Sen. Bam thanks Sen. Ping for acknowledging his contribution to the passage of free college law

Sen. Bam Aquino thanked Sen. Panfilo Lacson for acknowledging his role in the passage of the free college law and for his support in his re-election bid in the May elections.

"Lubos tayong nagpapasalamat kay Sen. Ping sa kanyang pagkilala sa ating pagtrabaho bilang principal sponsor ng batas para sa libreng kolehiyo. Napakalaking bagay ito, lalo na't galing sa isang beterano at may integridad na mambabatas tulad ni Sen. Ping," said Sen. Bam, principal sponsor at co-author of Republic Act 10931 or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act.

"Ang tunay na bida rito ay ang ating mahihirap na estudyante at kanilang pamilya. Ngayon, may pagkakataon na silang makapagtapos, kahit kapos," added Sen. Bam.

The senator also acknowledged his fellow legislators, student and youth groups, advocacy groups , the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the state universities and colleges (SUCs) for their help in getting this revolutionary reform passed that will give poor Filipino a chance of having a bright future through education.

After gathering dust in the legislative mill for years, Sen. Bam pushed for its passage as principal sponsor in the Senate during his term as chairman of the Committee on Education.

In an earlier statement, Sen. Lacson said that Sen. Bam, as principal sponsor and co-author of the free college law, persevered to make this landmark piece of legislation a reality.

"Kapag napapagusapan ang libreng matrikula sa kolehiyo, ang unang naiisip ko, si Senador Bam Aquino. Alam kong siya ang nagtiyagang itulak ito sa Senado bilang author at Principal Sponsor ng Free Tuition Law," Sen. Ping said.

Sen. Lacson said that, as the law's principal sponsor, Sen. Bam had to defend the measure from the intense questioning of his colleagues, who scrutinize up to the smallest detail.

After the free college reform was signed into law by President Duterte, Lacson took to his Twitter account to congratulate Sen. Bam, saying "before anybody else from the Senate grabs credit, Sen. Bam principally authored/sponsored the free tuition bill, now a landmark legislation."

Sen. Lacson also expressed his full support behind the re-election bid of Sen. Bam in the 2019 elections.

"Kung ako lang masusunod, magandang makabalik si Senator Bam sa Senado," said Sen. Lacson.