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Politics

STEP UP DISASTER PREPAREDNESS – PIMENTEL

“Let’s assess our readiness to respond and to provide needed disaster relief and assistance in times of natural calamities. Our education drives and simulation drills should be sustained and continuous. An alert and informed citizenry is best equipped to deal with emergencies.” Senator Koko Pimentel III made the remark as the Philippine government sent its […]

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Politics

STEP UP DISASTER READINESS – PIMENTEL

“Let’s assess our readiness to respond and to provide needed disaster relief and assistance in times of natural calamities. Our education drives and simulation drills should be sustained and continuous. An alert and informed citizenry is best equipped to deal with emergencies.” Senator Koko Pimentel III made the remark as the Philippine government sent its […]

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Politics

FEDERALISM IS KEY TO ACCELERATED DEVELOPMENT OUTSIDE NCR – NOGRALES

With Metro Manila accounting for close to 40 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) while having 12 percent of the Philippine population, it is time for the country to consider a “different approach” to ensure that the 88 percent of Filipinos living outside the National Capital Region (NCR) could also reap the benefits […]

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Politics

PIMENTEL TO DTI: EXPEDITE ISSUANCE OF IRR ON EASE OF DOING BUSINESS LAW

Senate Trade, Commerce and Entrepreneurship Committee Chairperson Koko Pimentel III on Thursday urged the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to expedite the issuance of the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the ease of doing business (EODB) law so that the country could immediately benefit from the provisions of the law that seeks to […]

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Politics

WHAT HAPPENED TO ROAD BOARD ABOLITION? – PIMENTEL

Senator Koko Pimentel III on Thursday renewed calls for the “urgent and immediate follow through on the abolition of the Road Board” after noting that the Senate had already passed a measure putting an end to the government agency’s existence early this year. The lawmaker likewise tagged as “legally questionable” the House of Representatives’ “rescission” […]

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Politics

NEW NFA ADMINISTRATOR MUST WORK WITH ECONOMIC MANAGERS TO STABILIZE RICE PRICES – PIMENTEL

Senate Trade and Commerce Committee Chairperson Sen. Koko Pimentel III on Tuesday urged retiring Army Chief and incoming National Food Authority (NFA) Administrator Lt. Gen. Rolando Bautista to work closely with the government’s economic managers to stabilize rice prices and address problems with supplies of affordable NFA rice. Pimentel said the long queues for NFA […]

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Politics

BAYANIHAN SPIRIT WAS ALIVE WHEN TYPHOON ‘OMPONG’ STRUCK – PIMENTEL

While Typhoon “Ompong” left a trail of destruction in its wake before exiting the country Saturday night, the Filipino bayanihan spirit proved to be very much alive in the face of the typhoon’s onslaught. Senator Koko Pimentel gave full praise to mall chains which opened their doors to the public amid the flooding in various […]

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Politics

RICE TARIFFICATION BILL LONG-TERM SOLUTION TO RICE WOES – PIMENTEL

As inflation for the month of August hit a nine-year high of 6.4 percent, Senate Trade and Commerce Committee Chairperson Koko Pimentel III on Thursday said the rice tarrification bill pending in the Senate was a “long-term solution” to the rice supply problems that have contributed to rising inflation rates. On Wednesday, BSP Governor Nestor […]

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Politics

ADDRESS MANILA PORT CONGESTION, DELAYS — PIMENTEL

Senator Koko Pimentel III on Monday said he was planning on summoning officials of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) to explain and account for the “slower movement and longer delays” in the release of merchandise arriving at the Port of Manila, additionally noting that the port’s inefficiency is causing the economy billions of pesos in […]

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Politics

PROSECUTE NFA OFFICIALS INVOLVED IN RICE MESS – PIMENTEL

“If funds were misapplied by agency officials, prosecute the offenders. When Congress gives you money, tells you where and how to spend it, then you do something else, that’s illegal. We should also make the NFA accountable for the storage fiasco that led to wastage and infestation of stocks in Luzon while rice supplies at […]