Senator Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada
Biography | Agenda Below is the descriptive summary of the legislative agenda of Senator Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada: Decriminalization of libel Libel cases and the filing thereof have often been used by some parties as a way of harassing journalists and media practitioners in the past. With the threat of imprisonment that is usually attached to the filing of a libel case, most media practitioners often find themselves faced with numerous harassment suits that more often than not prevent them from doing their job. This Representation seeks at the onset to initiate a dialogue between concerned groups on the possibility of decriminalizing libel - that is to remove the imposable penalty of imprisonment and in lieu thereof to just increase the imposable pecuniary penalty. In the interim, however, a bill proposing for the decriminalization of libel has been filed by this representation (SB-977) in the Senate. Journalism-related bills Several bills were filed aimed at providing added protection to media practitioners such as imposing additional penalties on people who commit acts of coercion or physical injury or murder against journalists (SB-967; SB-964) as well as a bill providing for a comprehensive Journalists Welfare and Protection Act (SB-983). Another bill specifically seeks to exempt publishers from revealing the source of published news (SB-1008). OFW-related bills Often touted as the modern heroes of Philippine society, overseas foreign workers need the full support of the government not only in terms of employment opportunities abroad but also in terms of support services. With this in mind, several bills were filed by this representation such as the proposal to establish an OFW bank (SB-880); an OFW hospital (SB-889); and several other bills aimed at strengthening the policy of the government on OFWs as well as on the increase of their benefits (SB-884; SB-893; SB-959). Local Governance
This Representation has filed
several bills on local governance such as the increase of
benefits and salaries of barangay officials including
barangay tanods (SB-850; New Taxes The people are already burdened with so many tax measures. Yet despite such tax measures, there is still a revenue short fall. The problem lies not in the law but in the implementation of the law. This Representation then seeks to initiate a dialogue with the business community, the tax authorities and other concerned sectors on how to better implement our tax collection system. PNP Modernization Following the move to modernize the AFP, it is also high time to institute measures that would modernize the Philippine National Police considering that this agency is at the frontline of the government's peace and order program. As such SB-1034 was filed by this Representation seeking to institute modernization measures in the PNP which I believe is long overdue and very much needed. Education This Representation has always believed that an educated citizenry would result in a progressive society. Thus, several bills have been filed in order to help underprivileged but deserving people to have access even to collegiate-level education through the institutionalization of scholarships and grants. With the strained budget that government has to face, these measures are the first step towards the attainment of a full access to education policy which this Representation hopes to see materialize during this Congress. (SB-854; SB-882; SB-892; SB-895; SB-907; SB-908; SB-909; SB-914; SB-912; SB-910; SB-913; SB-915; SB-951 to 953; SB-955) |
16th Congress Senators
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