Alagang Angara

For students planning on traveling during the Holy Week holidays, Senator Sonny Angara reminded them that the 20 percent discount on regular fares still applies regardless of what mode of transport they will be taking.

The year-round discount is provided for under Republic Act 11314 or the Student Fare Discount Act, the law authored and sponsored by Angara.

“Sa lahat ng estudyante, siguraduhin ninyo na may dala kayo na student ID bago kayo magbayad ng ticket sa eroplano, barko, bus o tren. Tuloy-tuloy ang 20 percent na discount sa inyo kahit holiday,” Angara said.

Senator Sonny Angara is confident the ongoing effort to amend the two decades-old Government Procurement Reform Act (GPRA) will result in greater efficiency in the implementation of projects, purchase of goods and supplies and reducing, if not eliminating avenues for corruption.

The enactment of the Tatak Pinoy or Proudly Filipino Act is a giant leap for the Philippines towards its goal of becoming an industrialized country, the principal author of the law, Sen. Sonny Angara said today.

Close to five years in the making, the Tatak Pinoy law was a product of extensive studies, research and consultations by the Office of Sen. Angara with industry leaders, representatives of micro, small and medium enterprises, the academe, foreign institutions, and relevant government agencies for the crafting of the landmark law.

Filipinos suffering from cancer, hypertension, diabetes, kidney disease, mental illness, high cholesterol and tuberculosis will now have more medicines available to them at affordable prices with the latest approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of 20 new drugs exempted from the value added tax (VAT).

Senator Sonny Angara said there are now over 2,000 vat-exempt drugs for the prevention and management of specific ailments, which include some of the most prevalent among the population.

The Philippines’ successful hosting of the 2023 FIBA Men’s Basketball World Cup last year, not only placed the country on the map of hoops fans globally, but also opens up the doors for even more opportunities in the future, Senator Sonny Angara said today.

Angara, who serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP), led the sponsorship of Senate Resolution No. 857 during the Senate’s plenary session on Tuesday, to honor all the organizations and individuals who helped in making the hosting of the momentous event a reality.

The Senate has approved on third and final reading the Tatak Pinoy (Proudly Filipino) bill that will boost the efforts to elevate the Philippines to the ranks of the world’s strongest and most vibrant economies.

A total of 23 senators, from the majority and the minority, voted in favor of Senate Bill 2426 or the Tatak Pinoy Act, introduced and sponsored by Finance Committee Chairman Senator Sonny Angara.

Senator Sonny Angara is pushing for the declaration of November 7 of every year as a special working holiday in commemoration of the first mosque and the introduction of Islam in the country.

Filipino Muslims have long commemorated the arrival of Islam in the Philippines on November 7, which marks the arrival of Arab missionary Sheikh Karim’ul Makhdum in 1380 at Sinumul Island in Tawi-Tawi and the construction of the country’s first Mosque there.

Senator Sonny Angara on Tuesday reaffirmed the Senate’s unwavering financial commitment to advance the country’s first-ever lung transplant program during the 42nd founding anniversary celebration of the Lung Center of the Philippines (LCP) in Quezon City.

Angara, chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, announced an additional P50 million in funding for the LCP through the 2024 General Appropriations Act (GAA), building on his initial push of P20 million in the 2022 GAA to establish the Lung Transplant Program for Patients with Advanced Lung Disease.

Amendments —Committee Report No. 155 on HBN 8980—An Act Appropriating Funds for the Operation of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines from January One to December Thirty-One, Two Thousand and Twenty-Four, and for other purposes (2024 General Appropriations Act) 

Sponsorship Speech for SBN 2426, under CRN 107—An Act Mandating the Formulation, Funding, Implementation, Monitoring, and Evaluation of Comprehensive and Multi-Year “Tatak Pinoy” (Proudly Filipino) Strategy, Establishing a Tatak Pinoy Council, Appropriating Funds Therefor, and For Other Purposes

Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023

Senator Sonny Angara
Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance