Published February 19, 2021, 3:07 PM
Opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros on Friday said she strongly believes that the appointment of permanent and local cooperative development officers (LCDOs) would e a ‘’major instrument’’ towards strengthening cooperatives especially at a time when the country is facing the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros
(Senate of the Philippines / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
Hontiveros is one of the authors of the Cooperative Development Officer Bill, which seeks to create a mandatory position for cooperatives development officer (CDO) in all local government units (LGUs).
“Ang pagsasabatas ng pagkakaroon ng Local Coops Development Officers ay panibagong instrumento ng cooperatives movement tungo sa pagtutulungan at bayanihan para sa kaunlaran, lalo na sa panahon ng ating sama-samang pagharap at pagbangon laban sa pandemya ng Covid-19 (The enactment of a law creating the position of LCDOs is a new instrument in t
Sen. Risa Hontiveros(Senate of the Philippines / MANILA BULLETIN)
Hontiveros, in filing Senate Bill No. 2053 or the “Free Dialysis for Senior Citizens Act of 2021,” said senior citizens suffering from kidney diseases that require dialysis should be able to fully reimburse through the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) all the dialysis sessions conducted in accredited hospitals or free-standing dialysis centers.
The senator said passage of the bill into law would be helpful to senior citizens and their families especially amid the widespread unemployment, exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis.
Currently, PhilHealth covers 90 dialysis sessions, but Hontiveros said her bill hopes to cover the complete 144 sessions needed for a complete year of treatment.
Aside from the United States, Senator Risa Hontiveros on Tuesday said the government should seek better alliances with other countries, especially those that have maritime claims in the contested West Philippine Sea.
Opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros on Monday called on Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Delfin Lorenzana to stand up for the country's interests in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) and renewed her call for a clear, consistent, and firm national policy for meeting the challenge of Chinese
Sen. Risa Hontiveros
(Senate of the Philippines / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
Hontiveros issued the statement after DND Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said that China’s new law did not concern Filipino fisherfolk because they were not armed.
“Paulit-ulit na lang bang ibabalewala ang mga banta ng Tsina? Sarili nating mga mangingisda ang mismong nagiging biktima ng pananalasa ng China, pero bakit hindi pa rin sila pinaniniwalaan ng gobyerno? Sila na nga ang nawalan ng hanapbuhay dahil sa paghahari-harian ng China, tapos, hindi pa pumapanig sa kanila ang mga taong dapat sana’y unang unang tagapagtanggol ng ating kapwa Pilipino?,” Hontiveros said.