You bring in a container, you pay P200, 000 but only get a receipt for P60,000. Meaning that P140,000 goes to the bureaucrats and tong collectors. - Francis Escudero

These are countries that started with higher levels of poverty incidence than our country but have successfully managed to lessen, if not virtually eliminate, extreme poverty.

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.

I have received feedback from friends who have witnessed kidnappings or relatives of victims who have been subjected to abduction and have paid ransom for their releases. There’s a segment of the community who is already in panic and there must be a concrete action to abate these crimes and prevent the spread of alarm among the public. These are crimes that do not even hide under the cloak of darkness anymore. It is very disturbing. These are the reported ones, but I am sure there are more which have remained unreported by the victims and their families out of fear of retaliation from their aggressors. I ask the PNP to intensify its campaign against criminals and beef up security to protect the public. The people need to be assured that they can walk our streets to and from their homes.