House Deputy Majority Leader Janette Garin suggested using the raided Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) hubs as dormitories for students.
During the plenary deliberations of the 2025 General Approriations Bill (GAB) on Wednesday, Garin raised that among the problems being faced by the students is the high price of rental fees for dormitories.
“Actually ang isang pinaka challenging na gastusin ng isang estudyante ay ‘yung boarding house, ‘yung dormitory, especially so that this is mostly provided by the private sector and hindi nakokontrol ‘yung presyo, ‘yung bayarin,” the Iloilo First District Representative said.
“At the appropriate time, Madam Speaker, it’s not applicable all over the country, but for Region 3, napakaganda talaga na ‘yung mga POGO hub, na mga scam hub na na-discover ay makuha ng gobyerno at gawing extension campuses as well as dormitories ng ating karapat-dapat na estudyante,” the lawmaker added.
ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro agreed with the suggestion of Garin.
Citing a research titled “Enhancing Access and Success in SUCs,” the Iloilo lawmaker also mentioned that financial constraints is the top problem of the students.
Garin is the sponsor of the Commission on Higher Education for 2025 GAB.
The lady solon likewise pointed out that the proposed 2025 budget for CHED is not an expenditure but an investment in the future for the country.
“It is an investment in the future of our nation, and every peso allocated to higher education yields a return in the form of educated, skilled, and empowered citizens who will contribute to the country’s economic growth and social troubles.”
Meanwhile, the House is targeting to pass the 2025 GAB on the third and final reading by September 25. The plenary debates started last September 16.
Former health secretary and House Deputy Majority Leader Janette advised the public on Friday to take extra precautions, observe proper hygiene, and get vaccinated following the Pertussis outbreak in Quezon City which claimed the lives of four infants.
Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte announced that the city has been experiencing a Pertussis outbreak, a contagious respiratory disease, and has recorded 23 cases as of March 20.
Garin noted that among the reasons for the rise of these cases was the recent decline in vaccine uptake due to widespread misinformation that makes an individual hesitant to be immunized.
“This is alarming but we can prevent the spread of this disease through vaccination and observing proper hygiene,” Garin said.
“One of its causes is the recent decline in vaccine uptake brought about by fake news and infodemic has also affected the uptake of DPT (diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus). Vaccination saves lives hence we need to catch up,” the lawmaker pointed out.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Pertussis is a highly contagious respiratory infection caused by the bacterium Bordetella that spreads easily from person to person mainly through droplets produced by coughing or sneezing which is most dangerous in infants.
Symptoms include a mild fever, runny nose, and cough, which in typical cases gradually develops into a hacking cough followed by whooping, WHO said.
The Department of Health (DOH) has urged the public to have immunization against vaccine-preventable diseases as cases of measles and pertussis continue to increase.
In the first 10 weeks of 2024, the DOH logged 453 cases of Pertussis which was a lot higher than in 2023 with only 23 cases in the same period.
“Nakakahawa po ito lalo na sa mga bata o sanggol. Dahil mga bata iyan, hindi nila alam kung saan sila pwedeng mahawa kaya malaki ang responsibilidad ng mga magulang dito para maprotektahan ang kanilang anak sa sakit na ito,” the Iloilo First District Representative ended. (END)
House Deputy Majority Leader Janette Garin gave an assurance on Thursday that political amendments to the 1987 Constitution would never happen, saying that most of the House members only favor reform on Articles XII, XIV, and XVI.
“The political amendments are very impossible… Talking to most members of the House, almost all of them who support the bill are limited doon sa tatlong amendments,” Garin said during the press conference held in the House of Representatives.
“No political amendments. Definitely hindi naman ‘yan maglolokahan sa floor. The voice of the people and the voice of the majority of the members of Congress will be carried,” the lawmaker added.
On Wednesday, the Committee of the Whole approved the Resolution of Both Houses (RBH) No. 7 after six days of hearings wherein the lawmakers heard the testimonies of the resource persons who are experts in the fields of education, economy, and law.
The House will be bringing RBH No. 7 to the plenary for deliberations on March 11 and hopes to pass the resolution on the second by March 13, Garin said.
The lawmaker reiterated that RBH No. 7 would help improve the lives of Filipino people as there would be more job opportunities, higher salaries, and affordable utilities if foreign investors entered the country, stressing that the Constitutional reform is only about opening the economy.
“Kung ang Constitution ay masyadong nakakahon, at sa bilis ng galaw ng mundo ay talagang maiiwan ka… Economic Charter change is all about flexibility,” Garin said.
“The direction of the current administration is not to taint the law, not to taint the proposed measure… This is all about our economy,” the Iloilo lawmaker added.
Garin also believes it is “just a matter of time for the Senate to embrace the real change that the Philippines needs.”
Opening the country for foreign-owned educational institutions will be a way for the Filipino students to have international standard education, House Deputy Majority Leader Janette Garin stressed on Monday.
During the hearing of the Committee of the Whole on Resolution of Both Houses (RBH) No. 7, Garin said international standard education should not only be limited to those who can study abroad to be globally competitive individuals.
“We cannot live in hypocrisy, Mr. Chairman, because if we remain as hypocrites, saying na ang Pilipinas ay para lamang sa mga Pilipino. Tayo po ay lulubog kasi karamihan sa atin dito ay palaging nag-aabroad para mag-aral, nagpapaaral ng mga anak sa abroad, gustong-gusto natin ang competitive standards sa abroad because we want to be more competitive… That is a prerogative that should be given to every Filipino child,” Garin pointed out.
Garin also pointed out that allowing foreign-owned educational institutions in the country would not be a hindrance to instill nationalism and patriotism to Filipino students.
“We’re talking about here pure Filipino, we’re talking about here patriotism but does it make you less of a Filipino kung hangarin mong magkaroon ng mas magandang edukasyon,” the lady solon said.
“Does it make you less of a Filipino if you aspire to be competitive and teach our future generation and give them that opportunity na sa ngayon nakakamit lang ng mamayaman sa Pilipinas?” she asked.
Meanwhile, the Iloilo lawmaker debunked the statement of Department of Education (DepEd) that RBH No. 7 will be a threat to national security after it failed to respond to the connection between the two.
“The representative from DepEd cannot justify their claim that this RBH 7 will serve as a national security threat,” Garin said.
The lawmaker pointed out that the current administration aims to provide such education to talented and intelligent Filipinos.
“When we open up the Philippines, it is simply because gusto ng current administration na maramdaman ng bawat Pilipino ang kakayahan na napapakinabangan lang ng iilang mayayaman,” the lawmaker said.
Garin also highlighted that opening the country for foreign schools would help boost the economy of the country.
HOUSE Deputy Majority Leader Janette Garin pointed out that an increase of P350 on minimum wage would be needed for it to be enough to provide for the essential commodities of a worker, saying that opening the country for more investors would make such a wage hike possible.
“Ang tanong dun solusyon ba na magtaas lamang ng suweldo or ang solusyon ay gawing investor-friendly ang Pilipinas. Buksan natin ang ating bansa sa mga foreign investor [para maging posible ang pagtaas ng suweldo ng mga minimum wage earner],” Garin said on Monday.
The P100 daily wage hike legislated by the Senate would still be inadequate for a minimum wage earner and would also injure the business sector, mainly the micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), citing that almost 95 to 98 percent of the business enterprises are small businesses, the lawmaker said.
However, Garin noted the need to balance both employers and employees as there would be a workforce reduction because companies could not maintain the salary increase costs for their employees.
“Gagawa ka ng magandang batas pero ang dagok naman nun — ilan naman ang mawawalan ng trabaho, ilan naman ang mga kompanyang magsasara [dahil hindi kakayanin ang pa-sweldo sa mga empleyado]… Karamihan kasi ng mga negosyante sa Pilipinas ay maliliit, iilan lang dyan ang nasa malalaking kompanya,” she said.
In 2023, the Philippine Statistics Authority said that 1,080,810 are business enterprises; of these, 99.58 percent are MSMEs. Also, MSMEs hold 63 percent of the labor force in the country.
Earlier, the Iloilo lawmaker stressed that the members of the House of Representatives have been studying the proposed legislation to ascertain if it would be doable.
“Kung pamumulitika lang ang iisipin ng Kongreso, dapat sana pinasa na kaagad ‘yan at sinabi, oh bahala na ang taumbayan. Pero hindi po ganoon ang Kongreso. Tinitingnan natin, doable ba ito o hindi ba doable,” Garin said.
Meanwhile, the vice chairperson of the Committee on Appropriations said that Charter Change would be needed to boost the country’s economy and increase the salaries of the labor force.
“Bakit ayaw nating buksan ang ekonomiya ng Pilipinas at papasukin natin ang foreign investors… Papasok sila, papasok ang malalaking kumpanya, tataas ang sweldo [ng mga tao]. Iikot, gaganda, tataas and ekonomiya ng Pilipinas,” the lawmaker said.
House Deputy Majority Leader and Iloilo First District Representative Janette Garin said that in order to end malnutrition the government must focus on providing a long-term solution.
“Malnutrition needs a long-term solution,” Garin said in an interview with ONE News on Friday, adding that problems on malnutrition are interrelated to safe water provision.
“Another problem is the availability of safe water because this has contributed a lot to many patients [as there are children who experience diarrhea due to drinking of unsafe water,” the lawmaker added.
Garin also called to provide support to rural areas on backyard farming to ensure that the children will have nutritious food available.
Meanwhile, former health secretary said one of the biggest problems in relation to malnutrition stemmed from the lack of nutrition of pregnant women as nutrition of children starts from conception.
According to United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), every day, 95 children in the Philippines die from malnutrition and twenty-seven out of 1,000 Filipino children do not get past their fifth birthday.
Knowledge gained from nutrition-related trainings and seminars must have actual implementation as it would have positive impact in addressing the problems of malnutrition, Garin said.
“Solving malnutrition is not just a government’s problem but it should be a collaboration between our constituents. DOH should not stop in [having partnership or agreement] with UNICEF. The biggest problem that they have is the actual implementation on the grounds,” Garin said.
Earlier, the Department of Health (DOH) and UNICEF have inked partnership to strengthen health in the country to address malnutrition.
Iloilo First District Representative Janette Garin wants additional financial assistance every year for people who are deaf, mute, blind and those with down syndrome.
Garin proposed such move to be implemented during Bagong Pilipinas Serbisyo Fair (BPSF) in Iloilo.
“Nararapat lamang po na bigyan ng dagdag na tulong ang ating mga kababayan na may kapansanan upang makatulong sa kanila,” Garin said.
BPSF is a project of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and House Speaker Martin Romualdez which aims to bring government services closer to the Filipino people.
The BPSF is the country’s biggest service caravan aimed at providing major government services to less fortunate Filipinos in various communities across the country, featuring the government’s flagship programs such as Kadiwa ng Pangulo, Passport on Wheels, Driver’s License registration/assistance, among others.
The lawmaker also hopes that the assistance be implemented nationwide.
“Malaking tulong po itong programang ito para mas mapadali ang pagkuha ng dokumento ng ating mga kababayan. Mas mabilis at madaling serbisyo ang handog ng administrasyon,” Garin ended.