In the most recent online program Sara All for You, incumbent Davao City Mayor and Vice-Presidential bet Sara Duterte Carpio took the time to discuss the possible future with Senatorial Aspirant, actor, philanthropist Robin Padilla.
At the beginning of the program, Robin Padilla mentioned his desire to run for the Senate was the experience of working with the Duterte Administration which in Padilla’s own words, inspired him and brought out his desire to do more, to be of service to the country, to continue the good works the administration has begun, this time as a Senator of the country.
Continuity of the Reform Agenda and Stability and Security of Workers.
He pointed out that the social justice agenda is one that is closest and dearest to his heart. Padilla mentioned that he wishes to pursue and make real the “endo” law that was part of the platforms pursued and pushed by the Duterte Administration that sadly was not passed into law. He further declared the need to make just the wages received by Filipinos most especially healthcare workers and teachers receive because according to him, what use is there for the schools and hospitals we build if there are no teachers and healthcare professionals available because we lose them all to more attractive offers abroad.
Another dimension of the aspiring Senator’s platform he discussed was his desire to author a law that would establish a grassroots community justice system that pushes for transparency, that may even be televised or viewed online, most especially if cases involve government and public servants.
Worker and Food Security Through Cooperatives and Agriculture.
Moving to another aspect of the discussion, Padilla told Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio that he aims to push for the strengthening of the cooperative system and to encourage a closer working relationship with government and non-government institutions to benefit most especially the urban working poor. He further mentioned that though the provision of “ayuda” or help to those in need by the government is still part of its responsibility, having a strong cooperative system will help alleviate people’s dependence on dole outs when faced with unfavorable situations.
Duterte – Carpio agreed with Padilla’s statement as she said that the responsibility of the government is to provide opportunities, opportunities for people to have work and for business to thrive.
Padilla cited that being an agricultural country with rich natural resources, he cannot understand our need to import rice, and most recently fish from abroad. He believes that this is an insult to us as Filipinos. The actor-philanthropist believes that government must put systems in place to ensure that our agricultural workers must be given adequate support by the government to be more competitive and to increase yields which in the end will be instrumental in ensuring food security for the long term.
He also mentioned about the need to protect Filipino products, most especially those produced by MSMEs (Micro, Small, and Medium Scale Enterprises) that can be further protected by the strengthening of cooperatives as well as carefully guarding the implementation of the Retail Trade Liberalization Act to ensure protection for our local businesses.
In addition, Padilla pushed to revisit the pending Foreign Investment Act which he believes will be beneficial for our local businesses but again with scrutiny by the government to guarantee the welfare of our local businesses.
