Press Release
January 18, 2009

Congress should prioritize poll automation budget, tourism bill - Gordon

Independent Senator Richard J. Gordon today said that while Congress' top priority is the ratification of the 2009 national budget, it should also give due priority to poll automation budget and the tourism bill as Congress resumes its session on Monday.

Gordon said he expects the House to expedite the approval of the P11.3-billion supplemental budget for the full automation of the May 2010 presidential elections as promised by House Speaker Prospero C. Nograles.

"I am confident that as Congress resumes session tomorrow, the House leadership would act with dispatch on the supplemental budget for the May 2010 poll automation to ensure the conduct of honest, speedy and credible elections," Gordon, author of the amended Automated Elections Law, said.

He explained that the immediate passage of the Commission on Elections' (Comelec) budget for automating the elections is important for the poll body to promptly begin its preparations for the 2010 electoral exercises.

Also, as chairman of the Senate tourism committee, Gordon said that the two chambers of Congress would soon convene to iron out differences from their respective versions of the Tourism Act of 2008.

"There is urgency in passing the Tourism Act of 2008 since this law would be much beneficial to the country especially in this time of a looming global financial crisis, which has already affected our overseas Filipino workers (OFWs)," he said, noting that the global crisis had hundreds of OFWs lose their jobs.

However, the senator assured that the tourism bill would create jobs and generate revenues, notably among the local government units, through the creation of "tourism enterprise zones" across the country.

Meanwhile, Gordon said that the Senate blue ribbon committee he chairs would continue its probe on the P728-million fertilizer fund scam on Jan. 20, and anticipates gaining more headway as new witnesses are expected to attend the hearing.

He said that just before the Holidays last year, alleged runner Jaime Paule surrendered to the Senate and promised to appear and testify before the committee on its hearing this Tuesday.

Gordon said that as Paule would be facing off with the other witnesses, especially Marites Aytona and Leonicia Llarena, the panel would extract more truths from these personalities implicated in the anomalous project, which is believed to have been orchestrated by former agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn Bolante.

"I am optimistic that, as it has been with our previous hearings, we would again gain headway in our probe on this anomalous fertilizer project as we gradually complete the characters in this seemingly well-orchestrated act to cheat on the Filipino people," he said.

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