GRACE POE
17th Congress
(Member, 01 February 2018 - 30 June 2019)
17th Congress
(Member, 01 February 2018 - 30 June 2019)
MAY
30
2018
Seconding speech for BERNADETTE FATIMA ROMULO-PUYAT for the confirmation of her ad interim appointment as Secretary, Department of Tourism
Plenary Session No. 16, Second Regular Session
Thank you, Mr. President.
I'd like to thank the Majority Leader. I know there are many of us who will also deliver a co-sponsorship speech and I know that the Majority Leader has a very soft spot for our candidate today.
Anyway, Tourism is a major earner, adding nine percent in the GDP or about 1.3 billion pesos and employing 5.3 million Filipinos, and there's tremendous room for expansion.
So much is at stake that the DOT Secretary post is not a back bench position but a frontline portfolio. This is probably why one of the toughest jobs in the Cabinet position was given to the nominee for she is a veteran having served three presidents over the past 20 years.
If she appears to be immune from political chaos, there can only be a very good reason for it - competence. Her diverse work experience in public service from serving in the boards of government offices of various mandates to teaching at the UP School of Economics makes her the holistic solution for the multifaceted needs of the Department of Tourism. But she is not just a well grounded bureaucrat. She is well grounded too. Her long years in the DA proves this of her not being merely a powerpoint official but one who immerses herself among the poor and works with the sectors to bring change.
Mr. President, Berna Romulo-Puyat is currently the lone woman in the President's cabinet -- oh, I'm sorry, one of two -- I stand corrected, Mr. President, one of only three women in the President's cabinet, a much needed and reassuring development. She is not a token woman there. She is an advocate. I see her as a top performer because of her grit and, yes, her gender.
I've known her since high school and I know she lives also by the motto of our school because “we love to serve.”
Mr. President, it is my honor to endorse the confirmation of the appointment of our youthful and my beautiful friend as Secretary of Tourism, Berna Romulo-Puyat.
Thank you.
NOV
28
2018
Seconding speech for TEODORO LOPEZ LOCSIN JR. for the confirmation of his ad interim appointment as Secretary, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA)
Plenary Session No. 5, Third Regular Session
Teddy Locsin Jr. is not just a good choice. He is the right choice.
His appointment gives us assurance that the country’s top diplomat will now be held by one of the most brilliant legal and political minds of his generation.
Full disclosure, normally, I wouldn’t admit to being a relative of someone, especially in the record as to the lackluster. But in this particular case, I am supporting his nomination and voting for him not just because we are distantly related, once removed from my Mom, as I know that he would not allow our country to be in bullying. I think he has in him the spirit to fight for what is right, for what is just, just as what I’ve been inculcated while growing up.
I am confident that he will ensure that our sovereignty is respected while still being open to collaboration with other nations, the same way he engages his thousands of followers on Twitter, so young and old alike are his fans.
I congratulate him and I’ll wait to see more great things from this appointment. Humanda silang lahat.
Maraming Salamat po.
JAN
30
2019
Seconding speech for the consent of the appointments of the following in the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA):
LEAH BASINANG-RUIZ as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Poland, with concurrent jurisdiction over the Republic of Ukraine, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Latvia, and the Republic of Lithuania
ALEX GARCIA CHUA as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Kenya with concurrent jurisdiction over the Republic of Burundi, Union of the Comoros, Republic of the Congo, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Rwanda, Republic of Seychelles, Federal Republic of Somalia, United Republic of Tanzania, Republic of Uganda, and Republic of South Sudan, And as Permanent Representative to the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT)
MA. THERESA B. DIZON-DE VEGA as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Federal Republic of Germany
RAUL SALAVARIA HERNANDEZ as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Turkey with concurrent jurisdiction over Georgia and the Republic of Azerbaijan
LEO M. HERRERA-LIM as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Kingdom of Denmark
JESUS SANTOS DOMINGO as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to New Zealand, with concurrent jurisdiction over the Republic of Fiji, the Kingdom of Tonga, and the Independent State of Samoa to include Cook Islands
and
Seconding speech for HENRY S. BENSURTO, JR. for the confirmation of his ad interim appointment as Chief of Mission, Class I
Plenary Session No. 6, Third Regular Session
Mr. Chair, I’d like to, first of all, manifest that I am glad that the representatives now of Foreign Affairs are all career representatives. They’ve been in the service for many years but I’d also like to share the experience with one of them in particular.
When I was an official visitor in Los Angeles at the time of the anniversary of Jose Rizal, our Ambassador Leo Herrera-Lim was the one who hosted us and I could see his rapport with the Filipino community there and how he is able to interact with them and how he is able to deliver the services that is required of a consul from a foreign country. And so, I would just like to make a note of that for his appointment today. And also, Mr. Raul Hernandez in particular, I remember him as a very calm spokesperson of the Department of Foreign Affairs. It’s no wonder then that he was a parish priest in the past. It’s quite a revelation but now we can see wide.
So with that, again, congratulations to our candidates here today who have been approved already, I supposed, they greatly deserve it as career servants in our Department of Foreign Affairs.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
FEB
06
2019
Seconding speech for AILEEN LOURDES ABELLA LIZADA for the confirmation of her ad interim appointment as Commissioner, Civil Service Commission (CSC)
for a term expiring on 02 February 2025, vice Robert S. Martinez
Plenary Session No. 7, Third Regular Session
Mr. President, it is rare to come across someone with as much conviction even amidst great oppositions, as our appointee today. Perhaps it is her long experience, as mentioned by Senator Villar, 12 years to be exact, as a Graft Investigator and Prosecutor in Ombudsman, Mindanao, which trained the appointee to have the strength of character needed to tackle head-on to the issues that will be thrown on her way. The appointee never shied away from being the lone dissenting opinion, no matter how unpopular, for as long as it is for the greater good, and I have personally witnessed this in the countless hearings I've had with the LTFRB. Or perhaps, it is her equally long experience doing various chores at a very young age, we've heard, like washing baking pans, selling breads and waiting on tables in taking orders in their family business, which taught the appointee the dignity of hard work. The appointee's stint in the LTFRB has shown us as a Board Member who can roll up her sleeves and get to work even without the applause. She wasn’t scared to speak-out even against those that were with her in the LTFRB to uphold the greater good, as I've mentioned.
The endorsement by CBCP President and Davao Archbishop Romulo Valles for the appointee to succeed former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales, another feisty and smart woman, speaks volumes. There is no better testament to her impartiality and knowledge of issues than being likened to a paragon of excellence and integrity. But perhaps, the most favorable endorsement of all comes from the testimonies of the people she served. The stakeholders she engaged with during her time in the LTFRB all attest to her dedication to the job and willingness to listen to all sides, from the bus drivers, the jeepney drivers, the passengers to the advocate groups.
This is the kind of appointee we need not just in the CSC but in every agency. We need someone who, at the core of it, will work and listen on top of having a sharp mind and a compassionate heart. We need someone who knows what she brings to the table and she's not afraid to sit alone at the far end of the room. We need game changers like her, Mr. President. It is a loss for the LTFRB not to have her there anymore but certainly a gain for the CSC.
It is for all these reasons, Mr. President, aside from the fact that she went to Assumption, that I endorse the confirmation of the appointment of Aileen Lourdes Lizada as CSC Commissioner.
Thank you.