Category Archives: congress

Dear Neophyte

By admin | July 1, 2013

As I write this, there seems to be frantic race in Batasan to file the first set of bills in the 16th Congress. It’s a futile effort since the date of filing has no bearing in the calendaring of measures dictated by the powerful Rules Committee. Furthermore, being an early porker or early bird doesn’t […]

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There and Back Again

By admin | June 9, 2013

The House of Representatives honored its own members last June 5 by distributing medals, plaques, and other mementos to first, second, and third termers of the 15th Congress. It was the most disgusting selfie moment of the year. What could be a more ghastly way of wasting taxpayers’ money than staging a superfluous pomp for […]

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Leftists and Politicians

By admin | May 18, 2013

Viewed from the outside, the reactionary state apparatus appears to be a brutal and beastly machine. Viewed from the inside, this juggernaut looks enigmatic. Seductively enigmatic. Nevertheless, it remains a ferocious stinking monster. Its hypnotic stink, however, is camouflaged by trappings, rituals, symbols, and other elegant deodorizers which distort the gaze of everybody, including the […]

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Makabayan Legislators

By admin | April 2, 2013

Teddy Casino, Bayan Muna. Forceful during interpellations but never offensive. Witty without being disrespectful and condescending. Uncompromising, critical, always ready to engage in intelligent discourse. His progressive ideas are brilliantly packaged in a language that can be easily understood by everybody. He re-introduced the fighting agenda of the Left to the new generation. As legislator […]

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Kabataan Partylist: Legislative Advocacies

By admin | March 3, 2013

In the past four years, Kabataan Partylist has consistently advocated an education reform agenda in Congress. We pushed for better tuition regulation, higher budget for public schools especially tertiary schools, and protection of student rights. Through our intervention, the Commission on Higher Education revised its tuition guidelines. It also formulated new standards to regulate nursing […]

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Collective Over Personal Privilege

By admin | February 19, 2013

Thirteen speeches in three years covering a broad range of topics such as education reform, labor rights, student welfare, environment protection, internet freedom, and nationalism. Salamat Carl, JM, Sarah, Bugsy, Rubelh, Marjo, Lean at sa lahat ng bumubuo sa @kabataanpl 1. The Tragedy of Philippine Education, May 18, 2009. First speech tackled the core legislative […]

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Where do spouses live?

By admin | November 7, 2012

There was a time when La Vista Subdivision in Katipunan, Quezon City had three residents sitting as senators of the Republic compared to none for the whole island of Mindanao. Today La Vista is still home of the powerful and the very rich. In fact, its three most famous residents are all members of the […]

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Extend session days, shorten Congress breaks

By admin | May 8, 2012

*Thanks JM for the additional points Congress adjourned sessions last March 21 or 46 days ago. Sessions resumed today but we will adjourn again on June 7. The third regular session of the 15th Congress will begin on July 23. Lack of quorum is often cited as the primary reason for the failure of the […]

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Rich and Poor Politicians

By admin | May 5, 2012

I’m reported to be the second poorest congressman of the 15th Congress of the Philippines. But since I’m not a ‘nattering nabob of negativism’, I prefer to be known instead as the 285th richest solon in the country. As expected, world boxing champion Manny Pacquiao topped the list of politicians who became rich through legal […]

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Political Dynasty or Destiny?

By admin | October 17, 2011

A new feature in the website of the Philippine House of Representatives is the Online Roster of Philippine Legislators from 1907 to present. During its launching, Rep Jun Abaya of Cavite (Liberal Party) said that it could be used to study the history of political dynasties in the country. Indeed, the database shows that local […]

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