Press Release
December 15, 2010

Adjournment Speech/Christmas Message

Distinguished members of the Senate,

We adjourn our session today for the Yuletide season with a deep sense of satisfaction on my part for what we have accomplished. Very noteworthy is our early passage of House Bill No. 3101, the proposed General Appropriations Act of 2011, on third reading last December 1. We ratified the conference committee report on this bill two days ago, on December 13.

Senate records showed that this is the earliest the Senate had passed a budget bill since 1987 or since the Eighth Congress. The ratification of the bicameral report the other day is also the earliest since the 8th Congress.

Behind this achievement is the laborious and tedious work conducted by our Committee on Finance and its subcommittees. The finance subcommittees held 39 budget hearings. Plenary debates on the budget took six (6) session days, from November 23 to 26 and November 30 to December 1. We spent a total of 44 hours discussing the budget in plenary. We would begin work at 10:00 in the morning and end up late in the evening, once even suspending the session at 1:30 a.m.

I need not go into detail but the outstanding features of what the Chairman of the Finance Committee, Sen. Franklin Drilon, described as "unabashedly pro-poor" budget include, among others, direct cash transfer to the poorest of the poor and a heavy infusion of funds on basic education.

Direct cash transfer takes the form of a conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) Program set to directly reach out to 2.3 million "poorest of the poor" families by giving each identified family a stipulated amount of cash, subject to conditions. Some of these are sustaining the children's schooling and taking care of their health by having regular check-ups in the rural health unit in their respective areas. The main administering agency is the Department of Social Welfare and Development. The CCT program has a budget of P21 billion.

The heavy emphasis on basic public education is in response to the fact that basic education benefits more poor students since it is in the elementary years where there is a high drop-out rate. The amount of P192 billion was allocated to the Department of Education for basic public education.

We have also concurred in the Amnesty Proclamation of the President, Proclamation No. 75, which grants amnesty to active and former personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police and their supporters who may have committed crimes punishable under the Revised Penal Code, the Articles of War and other laws in connection with the Oakwood Mutiny, the Marines stand-off and the Peninsula Manila Hotel incident. We also approved on third reading the Batas Kasambahay Bill, or Senate Bill No. 78.

Thus, in the first few months of the First Regular Session, we have laid down legislation that will serve as cornerstones for other laws that may further address the economic needs of our people, build more infrastructures called for by investors to facilitate trade and commerce and generate employment, lessen corruption in government, and establish the proper environment for reconciliation and peace. The aim is to bring about national stability and unity.

Commendable also is the work being done by the Senate committees since the 15th Congress opened on July 26, 2010. These committee hearings and investigations complement the new administration's thrust to curb, if not to eliminate, corruption in high places and to encourage the prudent use of the people's money by the government bureaucracy.

Overall, the Senate primary committees and subcommittees held a total of 125 public hearings from July to end of November 2010. National issues such as the serious effects of climate change, environment and natural resources, anomalies in the housing sector, illegal drugs and human trafficking were likewise brought to public attention through privilege speeches and hearings conducted by the respective Senate committees during the period.

The results of your hard work, I believe, are reflected in the good net +48% satisfaction rating the Senate garnered in the Social Weather Stations' Third Quarter Survey from September 24-27, 2010. This could not have been earned if we as a body had not set aside the partisan political divide and worked together since we opened sessions earlier in July. Therefore, I would like to thank all of you for your support and cooperation.

As we take a break from our tasks as legislators and join the rest of the nation in celebrating the Yuletide season, I enjoin each one to reflect on what we, the Senate, can do to help our country and people attain progress collectively and individually.

Allow me now to end our proceedings with these words from the Book of Numbers in the Holy Bible:

"The Lord bless you, and keep you: The Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you: The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace."

Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year to you all!

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