P1,000 allowance for all students pushed in House
Batangas Representative Leandro Leviste, author of House Bill 27, said the P1,000 monthly allowance will cover each student's expense on food, transportation, and school supplies.
He said a student must attend his or her class 80% of the time to avail of the assistance.
'If we are going to limit the beneficiaries, that would pit people against each other. So for efficient implementation, this should be given to all students,' Leviste said in an interview with Super Radyo dzBB.
He said the government would need to allocate P300 billion yearly to fund the proposed P1,000 monthly allowance for all students.
'What we are saying here is that education should get the lion's share of the national budget, and if we are able to do this, then we can really say we finally made education a priority,' said Leviste, son of Senator Loren Legarda.
'This is not about cost, but investment. In the long run, our tax revenues will increase because these students will later become productive,' he added.
Asked where the government would get the fund, Leviste said: 'If the government has to borrow money to fund this, I would say this is justifiable and a good investment for our future." —AOL, GMA Integrated News
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
GMA Network
14 hours ago
- GMA Network
Palace explains Ruiz photo at party with former Atong employee 'Brown'
"Ang nakausap po natin mismo ay si Secretary Jay Ruiz at tinanong natin kung ano 'yung affair kung saan siya naruroon at nakuhaan ng litrato. Ayon sa kanya, ito raw ay kaarawan ng isang social media content creator. At kung siya man ay nakumbida, ito ay kanyang pinaunlakan," Castro told reporters. Malacañang on Friday explained the photo circulating on social media showing Presidential Communications Office Acting Secretary Jay Ruiz with a certain Brown, a former employee of businessman Atong Ang. Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro said Ruiz told her that he was at the gathering because he was invited to a birthday party of a content creator. "Ang nakausap po natin mismo ay si Secretary Jay Ruiz at tinanong natin kung ano 'yung affair kung saan siya naruroon at nakuhaan ng litrato. Ayon sa kanya, ito raw ay kaarawan ng isang social media content creator. At kung siya man ay nakumbida, ito ay kanyang pinaunlakan," Castro told reporters. (We've talked with Secretary Jay Ruiz and asked him about the affair where he was photographed. According to him, it was the birthday of a social media content creator. Since he was invited, he decided to attend.) "Pero kung sinuman 'yung mga nakasama doon na kinumbida ng nagsi-celebrate ng birthday, hindi na po niya hawak 'yun," she added. (But he had no hand on other people who were invited by the celebrant to join the party.) Julie "Dondon" Patidongan, one of the accused in the case of missing sabungeros, earlier linked Atong Ang and actress Gretchen Barretto to the abductions. Patidongan, a former chief of security in Ang's farms and cockfight arenas, claimed that the missing cockfight watchers have all been killed. Ang and Barretto both denied the allegations against them. On Thursday, Ang filed a complaint against Patidongan for alleged conspiracy to commit attempted robbery with violence against or intimidation of persons, grave threats, grave coercion, slander, and incriminating against innocent persons. Among the respondents in Ang's complaint was alias Brown. Ang's camp said that it was Brown who asked that Patidongan be given P300 million so he could go into hiding with his family. Patidongan is one of the accused in the case regarding the missing cockfight enthusiasts. –NB, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
20 hours ago
- GMA Network
15 cops under ‘restricted duty' over missing sabungeros — SOJ Remulla
Fifteen police officers who allegedly carry out executions in the missing sabungeros case have been placed under restricted duty, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said Friday. 'May restriction na nga sa 15 tao ng PNP na involved dito sa missing sabungero case,' Remulla said in an ambush interview. (There is already a restriction imposed on the 15 PNP personnel involved in the missing sabungero case.) Asked what their involvement is, Remulla said they 'carry out executions.' 'Restricted duty na sila. They have to report already to offices para doon na sila. Para hindi na sila makasakit,' Remulla said. (They are now on restricted duty. They have to report to offices so they remain there. This is to prevent them from causing any further harm.) Meanwhile, the families of the missing sabungeros met with Remulla and other officials of the Department of Justice earlier in the day. The visit came after Remulla said that businessman Atong Ang and actress Gretchen Barreto are now considered suspects in the case after one of the accused linked them to the abductions. 'Ang sabi ko naman sa kanila, pumasok kami dito three years ago, the deadline was always yesterday. Laging mga problema namin, backlog lagi ang problema unang pasok pa lang namin,' Remulla said. (What I told them was, we entered here three years ago, and the deadline was always yesterday. From the very start, our main problem has always been the backlog.) 'Pero hindi kami tumitigil talaga. We're not leaving any stone unturned para ma-solve natin itong mga kaso na ito,' he added. (But we really never stop. We're not leaving any stone unturned to solve these cases.) Accused Julie "Dondon" Patidongan, alyas Totoy, tagged Ang as the mastermind behind the abductions. Patidongan, who claimed to be a security chief in Ang's farms and cockfight arenas, also linked Barretto to the disappearances. For his part, Ang maintained his innocence as he filed a complaint against Patidongan on Thursday, accusing the latter of trying to extort P300 million from him. He said Patidongan and another former employee threatened to implicate him in the missing sabungeros case if he refused to give them P300 million. Ang's camp also appealed to the government to look at other leads instead of one lead that is "false and misleading." His camp asked the government to not believe in a whistleblower who allegedly distorts information. For her part, Barretto told GMA Integrated News that she would call as soon as her team is ready. Remulla said Patidongan is currently under police protection.—AOL, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
21 hours ago
- GMA Network
House bill eyes senior, PWD discounts on top of 'promo offers'
A bill granting 20% discount and 12% Value Added Tax (VAT) exemption to senior citizens and persons with disabilities on top of any "promotional offer" has been filed at the House of Representatives. The proposed measure provides that 'the discount granted to senior citizens and persons with disabilities, including the 20% discount and exemption from the value-added tax (VAT) on goods and services, or the special discount on purchase of basic necessities and prime commodities, will be in addition to any prevailing promotional offers or discounts extended by business establishments, if any, has been provided, but in no way that it will require presentation of booklets in the procurement of goods.' Further, the bill states that a promotion or discount offered by a business establishment to the general public will not be considered in compliance with Section 4 of the Senior Citizens Act as amended and Section 32 of Magna Carta for Disabled Persons as amended. House Bill 16 was filed by 19th Congress House Speaker Martin Romualdez, who was reelected as Leyte Representative in the last elections. Tingog party-list Reps. Andrew Julian Romualdez and Jude Acidre co-authored the bill. 'This bill aims to preserve the preferential treatment accorded to senior citizens and persons with disabilities by mandating the State to adopt an integrated approach on how to make essential programs and other social services available to them in an attainable and convenient manner,' said Romualdez. 'This is in line with the state policy of promoting a just and dynamic social order that shall ensure the nation's prosperity and free its people from poverty,' the authors added. A similar bill covering promos on discounts for purchases made by senior citizens and PWDs was filed in the 19th Congress by then Reps. Joey Salceda of Albay, Rodolfo "Ompong" Ordanes of Senior Citizens party-list, and Alfelito "Alfel" Bascug of Agusan del Sur. This bill was approved by the House on third and final reading in May 2024, but the Senate did not pass a similar measure. The First Regular Session of the 20th Congress opens on July 28. —VAL, GMA Integrated News
