Tag: Tito Sotto

Sotto: Reported ouster plot vs Duterte “will not fly”

(Eagle News)–For Senate President Tito Sotto, an ouster plot against President Rodrigo Duterte “will not fly.” “The cat is out of the bag.It does not have wings, therefore won’t fly,” Sotto said. Senator Koko Pimentel for his part urged the public to “trust our democratic processes.” He clarified he has, however, not heard of a plot to oust President Duterte. “In a democracy like ours, political leadership should be determined by the ballot,” he added. […]

Sotto says Duterte has vetoed bill amending survivorship benefits law

(Eagle News)—President Rodrigo Duterte has vetoed a bill that, if passed into law, would have granted survivorship benefits to dependent children of a deceased member of constitutional bodies who was a solo parent. In a radio interview, Senate President Tito Sotto said according to Duterte, passing the bill into law would have disrupted the Salary Standardization Law and other pensions. At present, under Republic Act 10084, survivorship benefits are only granted only to the legitimate […]

Sotto on Andaya’s remark “itemizations” in Congress-ratified budget bill were authorized: Palusot lang iyan

(Eagle News)—–Senate President Tito Sotto described as mere “palusot” House appropriations chair Rolando Andaya’s statement the “itemizations” made by the House of Representatives in the proposed national budget ratified by Congress were “authorized” by   the bicameral conference committee report. In a statement, Sotto said the report’s omnibus motion which Andaya said authorized the technical staff of the House Committee on Appropriations and the Senate Committee on Finance to “effect corrections of typographical, grammatical and printing […]

Senate backs convening of special session for supplemental budget that includes contentious House “itemizations”

(Eagle News)–Senate President Tito Sotto is pushing for a supplemental budget  that will include what the House of Representatives said were its itemizations in order to break the impasse between both houses of Congress. In an interview over CNN Philippines, Sotto said the proposal was made by Senator Panfilo Lacson to San Juan Rep. Ronaldo Zamora. “The suggestion was that, again, get back, recall the submitted [General Appropriations Bill] to us. And from there, we could […]

Sotto, Arroyo to meet with Duterte over proposed national budget issues

(Eagle News)–President Rodrigo Duterte is slated to meet Senate President Tito Sotto and Speaker Gloria Arroyo over issues surrounding the already-ratified national budget. Sotto made the revelation in a radio interview on Tuesday, March 12. According to Sotto, the meeting would take place on Tuesday night. He said he would also ask Senator Panfilo Lacson, Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, finance committee chair Loren Legarda, and the chief of the Legislative Budget Research and Monitoring Office, which […]

Sotto: P79 billion “realigned” in nat’l budget already ratified by Congress

(Eagle News)–Senator Tito Sotto on Saturday, March 9, revealed what he said was a realignment of P79 billion in the national budget even after it was approved by Congress. In a radio interview, Sotto without elaborating, said it was “someone inside who tinkered” with the already-ratified budget. Earlier,  though, Senator Panfilo Lacson already accused the House of Representatives of doing the realignments. House appropriations chair Rolando Andaya Jr. had said they were merely itemizing the […]

Sotto defends proposals to lower minimum age of criminal responsibility

“These are challenging times and we need to offer timely solutions,” he says (Eagle News) — Senate President Tito Sotto has defended proposals to lower the minimum age of criminal responsibility, saying the prevailing juvenile justice law “did not result in bringing down the number of crimes committed by minors, many of which were violent in nature.” He was referring to the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act, which pegs the minimum age of criminal responsibility […]

Duterte says he prefers minimum age of criminal liability pegged at 9; But I’m “comfortable” with 12, he says

(Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday, Jan. 23, said he would have wanted the minimum age of criminal responsibility pegged at nine, but was “comfortable” with it being pegged at 12 nonetheless. According to Duterte, who spoke to reporters in Pasay, if the minimum age of criminal responsibility was pegged at nine years old, the children’s parents would be “conscious of the criminal accountability already.” “Yun ang original law bago pinakiilaman ni (Senator […]

Pulse Asia: Duterte, Sotto, Robredo enjoy majority trust, approval ratings

Distrust the plurality sentiment toward Arroyo, pollster says (Eagle News)—-Filipinos by and large approve of the performance of three high-ranking government officials in the country–President Rodrigo Duterte, Senate President Tito Sotto, and Vice President Leni Robredo–and trust them, results of a recent Pulse Asia survey showed. A whopping 81 percent of Filipinos “express appreciation” for the performance of Duterte, the December 14 to 21 survey  showed, up from the 75 percent he got in September. […]

Sotto lauds his colleagues for Senate’s “prolific year”

(Eagle News)—Senate President Tito Sotto said the Senate has had a “prolific year,” crediting the senators for the body’s  “highly efficient performance.” In a statement, Sotto said  that as of Dec. 13, 2018, 95 bills were passed into law since the start of 2018. He said these include the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), the Philippine Identification System Act, the Filipino Sign Language Act, the National Payment Systems Act, the Personal Property Security Act, and the ‘Kalusugan […]

Sotto expresses hope proposed budget will be signed by Duterte before end of January 2019

(Eagle News)—-Senate President Tito Sotto on Sunday, Dec. 16, expressed hope the 2019 budget would be passed before the end of January next year. In a radio interview,  Sotto said deliberations on the budget allocations of the remaining agencies will resume on Jan. 14, after the monthlong break of Congress. After those, he said the amendments to the proposed budget would be tackled, and then the proposal would be subjected to the bicameral conference. “Hopefully […]

Sotto: Duterte might call for joint session next week

(Eagle News) — Senate President Tito Sotto on Friday, Dec. 7, said President Rodrigo might call for a joint session of Congress for another extension of martial law in Mindanao. According to Sotto, the President sent him a message, “saying he might call for it on Wednesday, December 12.” “But nothing is concrete until I receive his letter,” Sotto said. According to Sotto, the Armed Forces of the Philippines will give senators a briefing on […]