Davao City Rep. Nograles wooing Bohol? Eyeing for a Senate seat?

CEBU, Philippines — Bohol political pundits are surmising that Davao City Representative Karlo Alexei Nograles, who had just visited the province recently, will be gunning for a Senate seat in the 2019 elections.

Nograles, who is a recent member of the PDP-Laban, however said he would still wait for the party’s decision, and had met instead a number of Bohol officials and politicians last week.

He graced the 142nd Foundation Day celebration of the town of Antequera where he joined on stage Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco Jr., Governor Edgar Chatto, Vice Governor Venzencio Arcamo, Representatives Rene Relampagos (1st district) and Arthur Yap (3rd dist.) Antequera Mayor Jose Mario Pahang, and the Municipal Council members.

Nograles also met with one of Bohol’s most respected politicians, former Provincial Board member and then Antequera mayor Billy Tiongco.

Nograles, who chairs the House appropriations committee, is now on the final year of his three-term stint at the House, like Yap and Relampagos.

In his speech, Nograles said he was in Antequera to announce that Republic Act 10931 or the Free College Education Law—he authored in Congress and President Rodrigo Duterte enacted in August last year—will already start its full implementation this June for school year 2018-2019.

He said he had to go around the country to inform students and their parents the good news so they could decide to avail themselves of this free education by enrolling in June or in the next school year. Under the Free College Education Law, tuition and miscellaneous fees are free at any state colleges and universities (SUCs) in the Philippines through five years of his or her course.

Nograles said the House appropriations panel, which he led, had set aside P40 billion in the P3.767-trillion national budget to cover for students’ tuition and other school fees, including miscellaneous fees.

Students from the country’s 114 SUCs, 16 local universities and colleges (LUCs) accredited by the Commission on Higher Education, and 122 technical-vocational institutions (TVIs) under the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) will benefit from RA 10931.

Nograles also announced that farmers now are already freed from the burden of irrigation service fees, because of the recently approved Free Irrigation Law, which he said was pushed by Bohol Rep. Yap, who was chair of House economic affairs committee.

It is not only that irrigation fees are now free, but small farmers — those who only have eight hectares and below — will be relieved of their past dues in irrigation service fees incurred during the years when the fees were in effect, Nograles added.