Legislative Agenda

An Agenda for the Future,

A Vision for the Nation

We live in a time of grave crisis.

The signs of this crisis are everywhere. The vast majority of our people are mired in grinding
poverty, many of whom are unemployed. Our government institutions are perceived to be inept
and callous to the plight of the people. Our leaders have the unsavory reputation of being corrupt
and self-seeking rather than interested in the common good. Our once vaunted educational
system, one of the region’s best, has deteriorated from neglect and lack of support. Crime is
rampant and committed with impunity by criminal elements. The communist insurgency and the
Muslim separatist rebellion persist despite our efforts to settle differences with them through
peaceful means. Our economy continues to languish in the doldrums, hardly keeping pace with
the dragon economies of Asia.

Worse, we live in a time of despair.

Nineteen percent of our population want to leave the country for greener pastures in other shores,
convinced that they do not have a future in the land of their birth. Our country is deprived of the
services of its best workers and professionals, the cream of our labor force, who are lured by
better opportunities abroad. Families are torn apart by the need of parents to earn a decent living
overseas. Many Filipinos have lost a sense of national pride and would rather be citizens of other
countries. We suffer from a lack of national self-confidence and direction.

It seems that the entire country is falling apart. In the face of seemingly insurmountable
problems, what is to be done?

We can choose to do nothing, continue with our own individual pursuits and leave the task of
governance to our leaders. We can also be passive fencesitters or mere observers who curse the
darkness, blaming everything that goes wrong on our corrupt government and on our own faults
as a people. We can stay uninvolved and hope that by some miracle things will magically reverse
themselves for the better. We can simply accept this to be our fate and choose to endure whatever
disaster visits us next.

Or we can choose to do something about it. We can choose to believe in ourselves as individuals
and as a people and rise up to meet the challenges of our time. We can act to transform the
present situation and work for a better future. We can choose to overcome despair and have faith
in our capacity to take charge of our destiny.

believe that if we put our minds, hearts and our collective strength into this noble task, it can be
done. We only have to look at the lessons of the past to see that the Filipino is made of sterner
stuff, and he has what it takes to move this nation forward.

More importantly, I am convinced that it must be done because we do not deserve the nation that
we have at present. This state of affairs cannot continue. Change is imperative not only for our
sake, but for the sake of our children and those who will come after us. It is my deepest
conviction each Filipino is called to lay the foundations of hope for the generations who shall
inherit our land.

As a Filipino, I envision a progressive, prosperous and peaceful Philippines. As a Senator of the

Republic, I am committed to work and realize this vision.

I am aware that our countrymen are tired of politicians’ empty promises. They have been
betrayed so many times by their so-called leaders that they have turned cynical and hopeless.
And so, I will not promise salvation or utopia. Instead, I shall focus on what can be done. Now is
not the time for empty rhetoric, it is time for results. Allow me then to spell out the concrete
steps that shall form the major thrusts of my legislative agenda:
 Work for accountable and responsive government.

Revitalize the judicial system and promote human rights.

Strengthen the Filipino family. Empower the Filipino youth.

Push for livable communities. Advocate urban renewal and transformation.

Work for accountable and responsive government

A respected American politican once said that all politics is local. I believe that all government is
local. This is because government must not be some faceless, nameless bureaucracy alien from
its constituents. It must be a living, breathing presence in the lives of people. It must be
responsive to the people’s needs and sensitive to their plight. Thus, government must be as near
to the people as possible. This, I believe is the essence of good governance. My experience as
councilor of Quezon City has convinced me that this is the best way government can make a
positive impact on the lives of ordinary citizens. For this reason, I shall commit myself to
strengthening local government units (LGU’s) during my term. To bring government closer to
the people, specially in the provinces, I shall explore the possibility of adopting a federal system
of government. As the basic unit of our government, barangays should be empowered to, among
others, improving the barangay justice system. I shall also push for amendments in the local
government code that shall bring about these objectives.

Revitalize the judicial system and promote human rights

A lawyer is taught that he is a high priest in the temple of justice. Lawyers are officers of the
court, tasked with the solemn duty of aiding the courts in the administration of justice. Sadly, our
courts system is not the last bastion of justice that it was meant to be. It is common knowledge
the wheels of justice grind exceedingly slow, as litigants bewail the tedious proceedings and the
snails pace for resolving court cases. On top of this, our courts have developed the reputation as
being graft-ridden and many of our judges as hoodlums in robes, thus resulting in an erosion of
our people’s confidence in the judiciary. Judges and court employees complain of being
overworked and underpaid.

Aware of these threats, and realizing the paramount importance of the judiciary in our system of
government, I shall push for measures to improve the compensation and working conditions for
all members of the judicial branch. In line with this, I shall work for a greater budget for the
judiciary.

Respect for human rights is a bedrock principle in our Constitution. Our national experience
under martial law has taught us of the painful lessons and dire consequences of suppressing and
trampling upon fundamental human rights. As a lawyer and Senator, I am firmly committed to
strengthening our democracy through vigilance in the protection and promotion of human rights.
In this regard, I shall work toward strengthening the Commission on Human Rights and
promoting human rights education among our police and law enforcers, among other measures.

Strengthen the Filipino family. Empower the Filipino youth.

We Filipinos are family oriented, and with good reason. For it is through our families that we
first taught good values that we carry through life. It is in our homes that we receive guidance,
support, love and protection. I should know. I grew up in a large and close knit family that
thrived on love and caring. It was in our home that my ideals of service were nurtured.

Now that I have a family of my own, I would like my child to be brought up in the same way that
I was reared. This is also my dream for all Filipino children and their families. Therefore, I am
committed to strengthen the family as the basic unit in our society and to work so that it can
retain its role as the place where our children are molded and trained in to be values we Filipinos
cherish.

In line with this thrust, I intend to introduce legislation that shall support and enhance family
welfare. Closely connected with this, I shall introduce measures on a variety of important issues
that have significant impact on the family, such as employment generation, job security, overseas
Filipino workers, responsible parenthood and family planning.

The great Filipino patriot Jose Rizal pointed to the youth as the hope of the fatherland. Ours is a
nation of young people who form the overwhelming majority of the population. As a student
leader, I have worked for affordable, quality and relevant education. I have pushed for student’s
rights and welfare. I intend to pursue these goals as a Senator. Toward this end, I shall advocate
for the improvement of the public school system, upgrade the condition of teachers and provide
equal educational opportunities for all our youth, especially those in the countryside.

Push for livable communities. Advocate urban renewal and transformation.

It is estimated that in the future majority of our population shall be city dwellers. In fact, Metro
Manila alone is home to 10 million of our people. Despite this, Metro Manila and other key cities
suffer from congestion, pollution, traffic jams, severe lack of social services and high crime
rates.

Development, to be truly meaningful, must manifest itself at the grassroots in the form of
vibrant, clean, peaceful and progressive communities. It is my vision to transform our urban
centers into livable and “walkable” communities, which are people are safe and where social
services are accessible.

To realize this, I shall endeavor to reduce travel time from homes to workplaces by rationalizing
urban transport systems. I shall strive to strive to provide quality and affordable housing for the
typical employee through an invigorated housing policy that will mobilize private investors to
close the housing gap. I shall push for legislation to develop “walkable” urban communities
where basic social services are a walk away from home. I shall work to decongest our urban
centers by addressing rural poverty in order to stem the tide of migration into our cities. In line
with this, I shall propose legislation to build rural capacities for sustainable economic progress.
This is my agenda in the Senate. This is what I hope to achieve. I an aware that this agenda is not
a comprehensive solution to the complex issues that confront our nation. I believe this is just the
first step to address the many concerns that confront us. It is merely the start of completing the
historic task of building a nation that we can be proud of.

I do not have any illusions that I can realize this dream alone. I have always believed that the
task of nation building will not be realized by a single leader posing as a messiah, but by the
collective effort of Filipinos, possessed of a single vision, united by a common goal and giving
the best of themselves in this grand undertaking.

I am sure that my dream for our country is shared by all Filipinos, for it is the deepest desire of
our people to have a secure life for themselves and for their children, to see their nation rise up
from the morass of poverty and despair. It is the same dream that animated Rizal and his
colleagues, the same vision that obsessed the great leaders of our land. It is the same dream that
we still pursue today.
Our finest hours have been those times when Filipinos came together to reach for a better future.
Our history is replete with instances when ordinary people came together, putting aside their
differences for the sake of the common good. In our lifetime, we had EDSA 1 and 2, shining
examples of what our united people can accomplish. They are our testimonies to the greatness of
the Filipino spirit.

But this task is far from over. To be sure, we have already won many battles, but the war against
the ills of our society still rages. And so we are called to come together and, like our forefathers,
dedicate our lives to this mission. It is now our generation’s turn to complete the task begun by
our heroes and our forbears: to build a nation we can be proud of.
The times call for the formation of a political organization that shall embody our vision and
ideals. In a country where politics is reviled as dirty and corrupt, it shall become a center for
alternative political leadership and fresh political insights. This leadership shall be grounded on
morality, transparency, and professionalism and the desire to promote for the common good. As
opposed to a politics founded on personality and entertainment, it shall offer concrete and viable
programs of action. It shall draw its members from among the ranks of the finest and most
dedicated sectors of society, the middle class, businessmen, professionals, teachers, government
personnel, students and all those sincerely striving for a better Philippines. It shall be a popular
movement spread out in across the country. It shall be the vehicle that shall realize our vision.

Our country is on the threshold of change. The people are fed up with the way things are at
present. They are crying for change.

We shall make this change happen. This will be our life’s work. This will be our legacy to
history.