Francis Escudero Quotes

It is high time that our government start to acknowledge that we have a labor-export policy and rid the industry of unscrupulous labor recruiters and protect our migrant workers. We already have enough, ripe reasons to initiate a government- to-government arrangement for labor migration since we have long seen the reality of labor exodus of Filipinos to other countries. The Philippine government can no longer deny this.

Such budget deficits are unsustainable. We must put a stop to smuggling - estimated by foreign institutions to be as much as $10 billion (as P480 billion) a year. The uncollected VAT alone would be over P50 billion.

What can I say about the peace efforts with our Muslim brothers and the NPA?

We want people to remember what should be remembered on how fraud was committed to rob FPJ of his rightful place in history and on how people who voted for him of their political rights to install the president of their choice were also cheated.

We should try to make seamless the transport of agricultural products from Mindanao to the Visayas and NCR; from the Cordilleras and the Cagayan Valley to Manila. From farms to bagsakans or markets or seaports.

I thank the Supreme Court magistrates for affirming the TRO. This confirms that Senator Grace Poe remains a candidate for president and whose name stays on the official ballot, notwithstanding the orchestrated efforts to disqualify her. We hope that the high court will also uphold the laws and long established jurisprudence when it decides on the other petitions in connection with the candidacy of Senator Grace.

This is not the first attempt to pass a right-of-reply bill in the Senate. A similar bill was filed in the pre-martial law chamber but did not prosper.

The Revenue Program for 2015 includes incremental revenues of P50.63 billion from R.A. No. 10351 or the Sin Tax Reform Law of 2012.

a) the entire 2013 PDAF Article;

A Government with Heart for the differently-abled, the elderly, and the youth, including even children yet unborn.

Mr. President, barely half a year after the controversial Supreme Court decision scrapping the pork barrel system in the national budget, the equally contentious jurisprudence on the Disbursement Acceleration Program, a.k.a. the infamous DAP, emerged out of the hallowed chambers of the highest court in the land.

The intermediate goal is the creation of millions of new jobs and livelihood opportunities. This would necessitate being able to successfully attract much greater amounts of direct investments, especially foreign investments.

Aside from pump priming our economy, we would be bringing down the cost of transportation and opening up those areas of our country which have not been developed.

b) Non-commencement of the P/A/P or the inability of the agency to obligate a released appropriation within the first semester of the year;

First, Mr. President, distinguished colleagues, the facts. About a year ago, the legislative mill nearly came to a halt when the Supreme Court decision on the unconstitutionality of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or the pork barrel system radically altered the budget landscape. Declared as unconstitutional by the High Court were the following, and I quote: