Kabataan Party-list Rep. Mong Palatino today urged Speaker Prospero Nograles to open the House of Representatives to victims of typhoon Ondoy.
“It is only logical and the most human thing to do during this time of relief and rescue operations. Why is Speaker Nograles resisting calls to open the gates of Batasan when it is closest to typhoon-stricken areas? Is this not the House of the People?” Palatino said.
The sprawling Batasang Pambansa is nearest to Marikina, San Mateo, Rizal, Commonwealth and other areas in Quezon City which were hit hardest by …

Kabataan Party-list Representative Raymond “Mong” Palatino today slammed Presidential Son and lawmaker Mikey Arroyo’s call for a tighter regulation of the social networking site Facebook.
Palatino was referring to Arroyo’s reaction to a Facebook user’s post last Sunday displaying a photo allegedly showing Arroyo buying liquor in a supermaket in Quezon City while tropical storm Ondoy was hitting the Metro.
The youth solon said proposing to regulate Facebook at a time when it is utilized by citizens to aid in rescue and relief operations is “simply ludicrous.”
“Everyday, hundreds if not thousands of …

After Typhoon Ondoy wreaked havoc in state universities and colleges (SUCs) in Metro Manila and nearby provinces, budget for public higher education, especially funds for the construction and rehabilitation of facilities , should be increased, Kabataan Partylist Representative Raymond “Mong” Palatino today said.
The youth solon noted that almost all of the 110 SUCs will not be receiving funds for construction and rehabilitation next year as the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) slashed capital outlay by almost 100 percent.
During the SUCs budget deliberations in Congress, university officials from Marikina Polytechnic …

Kabataan Party-list Rep. Mong Palatino today slammed allies of Pres. Gloria Arroyo in the House Committee on Justice for dismissing the impeachment case filed against Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez.
“First of all, the timing of such a move is suspect. Administration allies obviously railroaded the junking, at such a time when the rest of the country is preoccupied with relief and rescue operations. No delicadeza at napakatuso,” Palatino, co-author of the House resolution endorsing the impeachment complaint, said.
Palatino said that the dismissal ‘virtually exonerates Pres. Arroyo, FG Mike and others involved from …

Here’s an update on the fund drive launched by TxtPower and supported by Kabataan Partylist for Ondoy victims from TXTPower.org:
As of 3:25 pm today, Sept. 29, TXTPower’s fundraising campaign for victims of typhoon Ondoy has gathered a total of P1,217,188.96.
For the past 24 hours, we received the following:
Paypal: P633,497.07
GCash: P1,255.00
SmartMoney: P1,000.00
Where are the donations now? We are waiting for Paypal to transfer them to the Philippine bank account. Once transferred, we will get manager’s checks payable to the Philippine National Red Cross. We have informed the PNRC, thru the office …

Kabataan Party-list Representative Raymond “Mong” Palatino today called on students to make use of their free time by volunteering for relief operations for the victims of Typhoon Ondoy.
Following the Commission on Higher Education’s announcemement that classes are suspended in the National Capital Region until Friday, the youth solon said students could instead allot their class-free days helping in the distribution of relief goods to areas hit hardest by the typhoon.
“Poor communities struck by Ondoy are in dire need of our help. Let us spend the short ‘vacation period’ by dedicating …

Here’s an update on the fund drive launched by TxtPower and supported by Kabataan Partylist for Ondoy victims.
From 3:25 pm of Sept. 27 to 3:25 pm of Sept. 28, TXTPower received the following donations  for victims of tropical storm Ondoy (Ketsana) :
Paypal : P486,328.39 ($10,548.05)
GCash: P200.00
SmartMoney: P156.oo
——————————————-
Total: P486,684.39
Running Total (Sept. 26-28): P581,436.89
As soon as these amounts are credited to the bank account, we will immediately turn them over to the Philippine National Red Cross in the form of manager’s checks. We will make the donation for and in behalf of …

Help Tulong Kabataan reach 20,000 families ASAP. Donate relief goods now. 30 barangays in Metro Manila and nearby provinces badly hit by Ondoy cry for help. You can help them NOW.

Joker’s ‘double-standard’:
Senator hits SC ruling adding party-list reps but oks new district for Dato, solon says
Kabataan Party-list Rep. Mong Palatino today criticized Sen. Joker Arroyo’s apparent ‘double-standard’ in relation to the recent Senate approval of an additional district in Camarines Sur.
“While he vehemently opposed the Supreme Court ruling allotting additional seats in the House of Representatives for party-list representatives, seats for the marginalized sector of society no less, he now appears to have no such qualms in sponsoring another seat for Camarines,” Palatino said.
Arroyo was one of the most vocal …

‘Proposed P170B DepEd budget is Arroyo’s legacy of abandonment’
Kabataan Party-list Representative Raymond “Mong” Palatino today said that the proposed P170.85 billion budget forn the Department of Education allots a poorly P6 for every student.
DepEd’s operating budget actually decreased by 1 percent, Maintenance and Operating Expenses  by 2% and Capital Outlay by 29%. “DepEd itself admitted that the slash in CO budget will affect flagship projects and routine uses of funds like construction of schools, classrooms, etc.,” Palatino said
“This is preposterous, P6 per student is an injustice. It is not even …