Senator Risa Hontiveros (File photo)
MANILA – Senator Risa Hontiveros on Wednesday described 2022 as the year with major victories in the Senate for champions of good governance, citing the key legislations that help women and children as well as the advancement of workers.
This year, Hontiveros said the country experienced high prices of basic commodities, unemployment and economic crisis brought by the pandemic, but this did not hamper her desire to ensure that the workers, women and children will be taken care of.
During the 19th Congress, Hontiveros has made a number of remarkable interventions in Senate committee hearings including demanding accountability from government personnel implicated in the sugar importation fiasco.
“Kung hindi natin tutukan ang mga isyung ito, magiging precedent ito, pwedeng maulit, hindi man sa parehong isyu (If we did not focus on this issue, this will be repeated). It also allowed us to see whether or not those in power were indeed qualified for their positions,” Hontiveros said in a statement.
The senator disclosed in a Senate hearing, a new modus for facilitating outbound trafficking of Filipinos into Myanmar, which is carried out by individuals with purported ties to airport terminal officials.
The revelation facilitated the repatriation of 12 overseas Filipino workers who had been deceived into accepting a legal job, but were instead forced to become “cryptocurrency scammers” and were exposed to forms of archaic abuse.
Hontiveros is ecstatic that the Senate has given top priority to legislation that would significantly improve the lives of women and children, including the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act (RA 11862) in relation to the incidents of illegal trafficking of Filipinos in Myanmar.
The senator also introduced priority legislation to provide additional protection to workers who are frequently sidelined, including the Protektadong Online Workers, Entrepreneurs, Riders At Raketera (POWERR) Bill (SB 1373), the Anti-Endo and Contracting Bill (SB 145), the Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers (SB 586), the Public Sector Labor Relations Bill (SB 587), the Bibong BHW Bill (SB 580) and the Maternity Benefit for Women in the Informal Economy Bill (SB 148). (PNA)
