend each, Sen. Sonny Angara said. 

On top of this is a P3,600 annual assistance from the “Unconditional Cash Transfer” (UCT) fund, a three-year “safety net” program for “economically vulnerable families and individuals” which began last year.

Both will be administered by the Department of Social Welfare and Development, based on a national list and a set of criteria. 

Instead of “playing catch up with backlogs” in school buildings, government should  “build forward”, by constructing in advance classrooms for future enrollees, Sen. Sonny Angara said today. 

“I think we should now implement a zero-backlog program. Let’s choose a year of when it will be achieved. And once that’s done, let’s stock up on new classrooms that will be ready in time for new enrollees to come in,” he said. 

The Department of Agriculture (DA) has P1 billion in Quick Response Funds (QRF) under this year’s Calamity Fund that it can tap to stop the spread of the African Swine Fever (ASF), Sen. Sonny Angara said today.

Angara, chairman of the Senate finance committee, said government should now “break the glass of this emergency fund” and use it to implement the DA’s containment protocol against a disease which threatens a key food source that also adds P280 billion to the economy annually. 

The government housing agencies have done a lot to comply with the tenets of the ease of doing business but a lot more has to be done to address the backlog in the construction of settlements for the informal sector.

Building a house is a slog through 27 offices, 78 permits, 156 signatures, 373 documents that could last for months, Sen. Sonny Angara said in citing the red tape that is slowing down housing production in the country.

The country needs more heroes so let’s help produce more heroes.

Senator Sonny Angara urged the country’s defense and veterans affairs officials to consider coming out with documentaries about the exploits of our war heroes that have either been forgotten or have never been told.

Manufacturers of pre-packed beverages should come up with environmentally-friendly designs for their products as a way to eliminate the use of plastic drinking straws.

Instead of an outright banning on the use of plastic straws, Senator Sonny Angara said it would be a better idea for establishments to charge their customers for the use of these straws.

Senator Sonny Angara called for more support for local industries, with particular focus on diversification in order to boost exports and help the growth of the local economy.

Presiding over the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) briefing on the proposed 2020 national budget as chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Angara noted how Philippine exports, as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) has been declining.

- There should be no room for absurd interpretations of the law-

Senator Sonny Angara is set to file a bill amending Republic Act 10592 or the Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) act in order to plug the loopholes in the existing law.

We join the entire nation in cheering for our Gilas Pilipinas as they kick off their quest to regain our nation’s glory in the world hoops stage today. With the present composition of our national team, including its stellar coaching staff, we have reason to be very optimistic about our chances in this year’s FIBA Basketball World Cup in China.

Left-handed students have been waiting for this law for a long time already. Every day they are faced with an additional challenge in school of having to deal with armchairs that do not support their "uniqueness." 

Sa pamamagitan ng batas na ito, ang mga paaralan ay maoobliga na maglaan ng mga “neutral desks” sa bawat classroom.