Press Release
July 27, 2010

ANGARA LAUDS P-NOY PLANS ON AGRI, EDUCATION, HEALTH

Senator Edgardo J. Angara today welcomed President Noynoy Aquino's plans to implement reforms to improve the country's education, health care and agriculture sectors, saying it will compliment his own legislative agenda in the Senate.

"I think P-Noy has covered the most important points in his first SONA. It's a fresh start for government. The whole nation looks forward to better governance and speedy action to remedy the country's ailing education, health care and agriculture," Angara told media after Aquino delivered his state of the nation address yesterday.

Angara pointed out that the PhilHealth, which he authored into law, must be expanded to cover especially children of poor families and to improve the statistics of its coverage. He had earlier called for the passage of the Children's Health Insurance Program to provide health care and insurance for children of families in the below-poverty line.

"With regard to our PhilHealth system, apart from confusing statistics we have got to set the statistics right first because that's is the most important social service and its about time we make health care universal," said Angara, Chair of the Congressional Commission on Science and Technology and Engineering (COMSTE).

Echoing Aquino's calls to control the heavy government borrowing, Angara said that "ten years ago I already warned that we must watch the importation and borrowing of the NFA because it might just become the next NAPOCOR. The ADB made a study and it need not close; we should maintain our rice support function.

Among legislations he proposed is to extend the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act (AFMA), which he authored, to give the agro-marine sector a share in the development and growth of the country's resources. He also proposed to maximize the country's underutilized agricultural lands to generate employment and technologies to improve the quality of our products for the domestic and international market.

He also has introduced various systems in the agro-marine industry starting with off-season vegetable farming to sustain crop breeding and production year-round, and mariculture processing to improve the quality of marine resources.

Finally, Angara lauded Aquino's calls to beef up the country's education system, saying that "because of the congestion we have to move our pupils to private schools, as that's one way of solving classroom congestion lack of teachers and facilities."

This, Angara asserted, can be addressed by maximizing his legislation of the GASTPE (Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education). Angara has also authored, among others, the Free High School Act, the Pre-School Development Act, School Building Act of 2009 and the act establishing a Computer Education Board.

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