Go files people-centered bills

MANILA, Philippines — Ahead of the opening of the 19th Congress, Sen. Bong Go filed 10 more of his priority bills in the Senate to provide more people-centered and service-oriented legislations to help achieve the new administration’s goal of a stronger, more adaptable and resilient nation.

“These measures are aimed to promote and protect the welfare of our fellow Filipinos during these difficult times,” Go said, referring to the more than two years that people have to endure the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I promised our countrymen that I would push and fight for laws that will make the lives of Filipinos better. That is the goal of former president Rodrigo Duterte and President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos. That is why I will do everything to help achieve the dream of every Filipino,” he added in Filipino.

Go’s bills include the institutionalization of a rural employment assistance program, which shall provide job opportunities or temporary employment to displaced workers in far-flung areas.

He also filed the “Emergency Medical Services System” bill that mandates the creation of an Emergency Medical Services Systems Council tasked to develop national standards for the provision of this kind of service to local government units (LGUs). There shall also be emergency personnel, vehicles and dispatch centers in all LGUs.

In addition, the bill mandates the adoption of a nationwide emergency hotline that Filipinos can access free of charge.

Acknowledging the sacrifices and hard work of uniformed personnel to protect the country, Go also reintroduced “Free Legal Assistance to AFP and PNP Enlisted Personnel” bill and “Magna Carta of Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Officers and Personnel,” which aims to provide PDEA employees with decent standard of living by providing them acceptable living and working conditions, appropriate compensation and career opportunities to enable them to effectively carry out their mandate.

Go, who heads the Senate committee on sports, likewise pushed for the “Philippine National Games (PNG)” bill, which seeks to establish a national multi-sport tournament that aims to widen the base talent identification and efficiently constitute the national pool to be trained for international sports competitions.

The PNG, he said, is different from and should not be confused with the Palarong Pambansa.

“As chair of the Senate committee on sports, I am one with President Marcos Jr. in highlighting the importance of sports in nation-building. I reiterate my firm commitment to always look after the welfare of our athletes and to push for long-term and grassroots sports development,” Go previously said.

“These will both help our country become again as one of the sports powerhouses in Asia and also encourage our young people to stay away from illegal drugs and criminality by getting into sports,” he added.

Meanwhile, he also filed a bill institutionalizing the “One Town, One Product Program” which seeks to strengthen and boost the capacity of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) by assisting them in areas of quality, product development, design, packaging, standards compliance, marketability, production capability, brand development, sustainability, and securing licenses, product registration and other market authorization, among others.

Furthermore, Go filed a bill amending the Insurance Code. Through his proposed measure, doubts on whether the Insurance Code will apply to health maintenance organizations (HMOs) will be clarified.

It will make HMOs subject to the Insurance Code provisions that are not explicitly provided under Executive Order 192 and allow a stricter supervision over HMOs and thus provide more protection to the public.

To further help informal settlers and to mitigate poverty, Go also refiled a measure establishing the “National Housing Development Production and Financing Program,” which seeks to increase housing production to address the needs of poor Filipino families by forging partnerships among housing stakeholders.

The senator also filed the “Barangay Health Workers (BHWs) Compensation and Incentives Bill” that will efficiently determine the number of BHWs needed in every barangay and provide all BHWs with proper compensation and incentives.

In continuing former president Duterte’s fight against illegal drugs, Go also pushed once again the creation of a “Drug Abuse Treatment and Rehabilitation Center” which shall establish accessible drug abuse treatment and rehabilitation centers nationwide in order to sustain the government’s efforts in achieving a drug-free society.

Finally, Go reiterated his commitment to ensure the better delivery of public services to the Filipino people while helping the Marcos administration attain what needs to be achieved in order to guarantee the country’s progress and development.

Also filed by the senator are the bills that seek to establish the Department of Disaster Resilience, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Virology Science and Technology Institute of the Philippines and Mandatory Evacuation Centers in every local government unit.

These are aside from the bills that seek to provide for the annual medical check-up for every Filipino, comprehensive dialysis benefit package for PhilHealth members, advanced nursing education, rental housing subsidy, e-governance, and magna carta for barangays.