Press Release
July 8, 2019

Bong Go files first ten Legislative measures aimed at achieving positive genuine change felt by all Filipinos

As part of his legislative agenda aimed at helping the Duterte administration achieve positive genuine change felt by all Filipinos, Senator Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Go personally filed his first 10 Legislative measures today at the Philippine Senate.

"Inuna ko po ang kapakanan ng mga Pilipinong pinaka-nangangailangan ng atensyon mula sa gobyerno. Para ito sa mga may sakit, mga ordinaryong manggagawa, mga biktima ng kalamidad, at mga kabataan na pagasa ng ating bayan. Ito ang serbisyong ipinangako ko sa inyo, serbisyo at pagmamalasakit na ramdam kahit saang dako ng bansa," he said.

Go's first filed bill seeks to institutionalize the establishment of Malasakit Centers in more provinces and strategic urban centers in the country to make quality healthcare more affordable and accessible to all Filipinos.

Based on his idea, the Malasakit Center is a continuing program of the administration seeking to make it easier and faster for indigent patients to avail of medical and financial assistance from the government by bringing together under one roof all concerned agencies such as the DOH, DSWD, PCSO, and PhilHealth.

"Kapag naisabatas po ang pagtataguyod ng Malasakit Center, mas maraming pasyenteng matutulungan lalo na yung mga nasa probinsya at malalayong lugar. Libreng gamot at pagpapagamot po ito. Pera niyo ito, ibinabalik lang sa inyo sa pamamagitan ng libre at maaayos na serbisyong medikal," Go explained.

Go added that Malasakit Centers will be a one-stop shop for medical and financial assistance and a health care processing center for patient assistance to complement the implementation of Universal Healthcare Law.

Second, Go expressed his support in protecting the welfare of the Filipino overseas community by filing a bill that seeks to establish the Department of Overseas Filipinos.

"Maraming mga Pilipino ang nakikipagsapalaran sa ibang bansa. Itinuturing natin silang mga bagong bayani dahil sa sakripisyo nila. Kung kaya't isang departamento po ang bubuuin natin para rumesponde sa kanilang pangangailangan at maalagaan ang kanilang kapakanan pati na rin ang kanilang mga pamilya," he said.

The Department of Overseas Filipinos will serve as a one-stop-shop in providing legal assistance for OFWs in distress; to arrange a full migration cycle approach in promoting migrant's rights from pre-employment as well as onsite and reintegration services; and to launch a shared database system that contains important information of all OFWs to aid in tracking their status and fast track delivery of assistance especially to distressed workers.

In addition, Go has filed a Senate Resolution to form a committee that will handle legislative concerns related to overseas employment, migrants workers and the welfare and protection of overseas Filipino communities.

"Napapanahon na tutukan ng Senado ang ating mga overseas Filipinos sa kabila ng kanilang sakripisyo para sa kanilang pamilya at sa kanilang kontribusyon sa ating ekonomiya," he added.

Next on his filed bills is the creation of the Department of Disaster Resilience. Go is eyeing to have an empowered, highly specialized department with clear unity of command and primarily responsible in ensuring safe, adaptive and disaster-resilient communities.

The department shall concentrate on three key result areas, namely: disaster risk reduction, disaster preparedness and response, and recovery and building forward better.

"Sa pagpapatayo ng departamentong ito, mas magiging mabilis ang pagtugon ng pamahalaan, mas maibsan ang masamang epekto ng kalamidad para mas mabilis makabangon ang ating mga kababayan pagkatapos ng mga di inaasahang sakuna," Go said.

Go has seen the plight of ordinary Filipinos during his visits to communities victimized by fire incidents and other calamities.

"Kasama sa proseso ng paggawa ng mga batas ang pagbisita ko sa mga komunidad. Dito ko nakikita ang tunay na kalagayan ng mga tao at dito rin namin nalalaman kung ano ang kanilang mga hinaing na dapat aksyunan ng gobyerno ora mismo," he said.

To address fire incidents in the country, Go has filed his version of the Fire Protection Modernization Bill. The proposed law seeks to modernize the Bureau of Fire Protection with the adoption of a Fire Protection Modernization Program, which shall include the hiring of more personnel, acquisition of modern fire equipment, trainings for firefighters, among others, all designed to suppress all kinds of destructive fires and prevent deaths and injuries.

Go added that the BFP will also be required to conduct monthly fire prevention campaigns and information drive in all local government units, particularly in informal settler areas and economically-depressed areas.

Also during his visits to fire victims and poor communities, Go has witnessed the lack of a proper nationwide housing roadmap to make sure that every Filipino family is given a decent home.

This is the reason why he filed the National Housing Development, Production and Financing Bill that seeks to reduce the country's housing backlog. The proposed law aims to provide continuous funding support to implement the major components of the National Housing Development, Production and Financing Program of the Duterte administration.

"Dapat sa susunod na mga taon, wala nang squatter sa sariling bayan. This measure aims to address the 6.5-M housing gap over the period of 20 years," he uttered.

Next in Go's agenda is the welfare of the public sector workforce including nurses and teachers. Being a government employee himself for more than 20 years, Go sees the importance of protecting the welfare of ordinary government workers in order to achieve an efficient and responsive bureaucratic system.

The former Special Assistant to the President has filed a bill to champion the passage of a new version of the Salary Standardization Law. This Bill seeks to increase the salaries of all government workers by modifying the existing Compensation and Position Classification System, making it more attractive and competitive in order to retain and motivate those in government service.

"Dagdagan natin ang suweldo ng mga ordinaryong kawani ng gobyerno, kasama na dyan ang mga guro at nurses. Dapat holistic ang approach natin upang lahat ng mga kawani sa gobyerno ay makapaglingkod ng maayos at magampanan ang kanilang tungkulin sa bayan," he said.

The bill, which seeks to increase the salary of government personnel, will not include salary increases for the current President, Vice-President, Senators, and Congressmen.

Likewise, Go has advocated for better benefits to an estimated 14 million solo parents and their children, helping them ease the burden of single-handedly raising their children by proposing amendments to the Solo Parents' Welfare Act of 2000.

"Magbibigay tayo ng mga discounts sa mga pangunahing bilihin, katulad ng mga damit, gatas, medisina at ibang pangangailangan ng kanilang mga anak; posibleng pagbawas sa babayaring buwis; at marami pang iba," Go explained.

As committed during the Senatorial campaign, Go has also filed a bill calling for the postponement of the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections slated this May 2020 to October of 2022 to give barangay officials ample time to finish their respective programs and projects.

"Mga barangays natin ang pinaka-frontline ng ating gobyerno sa paghahatid ng serbisyo at sa kampanya natin laban sa iligal na droga at kriminalidad. Kaya dapat lang na mabigyan natin sila ng sapat na panahon upang makapagpatupad ng kani-kanilang mga programa at proyekto sa kanilang mga nasasakupan," he said adding that the postponement of the previous brgy elections has limited the term of current officials to only two years.

True to his words, Senator Go continues to support President Duterte's campaign against criminality, corruption and illegal drugs. This as he filed a bill supporting the reimposition of death penalty, particularly on heinous crimes involving illegal drugs and plunder related cases. He emphasized that this mechanism will help the Duterte administration in fighting illegal drugs in our society and corruption in the government.

"All-out war tayo laban sa mapanirang iligal na droga at zero-tolerance tayo sa katiwalian at pagnanakaw sa pera ng sambayanan. Disiplina ang kailangan para sa tunay na pagbabago," he cited.

With his first ten proposed measures as Senator, Go has vowed to further pursue legislations that will make government programs more responsive to the needs of every Filipino and to make sure that the progress attained during the Duterte administration is realized and felt by everyone.

"Nais ko matulungan pa ang ating gobyerno na ipagpatuloy ang pagbabago at pagmamalasakit sa tao sa pamamagitan ng pagbibigay ng mabilis, maayos at maaasahang serbisyo para sa bawat Pilipino, he said.

The Senator also emphasized that while his mandate is to be a legislator, he will continue to go around the country to hear the grievances of those in poor communities to address their immediate concerns. Go further explained that similar to the President, he plans to be more hands-on and in-touch with the masses.

"Minsan lang po tayo daraan sa landas na ito. Anuman ang magandang pwedeng gawin natin sa ating kapwa gawin na natin dahil malamang hindi na tayo muling daraan sa landas na ito," Go said.

News Latest News Feed