Press Release
November 5, 2007

KIKO: SENATE TO PRIORITIZE BILLS ON ENVIRONMENT,
HEALTH, JUSTICE AND EDUCATION AS SESSION RESUMES

Amid a lightning rally staged by the environment group Greenpeace earlier today outside the Senate to call for the urgent passage of SB NO.1698 or the Environmental Awareness and Education Act of 2007, Senate Majority Leader and Independent senator Kiko Pangilinan today stressed the Upper Chamber's resolve to pass the landmark environmental measure, among other relevant legislation in the area of justice, health and education as session for the 14 th Congress resumes.

"The Senate is ready to hit the ground running and ratify eight priority bills on third reading, among them the Environmental Awareness and Education Act of 2007 which aims to promote environmental awareness through the declaration of Environment Day every June 5 annually and the prescription of environmental education to elementary and high school students, to be carried out by an Office of Environmental Education," Kiko said.

Also up for discussion on the floor are bills for judiciary reform such as Senate Joint Res. No. 4, directing the presentation of crime suspects to the media, SB 1647 which provides Good Conduct Time Allowances (GCTA) to detention prisoners and those serving sentence of final judgment, and SB 1697 which calls for stiffer penalties for theft and robbery of mobile phones, health bills such as the Cheaper Medicines Act and the Breastfeeding and other pressing measures such as the Kasambahay Act and the Magna Carta for Small and Medium Enterprises.

"We recognize the urgency to pass these bills to address the pressing concerns of our citizens. While the Senate is unyielding in its pursuit of truth behind controversies through the conduct of hearings in aid of legislation, we do not lose sight of our foremost duty to deliver relevant legislation to our people," Kiko ended.

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