I was able to sit and talk to the very humble Senator Gringo Honasan last night to get to know more about him. As you all know, he is running for the second highest position of this country in the upcoming Presidential Election under the ticket of VP Jejomar Binay. My recollection of his profile was the famous coup de etat happened when I was a very young kid. He was a good soldier. I think he is one of the few soldiers with nationalism in his heart and mind. Now that I can make an informed decision for myself as a voter, I am glad to have the chance to talk to him.
For starters, Senator Gringo Honasan is a three-time elected senator of the Philippines. He was first elected in 1995 and got reelected in 2001 and in 2007. With so many resolutions and bills passed, what is remarkable on his credentials are the Philippine Clean Air Act of 1989, CARPER Law and the Philippine Disaster Risk Management Act of 2009. His other accomplishments also include a better Fire Code, improving system of the Philippine National Police, across the board increase for public sector employees and penalties for illegal and unlawful possession and manufacture of firearms and explosives.
Currently, he is the chairperson of the Senate Committee on Agrarian Reform, vice chairman of Environment and Natural Resources as well as committee on public order and dangerous drugs.
The discussion was quite lengthy but I liked how he responded to certain issues that I believe needs more clarification from any of the candidates. He actually suggested to do a fast talk so we kind of throw issues one by one. Here are the things on my note last night.
- INCOME TAX – He agreed on lowering income tax rate. I added a follow up question on where to get other source of fund should the bill pushes thru, he said we should loan for the benefit of the current situation.
- RELIEF OPERATION – As one of the minds of NDRRMC, he thinks that it is also important to look at
- HIV/AIDS Awareness – He believes that the Government should also focus on public health policy. He also mentioned the clean air policy which should also be revisited.
- CHINA – He agreed on the government’s initiative to bring the issue to International Tribunal, as they were the one in scope with the Law of the sea. And that we should also revisit the performance of both parties particularly those multilateral and bilateral discussions, ASEAN, VFAs and EDCA should also need to look at
- CORRUPTION – He believes that while it is correct for a decentralization of systems, what needs to reassess is the decentralization of funds. So that areas and regions who deserve their money don’t have to go through one agency and look like thay have to beg for it.
- POPULATION – He is PRO LIFE, but he has no problem moderating the population.
- EMPLOYMENT – He thinks it is important also to define and develop productive capacity. And we should also have an inventory of our natural and human resources in order to make an informed decisions
- ELECTION FRAUD – He believes that electoral protest is not the solution to fraud. Filipino tend to focus on emotions when deciding what is right.
- ACCUSATION on BINAY – He still believes that unless proven guilty, we should not easily jump on conclusions. People nowadays tend to side on trials by publicity. And that we should leave the decision to the court of law.
- CYBERBULLYING – He is one of the believers of Freedom of Information Bill and he will support it as well.
Honasan, as I have witnesses has no star complex, and he believes that we need a serious leadership and governance in the future. He said that this election is not about him, it is about our future, the current generation. With that statement I admire how he looks at the future.
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