MIRIAM WANTS NUTRITIONAL CONTENT INCLUDED IN FOOD MENUS

Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago proposed a law that would require fast food chains, restaurants, and other food service establishments to post the nutritional content of their menu items in their stores.

“At present, consumers are unable to make informed choices as to which menu item is more nutritious as opposed to others in food service establishments, leading to unhealthy eating patterns,” Santiago said.

Senate Bill No. 2682, also known as Nutritional Content in Menu Boards Act, aims to increase awareness of the consumers when eating out.

Santiago said that putting calorie and nutrient information on menu and menu boards fulfills the Constitutional mandate for the state to protect and promote the right to health of the people and instill health consciousness among them.

“Nutrient content information provided at the time of food selection in food service establishments would enable consumers to make more informed, healthier choices and can reasonably be expected to reduce the many related health problems uninformed choices make,” she said.

Santiago’s bill requires menu boards and menus in food service establishment to conspicuously contain the caloric and nutrient content in each serving size or other unit of measurement of the food such as total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, sugars, dietary fiber, total protein, and any vitamin or mineral.

The proposed law also mandates the Department of Health to issue compliance certificate, renewable every three years, to food service establishments.

MIRIAM SAYS MOSCOW CASH MAY BE FROM COPS’ “PATRONS”, WANTS NAPOLCOM REORG

Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago said that the cash caught by Moscow customs officials from retired Philippine National Police (PNP) Director Eliseo de la Paz last Saturday may have come from “police patrons.”

“The source of the money should be clarified—if it is public money, then the question is, who authorized it. If it is private money, where did it come from?” she said.

Santiago, vice-chair of the Senate Committee on Finance, wants the Senate to investigate why De la Paz was carrying an excessive amount of money for a PNP-sanctioned foreign trip.

“He could have deposited it to the PNP’s account, if there was any, and only carry the amount needed to pay for airport fees and other expenses on their way back to the Philippines,” Santiago said.

The senator also called for the reorganization of the National Police Commission (Napolcom) through Senate Bill No. 2269. She wants Napolcom to have more control over the PNP on top of its administrative and supervisory functions.

“It has to be given more teeth rather than just be a paper tiger,” Santiago said.

Under Santiago’s proposed law, the Napolcom will take full charge of PNP’s operations relating to public safety. It will also have direct influence over matters the as such the PNP’s budget, and the standards of appointment, performance and activities of police personnel.

MIRIAM: JAIL FOR BILLBOARD OWNERS, USERS

Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago said that billboard owners and users should be prosecuted and jailed for the physical injuries to five people and property damage caused by illegal billboards that collapsed last Monday along Edsa.

Santiago was principal sponsor of the Anti-Billboard Bill passed by the Senate but ignored by the House of Representatives, reportedly because of the influence of a moneyed billboard lobby.

Under the Rules, since the bill failed to pass the 13th Congress, it must be refiled and pass both chambers all over again in the present 14th Congress.

“This recent man-made calamity could have been avoided if the House had passed my bill. But there was a conspiracy to let it die a natural death,” Santiago said.

Santiago bitterly attacked an alleged billboard lobby for launching a media blitz against her bill, and working with certain representatives so that no action would be taken in the lower House.

“These illegal billboards have killed innocent people over several years. Under the police power of the state, they could even be banned outright. Corporate greed is driving these billboards, because the law is too liberal. Radical problems need radical solutions,” Santiago said.

Santiago said that at first, the billboard groups cooperated with her billboard subcommittee, but when she refused to water-down her original bill, they turned against her.

The senator said that media is afraid to take up the anti-billboard advocacy, because even its own advertisers are using the billboards.

“Advertising is acceptable, provided it takes a form that does not endanger lives and property,” she said.

She said that under existing laws, any person involved in the construction and use of illegal billboards can be sent to jail and ordered to pay damages to the victims who have suffered injuries.

MIRIAM WANTS BETTER NURSING TEACHERS

After the ratification of the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (Jpepa) was concurred by Congress, Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago proposed more government programs to improve the quality of nurses the country produces.

Santiago's Senate Bill No. 2555, or the Nurse Faculty Higher Education Act, aims to provide scholarships to qualified Filipino nurses who plan to advanced degrees and be part of the nursing faculty.

The bill also seeks to provide grants to accredited nursing schools and hospitals or health facilities for the development of educational programs such as clinical simulation laboratories and distance learning technologies. Grants to hospitals, health facilities and schools will also be used for salaries and paid leaves for qualified nurses enrolled in graduate nurses programs.

By improving the instructors in nursing schools, Santiago's bill also aims to address the steady decline of nursing board passers in the last five years. Of the 64,459 nursing graduates who took their licensure exams last June, only 27,765 or 43.07 percent passed, which is lower than that last December's 43.45 percent.

"Due to the increase in enrollment, our nursing education system is hard pressed to catch up with the demand. The current faculty shortage will be greatly compounded in the next few years by the retirement or migration of many of the current nurse faculty," Santiago said.

Santiago said that the Filipino nurses has much to gain from the Jpepa because of Japan's ageing population, and that this is a big opportunity since this would be the first time that Japan allows the deployment of Filipino health-related professionals in their labor market.

END PRACTICE OF POLITICAL RECOMMENDATIONS - MIRIAM

Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago, an award-winning graft buster, filed a bill to put a stop to the practice of political recommendations by public officials in appointing persons to government posts.

“This practice perpetuates the “padrino system”, which allows the appointment of unqualified individuals to government positions over those who are already qualified on their merits,” Santiago said.

Santiago says Senate Bill No. 2616, or the Anti-Political Recommendation Act, aims to strengthen the country’s bureaucracy by granting the appointing agencies their rightful discretion over their employee management and making sure that such decisions are made without political influence.

Under that bill any public officer or employee is prohibited from making recommendations for the appointment, promotion, assignment, transfer or designation of any person to a government position, and also punishes those who requests or solicits political recommendations. Exempted from the proposed law are requests for performance evaluations and requirements for government employment

Those proven guilty of the offense will be fined and imprisoned for not less than a year. They will also be subject of removal or dismissal from public office even without criminal prosecution.

MIRIAM: NAME SOLONS IN SECRET BUDGET INSERTS

Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago, vice-chair of the Senate finance committee, said that if congressional insertions are made on the floor in plenary session, they are regular; but if they are made at the secret bicameral meetings, they are irregular and their authors should come forward and identify themselves.

She said that apparently, Senate President Manny Villar initiated the congressional insertion during the period of amendment on the floor in plenary session, which renders it regular.

Santiago issued the dare to other solons during the public hearing yesterday on the budget process, particularly on the alleged double entry for the C-5 extension project.

The exasperated Santiago issued the call for solons to identify themselves voluntarily, after budget secretary Rolando Andaya, Jr. refused to release the names of the legislators who made the congressional insertions, during the bicameral meetings.

Andaya also failed to give Santiago his estimate of the total congressional initiatives, after admitting that in the public works budget alone, the initiatives totaled P17.5 billion.

On Santiago ’s question, public works secretary Hermogenes Ebdane said that the total budget cost of the controversial Garcia Ave. Extension from SLEX to Sucat road, including right of way, is P 4.49 billion.

During the hearing, Santiago and Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, chair of the Senate finance committee, disagreed on the respective roles of the President and the Congress in jointly exercising the “power of the purse.”

Enrile said that the President’s budget is merely a working draft, and is not binding on Congress.

Santiago said that since the President’s budget is the result of the collective expertise of the budget department, finance department, and the NEDA, it should be respected and, as much as possible, should be left intact.

“Massive congressional insertions embedded in the 2008 budget during the secret bicam meetings changed beyond recognition the priorities observed by the executive branch,” she said.

The feisty senator said that she respectfully dissented from Enrile’s view, “at the risk of being smacked by my elder and better.” The two senators were seated side by side, but were amicable.

Santiago said budget amendments made on the floor are regular, but if made in the secret bicam meetings, they are “devious and suspicious.”

Santiago said that this week she will file her bill called Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act of 2008, with certain features which she strongly advocated during the hearing.

“Congressmen who propose an earmark should be identified,” she said.

Santiago said all bicameral conference committee reports should include a list of all earmarks in the budget.

“To observe the constitutional duty of transparency, the bicameral conference committee report on the budget, including the list of earmarks, should be made available to the Senate and to the general public on the internet for at least 24 hours before its consideration in plenary session,” she said.

Santiago said that every earmark proposal should be accompanied by an explanation of its essential government purpose.

“I am also considering adopting the American law and filing a Funding Accountability and Transparency Act,” she said.

Santiago said that her second bill will require the DBP to create a searchable data base of all government-appropriated funds and their recipients.

In her opening statement at the hearing, Santiago told the TV audience that what we in the Philippines call “congressional insertions” are in the U.S. called “earmarks.”

“Even in the U.S. , the executive and legislative branches cannot agree on the definition of ‘earmarks,’ which we call congressional insertions,” she said.

Santiago said that on the one hand, the U.S. executive branch, through the Office of Management and Budget, defines earmarks as “funds provided by the Congress for projects where the congressional direction circumvents executive branch merit-based or competitive allocation processes, or specifies the location or recipient, or otherwise curtails the ability of the executive branch to manage critical aspects of the fund’s allocation process.”

Santiago said that on the other hand, the U.S. legislative branch, through the Congressional Research Service, defines an earmark as a provision that specifies certain congressional spending priorities and may appear either in the text of the budget or the report of the bicameral conference committee on the budget.

“The issue of congressional insertions is paramount. Thus, earmarks figured in the first round of the U.S. presidential debate between McCain and Obama, and earmarks are being raised as an issue against vice-presidentiable Sarah Palin,” she said.

MIRIAM PUSHES FOR PHILIPPINE STANDARD TIME

It’s about time.

Aiming to synchronize the functions government agencies through a single time reference, Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago filed Senate Bill No. 2535, also known as the One Time Philippines Act.

“Discrepancies in time between government agencies have led to unnecessary friction brought about by the disparate interpretation of schedules and their observance,” Santiago said.

Under the proposed law, all government offices, government-owned corporations and local governments are compelled to observe and maintain their schedules according to a Philippine Standard Time (PST). The bill also encourages the private sector to follow suit.

“A definite time reference would remove inefficiencies brought about by different interpretations of time, particularly among government offices,” Santiago said.

The bill mandates the Philippine Atmospherical Geophysical Services Administration (PAG-ASA) to establish the PST. Presidential Decree No. 78 has designated PAG-ASA as the official time service agency of the country.

Santiago recently secured new Senate rules to punish absent or late senators, and to prevent them from delaying the passage of bills. The Senate also approved her motion for sessions to start promptly at 3:00 p.m.

MIRIAM BATS FOR REGIONAL LABOR COURTS

Just before Labor Day, Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago filed Senate Bill No. 2207 to abolish the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) and instead create regional Courts of Labor Relations

“With courts in every region, the workers are assured of their constitutional right to speedy disposition of their complaints, and the employers will be spared long and costly litigation,” she said.

As of June of last year, the NLRC had a backlog of 7,736 cases—5,000 more than the preceding year.

The senator points out that the delay is due to a number of reasons. The first reason for delay is that of the 155 incumbent labor arbiters, 53 are assigned as “reviewers” in the Office of the Commissioners.

This leaves half of the labor arbiters to hear and resolve the average 31,000 cases filed per year in the arbitration branches.

Santiago said another cause for the delay in the disposition of labor cases was the Supreme Court decision in St. Martin Funeral Home v. NLRC where the Court allowed the Court of Appeals to review the decisions of the NLRC, adding another appellate body to review the decisions of the labor arbiters.

“In effect, the gestation period of labor cases was drastically increased, raising the frustration of both the workers and employers,” the senator said.

Santiago said that the slow disposition of labor disputes in the country produces a negative and crippling effect on our economy.

“One of the causes for the reluctance of foreign investors to come here is Philippine labor unrest. It is one of the causes for the pullout of businesses which relocated to other Asian countries,” she said.

To shorten the period of labor dispute resolution while complying with the Supreme Court’s ruling in the St. Martin case, Santiago proposes the establishment of regional Courts of Labor Relations, whose decisions and final orders will be directly appealable to the Court of Appeals. Under S.B. No. 2207, labor arbiters will be appointed judges of the Regional Court of Labor Relations, performing their functions under the disciplinary supervision of the Supreme Court.

The bill also aims to remove the exemption of labor cases from the Alternative Dispute Resolution Law, further shortening the resolution of labor disputes.

“Justice delayed is justice denied. This bill seeks to effectuate the constitutional right to a speedy trial, specially for our labor sector,” Santiago said.

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News Release

10 August 2007

MIRIAM WANTS DEP’T. STORES, SUPERMARKETS, DRUGSTORES NATIONWIDE TO IMPLEMENT PLASTIC BAG RECYCLING PROGRAM

Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago today urged retail stores all over the country to implement a massive plastic bag recycling program.

Santiago’s bill, Senate Bill No. 1443 or the “Plastic Bag Recycling Act,” was filed today.

According to the senator, the amount of plastic bags dumped as garbage every year has become a global environmental problem.

“Every year, four to five trillion plastic bags are used worldwide, with billions of bags ending ups as litter,” she said. “Almost all these bags are non-biodegradable. Non-biodegradable plastic bags take from 500 to 1,000 years to disintegrate.”

“These plastic bags contaminate soil and waterways, and enter the food web when animals accidentally ingest them,” Santiago said. “The plastic bags that end up in the ocean have been documented to harm at least 267 marine species. They are especially lethal to sea turtles.”

“During the rainy seasons, these plastic bags clog drainage systems, causing floods,” Santiago explained.

Santiago’s bill mandates stores which have gross sales of over P100,000 each month to establish an “in-store” recycling program for the plastic bags they provide consumers.

“The bill will cover department stores, boutiques, supermarkets, big groceries, and drugstores, all of which provide consumers with plastic bags to store or transport goods at the point of sale,” Santiago said.

The bill requires that the plastic bags provided by stores to their customers be emblazoned with the following words: “Please return to a participating store for recycling.”

Stores will be required to place a plastic bag collection bin in their premises. The bin must be visible, easily accessible to consumers, and clearly marked that it is available for the purpose of collecting and recycling plastic bags.

Further, stores are mandated to recycle all the plastic bags they collect. They are also required to keep records describing how they collect, transport, and recycle the plastic bags. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the local government concerned are empowered to examine these records to determine compliance by the stores.

The bill proposes stiff penalties to stores that violate its provisions. A fine of P100,000 for the first violation, P200,000 for the second violation, and P300,000 for the third and subsequent violations shall be imposed on retail stores that do not comply with the Act.

“The stores can sell reusable bags to their consumers to replace single-use plastic bags or paper bags,” the senator said. “After all, the purpose of my bill is to encourage the use of reusable bags and to significantly reduce, if not totally eliminate, the consumption of single-use plastic bags.”

“Plastic bags have only been around for 50 years. In the United States, department stores started using plastic bags only in the late 1970s and grocery chains in the early 1980s,” she said. “The harm they have caused the environment in these 50 years has been incalculable,”

“I call on environmental groups to support my bill. Lobby your favorite senator or congressperson to pass this bill into law,” Santiago said.

“Retail stores, especially the big department stores, will be demonstrating corporate responsibility by supporting my bill,” she said.

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Press Release

3 July 2007

MIRIAM, MANNY, SERGE: SENATE’S TOP 3 WORKERS

The Senate Bills and Index Service said that the highest number of bills and resolutions in the outgoing Thirteenth Congress was filed by Senators Miriam Defensor Santiago, Manny Villar, and Sergio Osmeña.

A bill is the first draft of a proposed law, while a resolution is a call for an inquiry in aid of legislation, also known as congressional investigation.

Senate records show that the top three hardest working senators filed the following bills and resolutions: Santiago – 658, Villar – 592, and Osmeña – 391.

The highest number of bills was filed by the following: Santiago – 513, Villar – 508, and Osmeña – 353.

However, the highest number of resolutions was filed by a different set of senators, also led by Santiago – 145, and include Francis Pangilinan – 108, and Jamby Madrigal – 94.

“The statistics are significant in evaluating Senate performance. But the most important factor is not quantifiable – the quality of the senator’s participation in the Senate debates. This can only be revealed by an assiduous tracking of the daily debates in the Senate Journal,” Santiago said.

Santiago said that significant statistics include not only the number of bills and resolutions filed, but also the number of bills sponsored during Senate debates, during which the senator who is chair of the committee sponsoring the bill answers queries from his colleagues.

“Contrary to the pompous pronouncements of some analysts, the senator’s voting record is not necessarily a measure of integrity, unlike in the United States, where the senators vote along party and ideological lines. Here, senators tend to vote according to the line that is popular at the time, or that will advance their personal interest, or the interest of a lobby group,” Santiago said.

But Santiago said that the number of bills and resolutions filed indicates that “at least the senator is doing his basic homework.”

The rest of the senators, in the order of the bills and resolutions filed, are: Senators Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada – 338, Luisa Ejercito Estrada – 256, Edgardo Angara – 226, Kiko Pangilinan – 192, Ramon Magsaysay Jr. – 188, Aquilino Pimentel Jr. – 184, Ralph Recto – 168, Juan Flavier – 164, Mar Roxas – 160, Richard Gordon – 151, Jamby Madrigal – 143, Rodolfo Biazon – 139, Ramon Revilla Jr. – 130, Franklin Drilon – 127, Pia Cayetano – 121, Alfredo Lim – 113, Panfilo Lacson – 105, Manuel Lapid – 105, Juan Ponce Enrile – 102, and Joker Arroyo – 55.

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