DETENTION DOES NOT DETER

Trillanes Files 285 Bills

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV last week said that being in detention is not a deterrent in performing his functions as a member of Congress. He was able to file 285 bills and 21 resolutions in only his second year in office.

"Being in detention is basically not a hindrance to my work as a legislator. I can still push for my advocacies through the filing of bills and, more importantly, be a voice of defiance against a regime that is reputed as the most corrupt in our nation’s history," said Trillanes, who remains incarcerated at the Camp Crame Custodial Center, Quezon City.

Of the bills filed by the senator, six (6) have been passed into law, based on a published report.

Trillanes is principal author of the Archipelagic Baselines Law, which original version included Scarborough Shoal within the baselines. He is also co-author of the Salary Standardization Law, both enacted this year. He previously co-authored the Cheaper Medicines Act of 2007.

His total of 285 bills filed ranks sixth among 23 senators, according to the Senate Bills and Index Division.

Trillanes’s bills cover several advocacies such as poverty alleviation, national defense and security, affordable and accessible health care and education, and envi-ronmental protection.

With poverty alleviation as a priority due to the current economic crisis, Trillanes has filed bills for the P125 across-the-board salary increase for private sector employees and the repeal of the EVAT Law.

He also pushed for governance reforms such as the modernization of the agriculture and fisheries sectors; the cap on public sector debt; and the creation of the Mindanao Development Authority. /MP