Mong Palatino

Kabataan Partylist sponsored (13) house resolutions, (6) house bills and delivered three (3) privilege speeches between April-November of 2009.

House Bills

a. Public Libraries Bill – HB06770: This will modernize the country’s public libraries by amending Republic Act 7743. We are proposing the establishment of e-library facilities in the country’s 1,231 public libraries. We also want to uphold the “public’s right to information and freedom of expression by prohibiting the exclusion of reading materials based on the origin, background and views of the creator or author.” Officials of the National Library are supportive of this bill.

b. Free SPED Bill – HB06771: This bill aims to provide free and appropriate basic education to all Filipino children and youth with special needs. It was my college professor who urged me to file this bill. Kabataan Partylist is also a co-author of the SPED Bill sponsored by the Committee on the Welfare of Children.

c. Styrofoam Ban Act of 2009 – HB06798: The full title of the bill – “An Act Declaring as Unlawful the Use of Expanded Polystyrene Food Service Containers and other Synthetic Materials Harmful to the Environment in all Educational Institutions and for other purposes.” By banning Styrofoam, we hope to promote environmental awareness and practice environmental protection in schools. This bill was suggested to me by an educator from Taguig.

d. Anti-‘No Permit, No Exam’ Policy – HB06799: This will ban the common school policy of preventing students from taking their periodic or final examinations due to unpaid tuition and other school fees. As a compromise to school owners, the final grades and transcript of records of students will not be released if they still have outstanding financial obligations. Congresswoman Cari of Leyte is a co-author of the bill.

e. SK Strengthening and Reform Act of 2009 – HB06870: Last August we met the national leadership of the Sangguniang Kabataan. We discussed the need to reform and strengthen the SK institution in response to the widespread observation that the SK body has lost its relevance. The output of the meeting became the guiding document in drafting HB 06870. Here are the pertinent features of our proposed SK Reform Bill: Instituting a uniform procedure for releasing and reviewing SK budgets; empowering the Katipunan ng Kabataan as the basic unit and consultative body of the SK; recognizing duly-elected SK officials as persons of authority in the community; clearly defining the procedures for succession and filling of vacancies; appropriately adjusting the calendar of SK elections; and to regularize training seminars by NGOs, national student and youth organizations, and Peoples’ Organizations for SK members. The bill also incorporates the earlier proposal to adjust the age requirement for SK officials.

f. BPO Workers’ Welfare and Protection Act of 2009 – HB06921: Employing half million young workers and generating billions of dollars in revenues, the Business Process Outsourcing sector is touted as the country’s sunshine industry. But the welfare of BPO workers is seldom reported by government, media, and industry analysts. There is a need to uphold the labor rights of BPO workers. Kabataan Partylist has filed a bill that would allow BPO workers to join and form unions, institutionalize an occupational safety and health policy, and ensure just compensation for BPO workers who attend work during non-working holidays.

House Resolutions

Kabataan Partylist has three resolutions on the issue of shortened voters’ registration: Extension of Voters’ Registration (HR01162), Day-off with Pay for Registrants (HR01336), and Extension of voters’ registration deadline in typhoon-affected regions (HR01443).

We sought an investigation on the following issues: UP Graduation Program Tuition Hike (HR01197), Vanishing Loads (HR01237), Smartmatic-TIM overpricing (HR01260), Anomalous purchase by DepEd of overpriced medical and dental supplies (HR01288), Abduction of an Anakbayan member in Cagayan (HR01411), DENR constructive dismissal of employees (HR01408), Military surveillance of National Artist Bienvenido Lumbera’s home (HR01421), Violent dispersal of a rally in front of Malacanang Palace (HR01337), and the imposition of a new tax on imported reading materials (HR01161).

The UP resolution was proposed by the university faculty regent. The Vanishing Load resolution was the House counterpart measure of a Senate resolution filed by Senator Bong Revilla. The Smartmatic-TIM resolution was drafted in reaction to a PCIJ report. The DENR resolution was lobbied by concerned employees of the agency. The rally which was violently dispersed was a student protest against the lavish dinner of Arroyo and her politician friends in New York.

Kabataan Partylist also co-authored (25) house bills, (1) joint resolution and more than (100) house resolutions of partylist representatives from Bayan Muna, Anakpawis, and Gabriela.

Privilege speeches. Committee memberships.

I delivered (3) privilege speeches: The Tragedy of Philippine Education (May 18, 2009),
The Call of Call Center Agents (August 17, 2009), and Who Owns Malacanang? (August 26, 2009)

I’m an official member of the minority in (4) committees: Youth and Sports, Information and Communications Technology, Dangerous Drugs, and Public Information. I’m also active in the Committees on Higher and Technical Education, and Basic Education.

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