Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. wanted to amend the Centenarian Law to benefit not only the 100-year-old Filipino but also the other citizens who reached 80 and 90 years old.

Under Senate Bill 295 Senator Revilla wanted the senior citizens to enjoy the said law because there are only a few people that do not reach 100 years old.

“Recent statistics show, however, that many elderly Filipinos do not reach the
age of 100, hence unable to enjoy the benefits and privileges of such law. With the
the rising cost of living and healthcare expenses, most of our senior citizens find it very
difficult to afford basic necessities and have to forego expensive medications and
procedures,” Revilla said.

According to the bill, elderly Filipinos who reached 80 will be given P25,000 cash. Another P25,000 will be given if they reach the age of 90.

The remaining P50,000 will be given once they reach the age of 100.

Under the current rules of the Centenarian Law, only the elderly who reached 100 will receive a cash gift of P100,000.

Meanwhile, the Department of Budget and Management said that the government needs at least P19.8-B to fund the said law.

“Titingnan ho natin kung ano ang funding requirement  ho niya. Again. titignan  ho natin kung kakayanin ng ating budget,” DBM assistant director Jane Abella said.

Meanwhile, the proposal of Revilla received praise from the netizens, saying that only few elderly can enjoy the said law and even if they’re given P100,000 the seniors who reached 100 years old cannot spend their cash gift anymore because of being old.

Marikina Representative Stella Luz Quimbo, a member of the Liberal Party said that the government should give more law enforcement powers to Vice President Leni Robredo as she already accepted the position given to her by President Rodrigo Duterte.

On a statement, Quimbo said if Malacanang is really serious in their offer to the Vice President, they should give the latter more authority and sufficient resources to perform her job properly.

“Sabi naman po ng Sec. (Salvador) Panelo, ito naman po ay sincere offer. So sa aking palagay ng sincere offer, ibig sabihin siya ay mabibigyan ng sapat na resources at sapat na power para magampanan niya effectivelty ang function na ‘yan,” Quimbo said.

Quimbo pointed out that Robredo could do her job more effectively if she’s going to be allowed to choose colleagues, like appointing the heads of PDEA and Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).

“At sana naman ito, personal na opinion, sana meron din siyang leeway para piliin ang mga kasama niya kanyang team—puwede niyang dalahin ang kanyang mga tauhan halimbawa,” said Quimbo.

“Kung puwede sana, puwede na mapili ang mga heads ng mga importanteng ahensya tulad ng PDEA at DILG why not?,” she added.

On Wednesday, Robredo finally accepted the offer of President Rodrigo Duterte to supervise the law enforcement in the country.

According to Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, the position is equivalent to a cabinet position which is already a powerful government post.

Vice President Leni Robredo said that she would remain a critic of President Rodrigo Duterte despite being appointed by the latter as the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs co-chair.

According to her, she would remain firm on her stance against the style of the current administration when it comes to enforcing the law.

Robredo said that she would try to fix the wrongdoings of the current administration using her position.

Alam ng Pangulo kung ano ang posisyon ko sa drug war: tutol ako sa pagdamay ng mga inosente. Alam niya ang aking mga puna. Alam niya ang mga balak kong ayusin,” said Robredo.

However, Robredo said that she would help the President in the last two and a half years of his term.

Mr President, dalawa’t kalahating taon na lang ang naiiwan sa iyong administrasyon. Hindi pa huli ang lahat. Puwede pa nating pagtulungan ito,” she said.

She also has a message to her critics.

“Hindi laro-laro ang usapang ito. Seryosong usapan ‘pag buhay ang nakataya. Tinatanong nila kung handa ba ako para sa trabahong ito. Ang tanong ko, handa na ba kayo para sa akin?”  Robredo said.

A few days ago, President Rodrigo Duterte offered the Vice President an extra power to lead the law enforcement in the country following the latter’s criticism on the style of the current administration.

Yesterday, the offer became formal and she was appointed as the co-chair of the said agency alongside with PDEA chief Aaron Aquino.

According to Executive Salvador Medialdea, Robredo can now supervise the operations against drugs and crafting policies and programs of the government.

A follower of Pastor Apollo Quiboloy is facing criticisms on social media after he complained about some goods sent by the donors to the victims of Mindanao quake.

Jade Ondong, who’s a fan of Quiboloy, recorded the scenes during the distributing of relief goods sent by Quiboloy.

Ondong praised the Pastor in the video, saying that he’s too generous to give many things to the victims of the quake, while others are only donating items that only good for one day.

“Grabe talaga si Pastor kung magbigay hindi kakaunti lang, talagang malakihan… maramihan, kasi hindi ka naman nagbibigay ng pang ‘one-day’ lang, na konsumo,” Ondong said in Cebuano.

The man also showed something who came from other donors, complaining about how small is the donation they sent in the area.

“Masakit sa dibdib, ganito lang? Ito lang ang kaya? Grabe, okay lang naman… pero pakisuyo naman sana laki-lakihan nyo naman, tignan niyo naman oh? My God… ano lang ba ito? ” Ondong said while showing a small toothbrush and toothpaste,” he said.

“Next time kung magbibigay kayo damihan nyo naman… wag kukunti lang… kasi hindi maganda… kung magbibigay kana lang man din… ano ba to joke? Kung magbibigay ka dapat maramihan… ito ano ba to? Kaya siguro tinapon nalang ito,” he added.

Ondong then praised Quiboloy saying that the Pastor got so much money and even gave snacks to the children.

“Grabe ang pagmamahal ni Pastor… overflowing,” he said.

The netizen received criticisms on social media especially from the people of Mindanao who using social media.

Some reports claimed that Ondong already apologized via a video message.

An Overseas Filipino Worker who works in different countries kept his promise to the Duterte administration and now returned to the Philippines to lend his expertise in building the Metro Manila Subway.

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) announced that Deo Miranda, the man who offered his service to his own country five months ago is now working with the government in building the Manila subway and LRT-2.

Deo embarked on his first day as Engineer IV for the LRT-2 East and LRT-2 West Project Teams on Monday.

According to DOTr, the former OFW is a graduate of the Technological Institute of the Philippines, Deo began his overseas journey in 2006, serving multiple companies as an engineer in Saudi Arabia. He transferred to Denmark in 2015, where he served as M&E Construction Coordinator and M&E Lead Commissioning Engineer for the Copenhagen Metro Team I/S, assigned under the Copenhagen Cityringen Metro Project.

Deo said that he returned to the Philippines because he wanted to help President Rodrigo Duterte to achieve his dreams and to build a state-of-the-art mass transport system in the Philippines.

“We are here to support our current administration who has the vision and commitment to achieve the comfortable mass transport for Filipinos,” Deo said.

Meanwhile, Secretary Tugade was touched by the decision of Deo to leave his high salary job abroad to serve his own country.

“Para sa akin, bayani ang mga OFWs. Bayani sila dahil sila ay nagsasakripisyo at nakikipagsapalaran sa ibang bansa para maiahon ang kani-kanilang pamilya sa hirap. Ngunit talaga ring nakakaantig ng puso kung ang isang OFW, kahit sobrang laki ng kinikita sa ibang bansa, magdedesisyong bumalik at tumulong sa bayan at magsabing: Pilipinas naman,” Secretary Tugade said.

Five months ago, blogger Mark Lopez made an open letter to Tugade, offering the service of Deo and other OFWs abroad in building the Manila subway.

“Panahon na siguro Sir na bigyang buhay natin ang isang makabuluhang NATIONAL BAYANIHAN movement na kung saan i welcome back natin with open arms ang ating mga bagong bayani,” Lopez said.

“Bring them home for Build Build Build,” he added.

A netizen explained why it seems that President Rodrigo Duterte is not asking other countries for donations for the victims of the Mindanao quake.

In a lengthy Facebook post, blogger “The Political Labandera” believes that President Duterte wanted the Filipinos not to rely on other nations.

The blog said that the country is already “self-sufficient” when dealing with the aftermath of the Mindanao quake.

He pointed out the post about the traffic along North Cotabato because of people from other provinces personally wanted to help the victims of the quake.

“AYAW ni PRRD. Ang GUSTO nung Matanda, kung kaya natin na tayo-tayo lang mga Filipino ang magtutulungan sa ganitong mga pagkakataon – sakuna o kung ano pamang mga pangyayari, MAS MAINAM!” he said.

“We, as a nation, need to learn to make do with what we have. And help those in need with what we can wholeheartedly give them. WALANG PILI! WALANG POLITIKA!” he added.

He also believes that President Duterte wanted to remove the “mendicant mentality” of the Filipinos during the times of hardship.

“PRRD wants to bring BAYANIHAN back into our cultural consciousness. And the Old Man is on the right track,” he said.

“We don’t need to beg for help from other countries when we can rely on our own countrymen for aid during times of desperation and distress,” he added.

A few days ago, thousands of volunteers sent their help to the victims of the quake and some of them even personally went to the most affected areas to be part of the recovery efforts.

Angel Locsin, Gerald Anderson, Robin Padilla, and other celebrities also went to Mindanao to help.

Yoly Villanueva-Ong released a statement apologizing to the Mindanaoans over her tweet a few days ago, saying that the quake happened in Mindanao because the earth already wanted to consume the supporters of President Rodrigo Duterte.

In her statement, Ong said that she’s apologizing to the Mindanaoans after she allowed her “politics to cloud” her “better judgment”.

However, she said that despite of deleting the tweet, people are still swarming her social media accounts and criticizing her.

Ong thinks that the criticisms against her are “well-funded” and “orchestrated” to ruin her reputation.

“The objectionable tweet was deleted. But the bashing continues. The speed, intensity, and magnitude of malice lead me to surmise that this is an orchestrated, well-funded and highly incendiary campaign to destroy my reputation simply because I am identified with the opposition,” she said.

She denied that she’s connected with the Office of the Vice President of Liberal Party of the Philippines.

Ong said that helping candidates is part of his “personal advocacy” and admitted that she never held any government position.

A few days ago, Ong made a controversial tweet against the supporters of President Duterte who experienced the quake in Mindanao.

“Hindi pa ba NYO Ma-gets? Gusto na kayong lamunin ng lupa. Magdasal na kayo at humingi ng patawad,” Ong said.

She deleted the tweet and decided to send aid to the victims of the quake.

This is not the first time that Ong faced controversy.

In 2010, the Department of Tourism (DOT) received criticisms over the “Pilipinas kay Ganda” brand.

The netizens noticed the “Pilipinas kay Ganda” font and colors very similar to Poland’s tourism campaign.

Ong who owns the advertising agency Campaigns and Grey handled the “Pilipinas Kay Ganda” tourism brand.

“We only did the logo and theme line as I had to leave for a business trip,” Ong said in a text message to ABS-CBN in 2010.

Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) asked Vice President Leni Robredo to stop soliciting donations from others to help the victims of the Mindanao quake.

According to PACC Spokesman and Commissioner Manuelito Luna, Robredo is making confusion, and the Vice President might face legal and ethical complications.

Luna explained that agencies of the government, like the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Local Government Units (LGUs), non-government organizations, and the Philippine Red Cross are already doing relief operations in the affected areas in Mindanao.

He added that Robredo doesn’t need to ask the others for donations because the Office of the Vice President (OVP) has already a sufficient budget that they could use to help the affected people in Mindanao.

Luna said that if Robredo insisted soliciting, they might ask the Commission on Audit (COA) and the Office of the Ombudsman to investigate the OVP.

A few days ago, Robredo asked her followers on social media to send their relief goods for the Mindanao quake victims to OVP.

They’re asking for drinking water, beddings, hygiene kits, ready to eat food, toys for children.

OVP refused to accept any cash, however, people may give monetary donations through Angat Buhay partner “Kaya Natin! Movement for Good Governance and Ethical Leadership”.