At a briefing of the Development Budget Coordinating Committee (DBCC) on the proposed 2022 National Expenditure Program (NEP), Senator Win Gatchalian flagged both the education and economic scars that will result from prolonged school closures because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

With a year left in the government’s self-imposed deadline to achieve total electrification of all households in the country, Senator Win Gatchalian said there’s still hope that it can still be realized once the bill which promotes the use of microgrid systems as a means to supply electric power in the rural areas is set in place.

As more than 24.6 million learners resume home-based learning at the opening of SY 2021-2022, Senator Win Gatchalian reiterated the need to uphold the safety and welfare of the country’s teachers, non-teaching staff, and school officials amid the persisting threat of COVID-19.

With a strong backing from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), Senator Win Gatchalian pushed anew the passage of his bill protecting financial consumer welfare amid the increased adoption of digitalization of financial products and services in the country.

Citing the impact of another year of school closures to the country’s learners and to long-term national development, Senator Win Gatchalian pressed the urgency of starting the pilot testing of localized, limited face-to-face classes in low-risk areas.

As COVID-19 infections continue to rise in the country, Senator Win Gatchalian urged the Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to put in place mechanisms that will oversee compliance of testing laboratories on the reduced price cap for real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) or swab tests.

Amid the observance of International Literacy Day today, September 8, Senator Win Gatchalian pressed the need to achieve zero illiteracy nationwide.

With classes set to open amid the spread of the more transmissible Delta variant, Senator Win Gatchalian is pressing the national government to uphold the welfare of teachers, especially those falling ill with COVID-19.

Following the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of drugmaker Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine for inoculating minors aged 12-17, Senator Win Gatchalian pressed the urgency of preparing local government units (LGUs) for the vaccination of the age group.