Tag: emergency powers

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Lacson: Senate Giving Priority to President’s Emergency Powers Request Amid Middle East Tensions

The Senate is giving “utmost priority” to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s request for emergency powers to reduce excise tax on petroleum products amid the crisis in the Middle East, Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson said Monday.

Lacson said only those who do not want to help ordinary Filipinos cope with the effects of the Middle East conflict – including the rising prices of oil – would not grant such an emergency power.

“Only those who do not want to help alleviate the suffering of ordinary Filipinos brought about by the uncontrolled increase in the prices of oil in the aftermath of the raging Iran war would refuse to grant such emergency power,” he said.

“In fact, the Senate is giving utmost priority to tackle the measure toward this end,” he added.

In Filipino: Lacson: Senado, Bibigyang Prayoridad ang Hiling ng Pangulo para sa Emergency Powers sa Gitna ng Tensiyon sa Middle East

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More than Emergency Powers, Strong Political Will Needed to Disinfect PhilHealth

More than “emergency powers” to reorganize PhilHealth, what the President needs is real, honest-to-goodness, strong political will first.

Since PhilHealth is a creation of a law passed by Congress, the President has no statutory power to reorganize the agency, so he actually needs an act of Congress to delegate to him such power or authority.

And if the President’s intention is to cleanse PhilHealth of scalawags and misfits, he may not need that delegated authority anymore as he has the Philippine National Police, National Bureau of Investigation, Department of Justice and other instrumentalities of government at his disposal.

That said, there is no time to lose to exercise such political will: No matter how good our country’s economic managers are, if our health department is below the level of incompetence in the middle of this pandemic, we will all sink before we can even start to swim.

For a start, he can fire its ex-officio chairman and replace him with someone even with little above-average leadership traits, competence, honesty and integrity – and who won’t wash his hands but takes full responsibility for what PhilHealth does or fails to do.

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