Legarda pushes urgent defense reforms: DND transformation, AFP modernization, and veterans’ services in focus

Senator Loren Legarda, the first woman to chair the Senate Committee on National Defense and Security, Peace, Unification, and Reconciliation, convened a hearing on February 24 to drive urgent reforms in the country’s defense institutions.

“Times are changing, and our defense institutions must be able to keep pace. The threats we face today are no longer confined to land and sea, but now include cyber intrusions, disinformation operations, and other ‘gray zone’ tactics that test our cohesion and national resolve,” Legarda […]

Legarda flags government lapses that weakened protection of municipal waters, seeks stronger safeguards for small fisherfolk

Senator Loren Legarda underscored the urgency of protecting municipal waters and small fisherfolk during the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food and Agrarian Reform hearing on February 18, citing the Mercidar Fishing Corp. case as a turning point that weakened safeguards for millions of fisherfolk.

She stressed that the government’s lapses in timely response led to a Supreme Court ruling that struck down provisions reserving municipal waters for small-scale fisherfolk, not on the merits of the Fisheries Code but due to procedural […]

Strengthening heritage protection: Legarda moves to amend the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009 by granting tax reliefs

Senator Loren Legarda has introduced a bill aimed at enhancing heritage protection by granting incentive mechanisms to privately owned heritage buildings and ancestral houses.

Senate Bill No. 1852, or the “Strengthening the Conservation and Protection of Philippine Cultural Heritage Through Heritage Incentives,” aims to amend the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009 by extending tax relief and credit benefits to private owners of cultural and heritage buildings to address the high cost of conservation, restoration, and maintenance, which are key factors […]

Legarda files bill to end treasure hunting, protect national cultural heritage from commercial exploitation

Senator Loren Legarda has filed Senate Bill No. 1860 to repeal Presidential Decree No. 1726-A, the Martial Law-era decree that set government guidelines for treasure hunting in the Philippines, and to delete the treasure hunting permit provision embedded in the Republic Act No. 10066, or the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009.

The bill aims to protect the country’s archaeological sites and cultural heritage from commercial exploitation and to align Philippine legislation with international best practices in heritage conservation.

“Our cultural heritage […]