Legarda demands budget reform: “Let’s uproot a system left to worsen for decades”

Senator Loren Legarda called for major reforms in the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on the proposed budget of the agency. She pointed to years of overpricing and lack of transparency in how infrastructure projects are planned and carried out.

“We are uprooting a system that has been left to worsen, not just in past years, but decades,” Legarda said, acknowledging the challenges faced by the agency while pressing for immediate action. “The […]

Senators eye “across-the-board” 15-30% DPWH price cut

Several Senators supported an “across-the-board cut” of 20 to 30% in the price of projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) during the agency’s Senate budget hearing on Monday, October 20, chaired by Senator Sherwin Gatchalian.

According to DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon, “Iyong pinakaimportante na repormang ginagawa po namin ngayon, itinawag na po ito ni Senator Win Gatchalian, itinawag na din po ito ni Congressman Lean Leviste na kailangan ibaba natin ang cost of materials ng DPWH, kasi […]

Legarda files TESDA Modernization Act to build a future-ready Filipino workforce

Senator Loren Legarda, Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Higher, Technical, and Vocational Education, has filed Senate Bill No. 1413, or the TESDA Modernization Act of 2025, to strengthen and restructure the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), whose charter has remained largely unchanged since its establishment in 1994.

Thirty years after the passage of Republic Act No. 7796, otherwise known as the TESDA Act of 1994, Legarda said the agency must be updated to meet the evolving demands of […]

Legarda reconnects Rizal’s anthropological legacy through digital exhibition at Frankfurt Book Fair

Senator Loren Legarda celebrated the completion of a twelve-year cultural mission by launching a digital exhibition of ethnographic objects that Dr. José Rizal once donated to German scholars. Legarda first saw the collection in 2013 at the Berlin Ethnological Museum. It includes textiles and artifacts like a Bagobo blouse, a Manobo jacket, and a Mandaya abaca baby carrier. Rizal gave these items to Dr. Adolf Bastian while he was in Europe.

“This was Rizal not only as a writer, but as […]

Legarda reclaims Filipino voice at launch of Impressions of an Archipelago in Frankfurt

On October 16, in Frankfurt, Germany, Senator Loren Legarda spoke about the lasting strength of Filipino identity and the value of working together. She made these remarks at the launch of Impressions of an Archipelago: Spanish Travellers and Writings on the Philippines, which took place during the Philippines’ Guest of Honour program at the 77th Frankfurt Book Fair.

Legarda began by recalling the Philippines before colonization, describing it as a nation known for trade, governance, and rich languages.

“Long before the first […]