Senator Dick Gordon has proposed a budget allocation for additional ‘think tanks’ for the Philippines that will act as the policy institute of the country.
During the deliberation for the 2020 budget, Gordon recommended having more ‘think tanks’ composed of experts and professionals coming from top universities of the country.
“We should have more ‘think tanks’ to find out what is the best interest of the country.”
The institute, the veteran legislator said, could be funded by either the government or the private sector.
“We should have more ‘think tanks’ so we can always have other people not from the government to look into the big picture and find out what is the best interest of the country without being used as political instruments to criticize the administration,” the seasoned lawmaker added.
The senator mentioned his recent trip to Singapore wherein he met with three different ‘think tanks.’
“I am definitely open to the idea.”
“The moment I got to Singapore, I got invited right away. We were discussing China, we were discussing all the other things that mattered in Asia and I think, somebody’s got to look at the future so we need more ‘think tanks’ here,” he said.
As a response to Gordon’s proposal, Senator Sonny Angara, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, said that he is “definitely open” to the idea.
A ‘think tank’ is a policy and research institute that studies various topics such as political strategy, economics, military, science and technology, and culture, among others, and later on make proposals for the government.