Senator Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Go
MANILA -- Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go on Tuesday filed his first 10 pet bills aimed at achieving “genuine positive change” felt by all Filipinos for the first regular session of the 18th Congress.
Topping Go’s priority legislation is a bill that seeks to institutionalize the establishment of Malasakit Centers in more provinces and strategic urban centers in the country to make quality healthcare more affordable and accessible.
Go noted that Malasakit Centers will be a one-stop shop for medical and financial assistance and a health care processing center for patient assistance to complement the implementation of Universal Healthcare Law.
“Kapag naisabatas po ang pagtataguyod ng Malasakit Center, mas maraming pasyenteng matutulungan lalo na yung mga nasa probinsya at malalayong lugar(If the institutionalization of Malasakit Centers is enacted into law, more patients would receive financial and medical assistance, especially those in the provinces and far-flung areas),” Go said.
Go also filed a bill reinstating the death penalty for certain heinous crimes, involving dangerous drugs and plunder.
The penalty imposed under the proposed law shall be carried out through lethal injection.
The neophyte senator is pushing for the establishment of the Department of Overseas Filipinos that would serve as a one-stop-shop in providing legal assistance for OFWs in distress.
He also filed a Senate resolution to form a committee that will handle legislative concerns related to overseas employment, migrant workers and the welfare and protection of overseas Filipino communities.
“Napapanahon na tutukan ng Senado ang ating mga overseas Filipinos sa kabila ng kanilang sakripisyo para sa kanilang pamilya at sa kanilang kontribusyon sa ating ekonomiya (It is timely for the Senate to focus on the needs of our overseas Filipinos, who have sacrificed a lot for their families and contributed significantly to our economy),” Go said.
Aside from the creation of a new department for OFWs, Go is also batting for the creation of the Department of Disaster Resilience, which shall concentrate on disaster risk reduction, disaster preparedness and response, and recovery and building forward better.
For fire incidents in the country, he filed a Fire Protection Modernization bill, which seeks to modernize the Bureau of Fire Protection by hiring more personnel, acquiring modern fire equipment, and training firefighters, among others.
Meanwhile, Go’s National Housing Development, Production, and Financing Bill seeks to reduce the country’s housing backlog by providing continuous funding support to implement the major components of the National Housing Development, Production, and Financing Program of the Duterte administration.
Other priority bills that Go filed include the increase in the salaries of all government workers, better benefits for solo parents and their children, and the postponement of the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections slated this May 2020 to October of 2022.
“Nais ko matulungan pa ang ating gobyerno na ipagpatuloy ang pagbabago at pagmamalasakit sa tao sa pamamagitan ng pagbibigay ng mabilis, maayos at maaasahang serbisyo para sa bawat Pilipino (I wish to continue efforts made by the government in brining positive change by delivering faster, more efficient and reliable service to all Filipinos),” he said. (PNA)
