Month: December 2021

Citizens’ Battle Against Corruption (CIBAC) Party List Representatives Deputy Speaker Bro. Eddie Villanueva and Domeng Rivera abhor and express disgust over the recent alleged corruption issue in the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) that led to the resignation of some of its officials.

“The recent resignation and crying foul of some PhilHealth officials over widespread corruption in the state health insurer is very abominable now especially during this pandemic that the government is channeling hefty hundreds of billions of funds to this agency. It is very disgusting that unabated corruption in PhilHealth is continuously plundering not only government funds but also its members’ contribution during this state of health emergency. It’s a sin not to take serious actions to address this issue,” says the Deputy Speaker Villanueva.

“CIBAC vows to make sure this issue will not pass unaddressed and unresolved. We will file a resolution calling for congressional investigation over the systemic corruption in PhilHealth. We must let the axe fall to whom it must so that people will not be robbed of the services and funds they deserve,” adds the CIBAC lawmaker.

Reports surfaced on Sunday that some officials of PhilHealth resigned after a heated argument in a zoom meeting where alleged corrupt practices in the agency were revealed. One of those who resigned is identified as Atty. Thorrsson Montes Keith, who is PhilHealth anti-fraud legal officer.

Last year, the agency was put into a corruption scandal over dialysis claims and payments, amounting to millions of pesos, made by dead and/or ghost patients through WellMed Dialysis Center, a PhilHealth-accredited health service provider.

“With the on-ongoing state of health emergency due to our battle against the coronavirus, I am sure the government is inclined to put more funds into this agency for the implementation of the Universal Health Care law. It is a must that the government takes necessary action to clean, if not revamp, PhilHealth to make sure that funds funneled to it will surely be translated to services to the Filipino people,” says CIBAC solon Domeng Rivera.

Citizens’ Battle Against Corruption (CIBAC) Party List Representative and House Deputy Speaker Bro. Eddie Villanueva lambasts the denial of his proposed amendments to insert a provision on House Bill 7575, or the creation of Bulacan economic zone bill, that will expressly prohibit the operation of gambling businesses in the proposed economic zone.

House Bill 7575 seeks to establish a special economic zone and freeport in Bulacan, within the area surrounding the new international airport that will be constructed in the province. It was already approved on 3rd reading at the House of Representatives.

“During the plenary debate, I was scheduled to interpellate the measure but was told not to ask anymore and they will just accommodate our proposed amendments. We introduced amendments that will expressly prohibit the conduct and operation of any form and kind of gambling in the ecozone but were never reflected in the bill. Thus, in effect the bill will still allow gambling and casinos to be established in my home province. To add more insult to the pain, I was not able to explain my dissenting vote during the 3rd reading vote on the bill because it is so hard to connect and access the zoom session of the House,” cries Deputy Speaker Villanueva.

“I am a loyal son of the Great Province of Bulacan who will seek and support any effort that will protect and promote the best interest of the Bulakeño people. We aspired that House Bill 7575 will bring holistic and genuine development for the country and for the Province of Bulacan but it seems it will not. Yes, it might open the country to factors that will improve the statistics and figures of our economy but it will also open our country, especially my Bulacan community, to the damaging effects and moral ills brought about by gambling like reduced familial stability, indebtedness, money laundering, prostitution, proliferation of drugs and crimes, to name a few,” says the CIBAC lawmaker who is the House Deputy Speaker for Good Governance and Moral Uprightness.

“We are greatly disappointed that our proposed amendment was not entertained when the opposition to gambling in this country is so pronounced. The President is opposed to it, even the franchise-recipient of the airport to be constructed in Bulacan is against gambling saying 75% of the clients will be domestic and you will be killing a lot of domestic businesses and will be contributing to break-ups of marriages and families. It is just disconnecting that our Constitution says that we “implore the aid of the Almighty God” in our quest to just and humane society and we pray for His blessings to our efforts towards good life and development yet we pass laws that are in defiance to God’s will and standards” adds Deputy Speaker Villanueva.

“That is why the coalition of religious groups in Bulacan and even in the whole country from various denominations are ready any time to oppose this bill even through public assembly. We will ensure that casinos and other gambling operations will have no place in the envisioned economic zone in Bulacan,” ends Deputy Speaker Villanueva. 

CIBAC Representative and House Deputy Speaker Bro. Eddie Villanueva welcomes the grant of the Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) of 3-day furlough to activist Reina Mae Nasino to attend the wake and burial of her baby River Nasino.

 “This Representation applauds the decision of the court to temporarily release Reina Mae Nasino so she can grieve and bid farewell to her beloved 3-month-old baby who died last week. It is an utter display of humanity and compassion through which we fulfill the very spirit, soul and substance of the Preamble of the Constitution of the Philippines,” says CIBAC Rep. Villanueva who is also the House Deputy Speaker for Good Governance and Moral Uprightness.

Manila RTC Branch 37 granted today mother Nasino’s motion for furlough by which she will be given 3-day release from October 13-15 to attend the burial and wake baby River. Nasino  is a 23-year-old community organizer of a progressive organization who was arrested as a result of the implementation of a string of search warrants issued by the Quezon City Executive Judge. She is now facing charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives. She has claimed that the evidence against her was planted. Her baby, River Emmanuelle was born last July 1 but was separated from her mother last August on Order of the court. River succumbed to a bacterial infection in her lungs last October 9.

“Reina Mae Nasinomaybe deprived of liberty for allegedly violating our laws but she must not be stripped of dignity and the right to be with her child for the last time especially right now during a global pandemic when compassion and empathy must be fully observed not only by law enforcement agencies but of everyone,” ends the CIBAC lawmaker.

CIBAC Representative and House Deputy Speaker Bro. Eddie Villanueva welcomes and lauds the recent decision by the Supreme Court in which it affirms the imprisonment penalty on a man who caused his wife psychological harm and anguish by having an extramarital affair and fathering three children with a mistress. In a landmark decision by the High Tribunal penned by no less than Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta, the Supreme Court 1st Division  found Jaime Araza guilty of violation of Republic Act 9262 or the Anti-Violence Against Women and Children Act and sentenced him to suffer a minimum of 6 months to a maximum of 8 years in prison. Section 5 (i) of the said law states that causing mental or emotional anguish, public ridicule or humiliation to the woman is a form of violence against women and will merit an imprisonment penalty. “This decision of the Supreme Court is not only pro-woman but definitely a big win for the Filipino family. With this decision, we have restored the high premium and regard we Filipinos have in protecting marriages and as well as promoting the interest of the family, which is the very foundation of our society,” says the CIBAC lawmaker. “CIBAC Party-List is a staunch champion of the anti-marital infidelity bill in Congress because we believe in the importance of having a legal framework which criminalizes and penalizes extramarital affairs, which is inimical to the welfare of the family. With this SC decision which implies that infidelity by a husband can already be penalized under the anti-VAWC law, we are seeing ahead of us a great season of restoration of the country’s moral fiber and values system which will enable this nation to be recipient of God’s blessings and favor,” explains the CIBAC lawmaker who is also the House Deputy Speaker for Good Governance and Moral Uprightness. “I hope this serves as a warning to those husbands who are entertaining thoughts of playing with fire and infidelity. With this development, the country’s legal arms are already up to protect marriages and families from the life-shattering consequences of the sin of unfaithfulness,” ends the Deputy Speaker Villanueva. 

The House Committee on Human Rights approved on Wednesday a landmark legislation that seeks to protect and promote the right of Filipinos to live according to their religious beliefs and convictions and be free from any discrimination, harassment and persecution.

House Bill 6538 or the “Philippine Magna Carta of Religious Freedom” bill, authored by CIBAC Party-List Representatives House Deputy Speaker Bro. Eddie Villanueva and Domingo C. Rivera, aims to afford legal protection to Filipinos who will freely pursue the lifestyle that is in accordance with their moral sense of right and wrong, whether such conviction comes from a well-defined religion or not. Under the proposed legislation, it will be prohibited and punishable to compel, force or threaten any person to commit an act that is contrary to his religious conviction thus giving such person the liberty to live in obedience to his Creator without the fear of being maligned, humiliated, harassed, persecuted from the community or even severed from employment or educational institution.

“This bill seeks to be the enabling law that will give flesh and substance to the Constitutional right of every Filipino to freedom of religion guaranteed under Section 5, Article III of the 1987 Constitution which clearly states that the ‘free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference, shall forever be allowed.’ Existing jurisprudence in the country holds that ‘religious freedom is a fundamental right entitled to the highest priority and the amplest protection among human rights, for it involves the relationship of man to his Creator and the only instance that it can be suspended or denied is when there is the existence of a grave and present danger to the public interest. However, absent an implementing law, the right of a person to religious freedom will always be susceptible to violation,” says the CIBAC lawmaker, who is also the House Deputy Speaker for Good Governance and Moral Uprightness.

Under House Bill 6538, the following are among the rights subsumed under religious freedom and thus must be free from any form of burden, curtailment, infringement or encroachment: the right to freely choose a religion or religious group, the right to express religious belief and act in accordance with conscience, the right to propagate religious beliefs, the right to disseminate religious publications, the right to uninterrupted religious ceremonies, the right to be free from discrimination in the community, employment and educational institutions, the right of businesses to conduct its operations according to the religious belief of owners, the right of parents or legal guardian to rear their children, and the right of religious institutions to organizational independence and be entitled to tax exemptions pursuant to the Constitution and applicable tax laws.

“However, lest we be misinterpreted, we recognize that any right has its boundaries. Thus, to strike a balance, this bill also recognizes the limitations on the free exercise of religion. It include any act that threatens public safety, order, health, property and morals; inflicts harm or danger to individuals or groups; or infringes on limitations already prescribed by existing laws such as prohibitions on same sex marriage, and the like,” adds Deputy Speaker Villanueva.

“The bill also aims to promote a free market of religious ideas in our country. It prohibits and penalizes any act of persecution and harassment aimed at preventing a certain religion from propagating its beliefs. By doing so, Filipinos can have the full range of available religious information and knowledge from where they can choose what belief they will subscribe into,” furthers the CIBAC solon.

“In a nutshell, the bill aims to afford legal protection to a person who simply wishes to live in full adherence to his religious convictions. It is our firm belief that when a person is living in a manner that is harmonious with his relationship with the Almighty God, he is the best version of himself and the most able to contribute to the public good,” ends Deputy Speaker Villanueva.

The Freedom of Religion bill will now be set for House plenary debate and voting before it will be transmitted to the Senate for its action.

CIBAC Representative and House Deputy Speaker Bro. Eddie Villanueva condemned the recent shooting of a policeman of unarmed mother and son in Paniqui, Tarlac saying that the incident is a glaring picture of the state where the worsening culture of impunity and injustice in the country have already brought us.

“The brazen and senseless shooting of a mother and son by a policeman in Tarlac must be a sudden prick to our consciousness which might have become accustomed to incidences of killings in the country. It should be a stern warning that justice must be served for every fall of life – particularly if brutal cold-blooded killing. Or else, we make the culture of impunity larger each day that we let injustice get away. The Tarlac incident should be a foreshadowing of what is ahead of us if abuse of power and wanton disregard of the sanctity of life will not be stopped now,” says the CIBAC solon, who is the House Deputy Speaker for Good Governance and Moral Uprightness. The CIBAC solon says that in only barely a month, several brutal killings have already transpired considering the fact that the country is in the midst of a pandemic. The Laguna mayor slain inside the municipal hall, the Manila judge shot dead by a clerk inside a court’s chamber, the killing of a journalist by gunmen in motorcycle in Pangasinan, a lawyer shot dead in Cebu, the daily deaths made pursuit to the war against drugs – just to name a few – have all made it to the headlines indicating a dissipating regard for the value of human life. However, what makes the Tarlac incident more painful is that the perpetrator of the crime is a law enforcer who should be the most trusted person in protecting and  saving lives. “It is necessary that the government must make sure that justice is served in these senseless killings and put an end to the burgeoning state of impunity and injustice in the country. In the face of this erosion of morality if not sanity, mere rhetoric and less-than-what-is-needed actions are only a waste of effort and time. Worse, it only makes perpetrators of crimes more callous and undeterred. As long as there is no fear of God on the part of law enforcers, there can never be good governance for Fear of GOD is the beginning of Wisdom! (Proverbs 9:10),” ends Deputy Speaker Villanueva. 

CIBAC Party-list solons House Deputy Speaker Bro. Eddie Villanueva and Representative Domeng Rivera hailed on Tuesday the approval by the House Committee on Labor and Employment of the substitute bill which aims to protect and promote the interests and welfare of freelancers in the country.

The still unnumbered substitute bill is a consolidation of several measures – including House Bill 3219 filed by CIBAC Party-List lawmakers Deputy Speaker Villanueva and Rep. Rivera – which all seeks to provide the rightful terms for our freelancers that they can rightfully demand from their employers.

“The current rise in technological advancement, coupled with the changing paradigms and standards in employment, causes an upsurge in one sector of the country’s labor force: the freelancers. The approval of this bill is welcome news because it will guarantee the non-negotiable aspects of business transactions between an employer and a freelancer such as the existence of a contract, standard fees, schedule of payments and other benefits a regular job affords. Likewise, the measure provides for penalties and sanctions of hiring parties that will not comply,” says Deputy Speaker Villanueva.

According to a study by the university of the Philippines School of Labor and Industrial Relations (UP-SOLAIR), the Philippines ranks 3rd in terms of online freelancing in the world, only next to the United States and India. Filipino freelancers are currently pegged at 1.5 million and this figure is expected to balloon in the next years, especially with the employment landscape brought by the on-going pandemic.

The approved bill provides, among others, the following statutory terms for freelancers: mandatory execution for written contract detailing the terms of employment, night shift differential, hazard pay, taxation aspect, the enumeration of unlawful practices and the penalty for such violations.

For his part, CIBAC Rep. Domeng Rivera thanked the committee headed by Chairperson Enrico Pineda for acting on and approving the measure with dispatch, saying that it is a timely and badly-needed legislation for freelancers which include project managers, app developer, software or systems engineer, technical writer, quality analyst, digital marketing manager/analyst, web content manager or editor, client services specialist, business analyst, to name a few.

“This measure will bestow dignity and respect due to the millions of our workers in the gig economy who frequently experience being short-changed and abused. This legislation will put an end to unfair and cruel practices jeopardizing our freelancers like grossly late payment or not payment at all for the services rendered or being paid with amount lower than the rate agreed-upon at the start of a project. Our freelancers, who significantly contribute to our economy, will now have remedy to recourse in case of abuses,” ends Rep. Rivera.

The bill will now be brought to plenary debate and approval before it is transmitted to the Senate for its consideration and action.