
TWO bills filed by incumbent Dinagat Islands Representative Rep. Alan 1 B. Ecleo passed the third reading in the Senate yesterday, setting them up for immediate enactment upon signing by the President.
“We are grateful and proud that as our term comes to a close, not one but two of our initiatives are set to become laws,” said Rep. Ecleo. “The enactment of these laws is our legacy: a legacy of service beyond words; a legacy of promises realized.”
Originally filed as House Bill (HB) No. 321 in the House of Representatives, Senate Bill (SB) 10405 seeking the creation of the Dinagat Islands State College and SB 2999 the State of Imminent Disaster Bill were both read before the Senate Plenary Session, setting them up for enactment as the 19th Congress draws to a close.
“The creation of the Dinagat Islands State College is the realization of our promise to the Dinagatnon youth, especially poor students graduating from our 33 Secondary Schools,” added Ecleo. “They will no longer have to incur additional costs and live far away from their families just to get a college diploma.”
According to Ecleo, the State College will help not just poor families, but energize the whole Dinagatnon economy by providing competent and technically-equipped members of the workforce, especially in the fields of fisheries, agriculture, environmental science, mining engineering, marine engineering, hospitality management, and food technology.
Meanwhile, the State of Imminent Disaster Bill will enable the President or local chief executives to quickly order and pursue actions and allocate funds even before natural and climate-related disasters devastate the population.
“Along with the Ligtas Pinoy Centers Act, which we also authored and was enacted last December, this is the realization of our promise to the victims and survivors of Typhoon Odette to make sure that the lessons we learned from disasters will become law,” said Ecleo.
The passage of these Bills puts the number of passed Bills under Ecleo at six, making Ecleo the Representative with the most passed Bills in the history of Dinagat Islands.