Alagang Angara

Senator Sonny Angara has called on the government to make sure that all those involved in the “ghost” dialysis scandal hounding the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) will not go unpunished.

“We need some punitive measures—we need to punish those who are guilty—as well as preventive measures para hindi na maulit,” Angara said in an interview with CNN Philippines’ The Source.

Senator Sonny Angara assured that tobacco farmers will continue to benefit from the incremental revenues from higher excise tax to be imposed on tobacco products starting next year.

Angara said the new tobacco excise tax bill approved by the Senate and the House of Representatives provides that up to 20 percent of the incremental revenues from the additional duties will go directly to 23 tobacco producing provinces to finance programs that will provide support for tobacco farmers and workers.

Senator Sonny Angara said the government will be in a better position to fill the massive funding gap for the universal health care (UHC) program with the passage of the bill increasing the excise tax on tobacco products.

“With the approval by both the Senate and the House of Representatives of the bill seeking higher tobacco excise taxes, we have come one step closer to giving the government more elbow room to plug the funding gap for the UHC program that aims to provide all Filipinos with affordable and quality health care,” Angara said.

Tribute

EDGARDO J. ANGARA
(24 September 1934–13 May 2018)
Statesman, Educator, and Institution Builder

Ma. Cynthia Rose Banzon Bautista

Sponsored by Senator Sonny Angara, Chair of the Senate Committee on Local Government. 

Sorted according to date. 

Senator Sonny Angara on Monday endorsed to the Senate plenary a bill increasing the excise tax on tobacco products in a bid to reduce smoking prevalence among Filipinos and raise crucial funding for the government’s Universal Health Care (UHC) program.

This developed as the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, which Angara chairs, adopted a committee report on the consolidated measure that will raise the excise tax for every cigarette pack from P35 to P60 for the next four years.

I am honored that the Filipino people have allowed me to serve another term as Senator.

Reelectionist Senator Sonny Angara renewed his call for the full implementation of a law requiring all schools nationwide to teach the history of Filipino Muslims and indigenous peoples (IPs), saying a study of Philippine history and culture would be incomplete without their mention.

Amid rising population of Filipino senior citizens and scarcity of specialists to treat them, reelectionist Senator Sonny Angara is urging medical students to pursue geriatric medicine, a specialty that focuses on the health care of elderly people.

The number of Filipinos at or over age 60 almost doubled to 8 million from 4.6 million between 2000 and 2018, according to government data. But despite this staggering number, there are only over a hundred doctors who specialize in treating senior citizens.

With the construction of the first railway in Mindanao finally happening this year, reelectionist Senator Sonny Angara reiterated his proposal to create the state-owned Mindanao Railways Corp. that would oversee the efficient operation and maintenance of the future train system in the country’s second largest island.

Angara said the proposed “MindaRail” would serve as an instrumentality of the government in providing a railway system that would potentially bring peace, economic development and poverty reduction in Mindanao.