House Speaker Martin Romualdez is the keynote speaker of the very first edition of the “The Defense Forum” organized by the National Defense College of the Philippines Alumni Association, Inc. at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City. Front and center of the House Speaker’s speech is “strengthening legislative measures in support of national security.”

The House of Representatives is fully behind President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s policy to secure and protect the West Philippine Sea as Chinese ships continue to harass Filipino sailors.

House Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez on Friday evening assured Congress’ clear-cut commitment to supporting the President Marcos’ foreign policy during “The Defense Forum” organized by the National Defense College of the Philippines Alumni Association at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.

Romualdez made the remarks following reports that China Coast Guard ships fired water cannons at Filipino resupply boats in Ayungin Shoal.

The House Speaker not only condemned China’s intrusions in Philippine waters, but also affirmed congressional support to increase budget allocation for the defense sector under the 2024 national budget.

“Make no mistake about it. The House of Representatives fully supports the position of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. that we should continue to assert our sovereignty in the West Philippine Seas and that we should defend every inch of our territory,” Romualdez said.

“We have embarked on a strategic journey, not only to modernize our military assets but also to ensure that our personnel are equipped with the fortitude of skill and the assurance of a nation’s unwavering support,” he added.

Romualdez hailed the “brave men and women in uniform” whom he considered as “sentinels of sovereignty, safeguarding our nation’s territory against the ceaseless tides of adversity.”

“Under the proposed 2024 budget, the allocation for the defense sector is P282.7 billion or 21.6 percent more compared to the PHP203.4 billion allocation under the 2023 budget. This fund will support the “Land, Air, and Naval Forces Defense Programs” totaling PHP188.5 billion, as well as the UN Peacekeeping Mission, among others, to ensure domestic security,” Romualdez said.

“This amount does not include P1.23 billion worth of confidential and intelligence funds, which the House of Representatives realigned to the front-line agencies in charge of ensuring national security and protecting the country’s territorial rights in the West Philippine Sea,” he added.

This strategic reallocation includes P300 million to the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, P100 million to the National Security Council (NSC), P200 million to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) for intelligence activities and ammunition, and P381.3 million to the Department of Transportation (DOTr) for the development or expansion of Pag-Asa Island Airport.

By Liezelle Soriano

An-Waray party-list Representative Florencio “Bem” Noel has been removed from the House of Representatives after the Commission on Elections (Comelec) canceled the group’s registration.

Deputy Majority Leader and Iloilo Representative Janette Garin made the motion last Wednesday in the plenary, saying that the lower house has received official communication from Comelec removing AW.

Garin said that the letter issued read “Certificate of Finality and Entry of Judgement canceling the registration of An-Waray party-list.”

“I move that the secretary general be directed to execute and implement the resolution and accordingly, drop the An Waray Party-List Representative from the roll of members of the 19th Congress,” the lawmaker said.

The party’s registration was previously canceled by the Comelec for allowing the then-second nominee Victoria Isabel Noel to take a seat in the House of Representatives without the necessary authorization back in 2016 which the party appealed.

In their appeal, the party-list said that there was insufficient evidence to justify the decision and for being contrary to the law.

“The act of taking her oath and her assumption of office with no Certificate of Proclamation [.] clearly constitutes a violation of the rules relating to Party-list representatives,” said in the Comelec resolution.

(ai/mnm)

THE Media Information Literacy Initiative (MIL) of the government has gained strong support from the House of Representatives, providing a significant boost to the ongoing battle against the proliferation of fake news within the country.

Aio Bautista, the lead convenor of the non-government organization Philippine Transportation and Communication Advocates (PTCA), shared this encouraging development on Wednesday.

“This support is expected to bolster the MIL, which is an initiative of the Presidential Communications Office and it would play a very crucial role in our country’s fight against false information,” Bautista said.

Initially, the MIL aims to empower educators in state universities and colleges (SUCs) to combat the spread of fake news, misinformation, and disinformation.

Bautista further explained that, “At the outset, the MIL intends to empower educators in state universities and colleges (SUCs) to combat the proliferation of fake news, misinformation, and disinformation.”

But Bautista added that “if the House provides additional funding in the coming years, the initiative’s scope can expand to include private schools.”

This sentiment aligns with the statement made earlier by Rep. Stella Quimbo, the lawmaker from Marikina’s Second District, who serves as the author and budget endorser of the MIL initiative.

Quimbo emphasized the importance of inclusivity but acknowledged the current budget constraints, which will initially focus on SUCs.

“We aim to make this initiative as inclusive as possible, but the current budget allocation is somewhat limited. Consequently, our initial phase will focus on state universities and colleges (SUCs). Nevertheless, with the generosity of Congress in the future, we hope to broaden our reach,” Quimbo was qoted by the working media as saying.

Notably, the initiative also received support from Congresswoman France Castro of the ACT TEACHERS Party-list, who expressed solidarity with the PCO’s MIL campaign and endorsed the proposed budget increase.

Castro stated, “I stand in solidarity with this proposed digital media and information literacy campaign, and I concur with our esteemed sponsor that the budget should be expanded. I will lend my support to such endeavors.”

According to Bautista, the Marcos administration has allocated a budget of P16.899 million for the implementation of its MIL campaign this year, drawn from its total proposed budget of P1.7 billion for 2024.

This program primarily focuses on educating teachers and equipping them to become trainers, enabling them to educate students on how to differentiate between fake news and authentic information.

Launched on August 14, 2023, this initiative boasts key public sector partners, including the Department of Education (DepEd), the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

“Cooperation from tech giants such as Google (YouTube), Meta (Facebook, Instagram, and Threads), TikTok, and X (formerly Twitter) is also anticipated to play a significant role in executing this project,” stressed Bautista. (AI/MNM)

By Liza Soriano

THE budget deliberations of the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Office of the Vice President (OVP) have been delayed for a day.

Deliberations on DepEd and OVP are supposed to be on Tuesday, however, it has been moved to Wednesday due to a conflict in schedule.

Education Secretary and Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio was supposed to attend the deliberations to oversee the plenary debates.

“I just would like to inquire on our schedule for today because as written in our schedule for today, after the Office of the President, there should be OVP and Department of Education… What is the estimated time that the budget deliberation for OVP and the DEPED will be deliberated today?” ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro asked.

Deputy Majority Leader and Iloilo First District Representative Janette Garin responded that the DepEd and OVP asked to move the deliberations.

“The Office of the Vice President, as well as the office of the Secretary of the Department of Education, has conveyed a message to the Committee on Appropriations as well as the Committee on Rules of a possible conflict in schedule,” Garin said.

“The deliberation of the proposed budget of the OVP as well as the DepEd has been temporarily moved tomorrow considering that we also have other agencies in the pipeline,” the lawmaker added. (ai/mnm)