Former Akbayan Rep. Barry Gutierrez released to the public a terminal report on the presenting the legislative performance of his office during his tenure as member of the 16th Congress, including a snapshot of Akbayan Party’s legislative accomplishments through the years of public service.
READ the report below.
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A proposed measure intended to ease homelessness in local government units across the country has gained the support of the Sangguniang Panlungsod of Cotabato City, saying the bill will be “beneficial to [Cotabato City] city and its constituents.”
Giving its nod to the House Bill 6342 principally authored by Akbayan Rep. Barry Gutierrez, the City council approved Resolution No. 5911 “highly commending” the House of Representatives Committee on Housing and Urban Development for the bill’s approval.
“The bill will surely address the land and housing needs of the landless and homeless families in the country,” explained the resolution.
“[It will] facilitate the acquisition of land for housing projects for the poor sector of our society who does not have the means to acquire land and build decent homes,” it added.
The resolution, which was sponsored by Hon. Jonathan S. Cortez, a Council member and chairman of the Cotabato City Council Committee on Housing, Planning & Resettlement and Land Use, also recognized the role of Akbayan in moving the proposed measure forward.
Related article: Cotabato City Council recognizes Akbayan reps role in housing reform bill’s passage
Gutierrez, together with fellow Akbayan Rep. Angelina Katoh and former Akbayan Rep. Walden Bello, were recognized “who, in one way or the other, contributed to the approval of House Bill No. 6342.”
Filed on December 12, 2015, the HB 6342 seeks to empower local governments units (LGUs) to identify and acquire lands as sites for socialized housing for the homeless and poor families. READ MORE: Full text of House Bill 6342
Lands covered by the proposed measure that could be acquired for socialized housing includes:
a) Those owned by the Government or any of its subdivisions, instrumentalities, or agencies, including government-owned or -controlled corporations and their subsidiaries;
b) Alienable lands of the public domain;
c) Unregistered or abandoned and idle lands;
d) Those within the declared Areas for Priority Development, Zonal Improvement Program sites, and Slum Improvement and Resettlement Program sites which have not yet been acquired;
e) Bagong Lipunan Improvement of Sites and Services or BLISS sites which have not yet been acquired; and
f) Privately-owned lands.
The House of Representatives has already approved HB 6342 on third and final reading, and is currently pending at the Senate.###
Roxas campaign spokesperson and Akbayan Rep. Barry Gutierrez hit the camp of Vice President Jejomar “Jojo” Binay for asking a “special exemption” from the rule which caused an hour-long delay in the second Presidential debate held in Cebu City Sunday afternoon.
“Comelec rule, since first debate, is that candidates are not allowed to bring notes on stage. VP Binay wants to be exempted from this rule, gusto nya may kodigong bitbit, and his handlers are talking to TV5 and Comelec,” Gutierrez revealed on Twitter.
The spokesperson was responding to queries about what is causing the delay in the debate which was set to start at 5PM, but has been pushed back at a later time.
Gutierrez also hit Joey Salgado, the spokesperson of VP Binay, for “deliberately” turning the blame on Roxas’ camp about the Comelec rule about the ‘no kodigo allowed’ rule, saying, “[Salgado] is is either misinformed. Or lying. The Comelec rule is clear: NO NOTES. Binay wants an exemption.”
During the 1st Presidential debate held at the Capitol University in Cagayan De Oro City, no Presidential candidate was allowed to bring notes during the debate.
After an hour-long delay, the second Presidential debate finally started at around 6:30 PM.###
The entire amount has been downloaded to individual LGUs mainly as financial assistance for various BUB projects, and rehabilitation/reconstruction projects such as Bohol Earthquake Assistance and Recovery Assistance for Yolanda. Responsibility for liquidation is with now the LGUs. Many projects are still being implemented and have thus not been liquidated. All these funds are fully accounted for and the entire process is completely transparent. Now that we’ve given a full explanation of this issue, will VP Binay now be willing to give an equally clear and straightforward answer on the acts of corruption linked to him as thoroughly discussed in the Senate, Ombudsman, COA, and AMLC reports?###
Daang Matuwid spokesperson and Akbayan Rep. Barry Gutierrez has a “friendly reminder” to Senator Grace Poe following her statement that she will not be retaining several members of the Cabinet of President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III when elected President.
“Friendly reminder lang po kay Senator Poe. Malinaw sa batas—specifically sa Book IV, Chapter 10, Sec. 44 ng Administrative Code of the Philippines na co-terminus ang mga miyembro ng Gabinete sa Presidente na nag-appoint sa kanila,” Gutierrez said.
“Ibig sabihin, hindi na sila kailangang tanggalin dahil siguradong bababa sila mula sa pwesto pagkatapos ng termino ng Presidente. FYI lang po,” Gutierrez concluded.
Senator Poe was at the 2016 Presidential Dialogue with members of the Makati Business Club (MBC) when she made the statement.###
The recent survey released by Social Weather Stations (SWS) on the presidential and vice-presidential race showed a dramatic increase in the numbers of Daang Matuwid Mar Roxas and his running mate, Leni Robredo.
Roxas’ rating went up by four points, garnering 22 percent. Meanwhile, Robredo’s rating climbed to 24 percent, five points higher than what she got in prior surveys.
The Daang Matuwid tandem earned the highest rate of increase in comparison to other aspirants of the said positions.
“Both Mar and Leni ang pinakamalaki ang itinaas dito sa survey na ito. Tingin namin it’s a vindication sa aming matagal nang sinasabi na slow and steady yung aming approach dito sa usapang ito,” stated Liberal Party spokesperson and Akbayan Rep. Barry Gutierrez.
When asked in an interview about what could be causing the duo’s strong and steady increase in the ratings, Gutierrez attributed it to the performance of the Daang Matuwid tandem in the recently concluded presidential and vice-presidential debates, as well as the support they gained by visiting different provinces during the campaign.
“Tingin ko tumatatak na ‘yung totoong character ni Sec. Mar, napapamahal na lalo ang mga kababayan sa kanya, nakikita na ang tunay na pagkatao at iyan ang reflected doon sa dramatic na pagtaas nila ni Cong. Leni sa surveys,” explained Gutierrez.
In terms of the platforms presented by Daang Matuwid during the campaign, Gutierrez explained that Roxas’ emphasis on the generation of jobs for Filipinos create the greatest impact on the increased support of the Filipino people.
As a former Secretary of Trade and Industry, Roxas was one of the people who initiated the call center industry, which gave hundreds of thousands of Filipinos sustainable jobs. Under the continued Daang Matuwid, Roxas promises to spread the call center industry so it can spread to more locales, as well as enhance the manufacturing and agriculture sectors through the Bukid Revolution program. These programs, he promised, will be able to provide over a million more jobs for Filipinos annually.
“Very clear na among all the presidential candidates na siya ang may malinaw na plano, siya ‘yung pinakahanda na maging pangulo, at naaapreciate ‘yun, tingin ko, ng karamihan sa ating mga kababayan,” said Gutierrez.
“Sa tingin ko, marami sa ating mga kapwa Pilipino ang nakita ang kagandahan nitong programang ito at nakita ang credibility ni Sec. Mar sa pagtutulak ng ganitong klaseng inisyatiba.”###
“Clueless Chiz strikes again,” said Daang Matuwid spokesperson Barry Gutierrez following the statement of Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero defending Mayor Rex Gatchalian over the latter’s dismissal by the Office of the Ombudsman.
“Sen. Poe said that she would adopt a one-strike policy on erring government officials. If that is the case, then why is Mayor Rex still there and why is her running mate defending him? Do the two senators talk to each other? Who is really in charge of their campaign?”
Gutierrez posed the series of questions, pointing out the “apparent disconnect between the pronouncements of Sens. Poe and Escudero.”
The Ombudsman has ordered the dismissal of Valenzuela City Mayor Rexlon “Rex” Gatchalian, who is also the spokesperson of the Poe Presidential campaign, for “grave misconduct” and “gross neglect of duty” over the deadly blaze that hit footwear factory Kentex Manufacturing Corporation, killing at least 72 people in May last year.
Following the dismissal order, Escudero made insinuations that the decision against Gatchalian may be politically motivated.
He was quoted as saying, “Hindi naman siguro tama na isa lang at hindi naman siguro nagkataon lang na NPC pa ang biglang binabaan ng ganyang desisyon at spokesperson pa ni Senator Grace samantala ginagawa ‘yan ng lahat ng mayor.”
“Seventy-two (72) people burned to death in Kentex, and the first thing they do is to make excuses. We hope this is not a sample of their government with a heart,” Gutierrez concluded.
Last Friday, Gatchalian was able to acquire a temporary restraining order (TRO) from the Court of Appeals (CA) that prevented the Department of Interior and Local Government from serving the dismissal order, which was approved last month.###
Photo credit: Politiko.com
