Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) senatorial candidate Win Gatchalian today expressed gratitude to the An Waray Party-list for their endorsement as the group recalled the lawmaker’s aid following the typhoon Yolanda’s onslaught.
“I sincerely and humbly accept An Waray Party-list’s solid support for my senatorial bid,” said Gatchalian, who currently serves as a member of the Board of Governors of the Philippine Red Cross.
“Rest assured that if elected into office, I will continue to fight for measures promoting economic growth that will benefit families and communities ravaged by poverty,” added the former three-term mayor of Valenzuela City.
“During the worst disasters to hit our region, Win Gatchalian and the people of Valenzuela City have been some of the first to heed to call to action through competent and compassionate rescue and relief operations,” said An Waray Representative Neil Montejo.
As Valenzuela City congressman, Gatchalian filed a resolution imposing a moratorium on debt payments from public financial institutions for a year in Yolanda-hit areas. “It is only humane and practical to afford these victims to a relief in debt payments to enable them to establish their business/profession/occupation and recover their losses,” he said.
Gatchalian also filed a similar measure seeking to freeze the payment of amortization for local government units.
“While wealthy households have the resources and networks to enable them to recover quickly from disasters, poor households have nothing so they rely on the government to help them recover to avoid being trapped further into poverty. That is why we will continue filing for measures in the Senate with the aim of protecting the poor and building their resilience,” explained Gatchalian.
An Waray also endorsed Gatchalian for his advocacy on education.
“While he has already helped us rebuild from the past, Win Gatchalian’s education advocacy will also help us progress to the future. We believe that Win’s call for free education at all levels will give our less fortunate friends an opportunity to pull themselves out of poverty with meaningful and dignified work,” said Rep. Montejo.
An Waray’s Montejo added: ”Throughout his 15 years of public service, Win Gatchalian has shown a brand of leadership which uses integrity and competence to accomplish concrete results for the people. If elected to the Senate, we are confident that his brand of leadership will translate to progress and development for our people.”
Gatchalian, an exclusive senatorial candidate for the Partido Galing at Puso, is the author of the proposed “Free Higher Education Act.”
If passed into law, Gatchalian’s “Free Higher Education Act” will fully subsidize tuition fee in all state universities and colleges (SUCs) for all current and future enrollees provided they maintain good academic and moral standing. The measure has already been approved at the House committee level.
“There are higher private returns in investing on tertiary education than secondary school education.This shows the singular power of higher education in improving economic outcomes for the neediest segments of our population,” said Gatchalian.
