Legarda: Benham Rise Research Funded Since 2016

Senator Loren Legarda today said that, as Chair of the Senate Committee on Finance, she has allocated funds for the Philippine Rise (Benham Rise) expedition as early as 2016 and every year thereafter.

Legarda, who also chairs the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, said that in 2016, she allocated Php500 Million in the budget of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Biodiversity Management Bureau’s (DENR-BMB) Coastal and Marine Ecosystems Management Program (CMEMP) to fund research and biodiversity assessment nationwide. Php47 Million of the Php500 Million was allocated for Philippine Rise, for equipment, for assessment and for its management framework.

Legarda Hails Enactment of Free Irrigation Law

Senator Loren Legarda today hailed the President’s signing into law of the Free Irrigation Service Act (Republic Act No. 10969), which will benefit small farmers.

Legarda, co-author of the measure, said that the law ensures that small farmers with landholdings of eight hectares and below will continue to be exempted from paying irrigation service fees (ISF) for water derived from irrigation systems under the National Irrigation Administration (NIA).

Legarda Seeks Senate Concurrence in Cybercrime Convention, Agreement Establishing AMRO, and Double Taxation Avoidance Treaties

Senator Loren Legarda, Chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, today sponsored five resolutions seeking the Senate’s concurrence in the ratification of five treaties.

Legarda sponsored Senate Resolution No. (SRN) 613, Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) Between the Philippines and Mexico; SRN 614, Agreement Establishing the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) as an International Organization; SRN 615, DTAA Between the Philippines and Thailand; SRN 616, Budapest Convention on Cybercrime; and SRN 617, DTAA Between the Philippines and Sri Lanka.

Rasa Island in 10th Episode of Protected Areas Series

Senator Loren Legarda invites everyone to watch the 10th episode of the documentary series Our Fragile Earth: Protected Areas of the Philippines, featuring the Rasa Island Wildlife Sanctuary, onSaturday, February 10, 7:45 a.m., on ANC, the ABS-CBN News Channel.

Dayaw Season Ender Features Panay Indigenous Heritage

Senator Loren Legarda enjoins the public to watch the last episode of Dayaw Season 4 – Vessels of Culture, showcasing communities in Panay that have preserved their cultural traditions amid modernity.

Episode 6 titled, “Rediscovering Traditions,” features the Iraynon-Bukidnon from Antique and how they have preserved their heritage such as their rice terraces and agriculture system; and the last binukot of Calinog, Rosita Caballero, who was last interviewed by Dayaw before she passed on in 2017.