Kabataan Partylist Representative Raymond “Mong” Palatino today filed House Resolution 1421 directing the House committee on Human Rights to investigate the surveillance operations conducted by military men on the home of national artist and Arroyo critic Bienvenido Lumbera.
“We want a separate investigation into the matter in order to ensure transparency. We do not trust that the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ (AFP) own investigation will yield truthful and reliable results, especially since high ranking officials may be behind this human rights violation,” Palatino said.
“The House should also immediately probe the …

As the national government continues to cut down spending on the country’s 110 state universities and colleges (SUCs), students carry the burden of the steep cost of higher education, Kabataan Party-list Representative Raymond “Mong” Palatino said.
In the proposed national budget for 2010, allocation for SUCs will be slashed by 13 percent or a whopping P3.2 billion, thus forcing SUCs to generate income mostly from students.
Based on the 2010 National Expenditure Program, bulk of SUCs’ projected income of P10.2 billion will be sourced from tuition fees (P4.59 Billion) and other income …

(Presented by TXTPower president Anthony Ian Cruz before the House Ways and Means Committee hearing on Sept. 22, 2009 at Rm. 9 and 10, Ramon V. Mitra Hall, House of Representatives)
Thank you to the distinguished Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee for extending an invitation for us to attend this hearing. Allow us to note the similar circumstances when this same panel reportedly voted to approve the new tax last Sept. 8. The said meeting was held immediately after a long weekend and did not provide the public, …

Kabataan Party-list Rep. Mong Palatino today commended the Commission on Elections for passing resolutions allowing employees to “go on official time when filing applications for voters’ registration.”
Comelec recently passed Resolutions 8668 and 8669, requesting the Civil Service Commission for government employees and the Department of Labor and Employment for private employees, respectively, to issue ‘appropriate orders, guidelines and/or circulars urging their employees to file their applications for voters’ registration’.
Palatino regards these resolutions as a positive development to House Resolution 1336 which he authored asking for the implementation of a ‘one-day …

A RESOLUTION DIRECTING THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RIGHTS TO CONDUCT AN INVESTIGATION, IN AID OF LEGISLATION, ON THE ABDUCTION OF NORIEL RODRIGUEZ, A MEMBER OF THE YOUTH ORGANIZATION ANAKBAYAN-NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION, IN SITIO STA. ISABEL, BARANGAY TAPEL, GONZAGA, CAGAYAN ALLEGEDLY BY MEMBERS OF THE 17TH INFANTRY BRIGADE OF THE ARMED FORCES OF THE PHILIPPINES IN THE PROVINCE OF CAGAYAN
Download full text of Resolution

Kabataan Party-list Rep. Mong Palatino today challenged presidential aspirants to take a stand against the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), as the nation commemorates the anniversary of the Philippine Senate’s rejection of a 10-year bases treaty with the United States.
Sept. 16, 1991 marks in history the Philippine Senate’s resounding “no” vote to a proposal that would have allowed the US military bases to stay in the Philippines for another 10 years. Now, under the VFA, US troops are once again being given free reign to operate in Philippine soil.
Palatino challenged administration …

Kabataan Party-list Representative Raymond “Mong” Palatino today lambasted the Department of Education’s move to reduce the number of class hours in some public elementary schools, saying that the smaller learning load will only worsen the already sorry state of education in the country.
“Last we checked, students are punished if they cut classes. This time, the DepEd itself  is driving students out of their classrooms. The DepEd deserves ‘detention time’ and should be reprimanded for  this proposal,”  Palatino said.
The young solon said “While it is true that students are squatting …

September 14, 2009
Hon. Prospero Nograles
House Speaker
House of Representatives
Dear Sir:
We would like to express our firm opposition to the consolidated bill of Ilocos Sur Rep. Eric Singson HB 6625 and Rep. Danilo Suarez HR 282 seeking to impose a 5-centavo tax for every text message.
This measure will be a burden to the Filipino consumers already experiencing a difficult time due to rising costs and diminishing income.
We believe that despite provisions that the “text tax’” should not add to the burdens of the tax paying public, these do not guarantee that consumers …

We are against the text tax as it would burden the country’s 56 million cellphone users, majority of which are students and young workers heavily dependent on texting and other mobile services.

Kabataan Party-list Representative Raymond “Mong” Palatino today filed House Bill 6799, which seeks to penalize colleges and universities imposing a ‘no permit, no exam’ policy and other regulations prohibiting students from taking their periodic or final examinations due to unpaid tuition and other fees.
“The [no-permit, no exam policy] effectively bars unpaid students from graduating or obtaining an academic degree, regardless of how hard they have worked for it or how much they academically deserve it. Students with delinquent fees have the right to take an examination. ” Palatino said in …