Bam Aquino deserves credit for the Free College Tuition Law

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Bam Aquino hasn’t even been proclaimed as a Senator after garnering the 2nd most number of votes in the recent 2025 elections, the Duterte online propaganda machine has already made him a target.

In a scripted post that quickly spread on Facebook, Duterte partisans argue that credit for the free college tuition law or Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act (RA 10931) should go to the incarcerated former President, as he was the one who signed it into law during his term.

While that little piece of history cannot be denied, it’s important to bear in mind the following:

First, if Senators and members of the House of Representatives would stop doing their job, which is to legislate or craft new laws, then the President would have nothing to sign into law. It was Bam Aquino in the Senate and Sarah Elago when she was Kabataan partylist’s representative in the Lower House who led the legislative work that went into RA 10931.

Second, it would be helpful to recall Sec. 27, Art. VI of the 1987 Constitution.

It’s the President’s duty to sign into law bills passed by Congress. If he doesn’t agree with an enrolled bill, he can veto it and return it to the chamber from which it originated, along with his explanation for the veto.

The President can even refuse to actually sign an enrolled bill and just let it sit on his desk, pretending it’s not even there,e and it would automatically lapse into law after thirty days.

The Constitution gives Congress the power and duty to legislate with little participation from the President. This implies that in our democratic setup, collaboration between the Legislature and the Executive is required.

To say that credit should only be given to the incarcerated Duterte for the Free College Tuition law shows that one does not understand our legislative process or if they are deliberately ignoring it, means they have malicious intent in doing so.

For genuine change: My 12 Senate Election Picks

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For genuine change, progressive policies, concrete solutions to the problems we are all facing, and a rejection of traditional politics, political dynasties, and personality cults. If the survey polls continue to trend the way they are, the majority, if not all, of them would lose, an outcome that I have already anticipated.

Nonetheless, there would be no regrets as I didn’t settle for the ‘lesser evil’ nor did I choose a side from the Marcos-Duterte camp that are just the current dominant factions from the same class of rotten, corrupt, murderous, and plundering politicians. This list is a rejection and defiance of the status quo; it might not be the popular choice, it may show that I’m part of the minority, but it is a reminder to everyone that there are alternatives and that there can be real change, only if we want it.

#13 Arlene Brosas

  • Educator and child rights activist
  • Represented GABRIELA Women’s Party-list in the 17th and 18th Congress. She co-authored the anti-ENDO bill, which would end the practice of labor contractualization.
  • She filed amendments to the Solo Parents Welfare Act, the Anti-Rape Law, and Electronic Violence Against Women and Children

#6 Ronnel Arambulo

  • Fisherman, environmentalist, and activist
  • He has been part of grassroots campaigns to help Filipino fisherfolk amplify their issues, especially land reclamation that damages the livelihood of fisherfolk.
  • It’s time for fishermen to have genuine representation in the Senate to address issues such as the reclamation of Manila Bay, destruction of marine habitats, oil spills, mitigating natural disasters, and asserting Filipino fishermen’s right to livelihood in the West Philippine Sea.

#16 Teddy Casiño

  • Writer, journalist, and veteran activist. His main advocacy is the lowering of prices of electricity, oil, and water, as well as the regulation of the cost of education, healthcare, mobile communications, toll fees, and other basic utilities and services.
  • He served as representative of Bayan Muna Party-list during the 15th Congress and is one of the principal authors of the laws that benefited the poor and marginalized:
    • The Public Attorneys Act of 2007 (R.A. 9406), which strengthened the Public Attorneys Office and expanded its free legal services to poor litigants
    • The Tax Relief Act of 2009 (R.A. 9504), which exempts minimum wage earners from withholding taxes
    • The Rent Control Act of 2009 (R.A. 9653), which put a cap on rent for low-income earners
    • The Anti-Torture Act of 2009 (R.A. 9745), which penalizes torture

#25 Luke Espiritu

Labor leader and lawyer, he is genuinely a new voice and perspective that is sorely needed in the Senate. His economic views call for a more active government in supporting MSMEs and wage increases for workers. He has a progressive social legislative agenda: legalization of divorce, same-sex marriage, and reproductive rights, including access to abortion.

#54 Danilo Ramos

A peasant activist from Central Luzon, he is a survivor of the 1987 Mendiola Massacre. He has been one of the leaders of the farmers’ movements, struggling for genuine agrarian reform, food self-sufficiency, and strengthening local food production. It’s time for a genuine farmer to become part of the Senate.

#17 France Castro

  • Educator and trade union activist
  • Together with other representatives from MAKABAYAN, they authored the New Agrarian Emancipation Act (RA No. 11953) that writes off P57 billion of debt of agrarian reform beneficiaries from the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program.
  • She is pushing to raise a national family living wage of P1,200 and P50,000 basic salary for teachers in both public and private schools.

#37 Amirah Lidasan

  • Moro activist from the Iranon tribe of Matanog and Parang, Maguindanao. Conflict in Maguindanao has made her and her family bakwit (evacuees), forcing them to relocate to Manila.
  • She is a voice for peace in Mindanao, bringing attention to US presence in Palestine and the Philippines, contributing to or worsening issues of displacement, land-grabbing and bombings. It’s time we have a Moro in the Senate.

#14 Roy Cabonegro

Environmental advocate. He calls for a more active government role in managing, financing investments, and regulating the energy sector to lower electricity rates, provide a sustainable and efficient energy supply. Our country is listed among those most vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change, making it crucial to have a genuine environmentalist and pro-Filipino advocate in the Senate.

#44 Liza Maza

Activist and women’s rights advocate. She is a veteran lawmaker who represented GABRIELA Women’s Party-list in the 13th and 14th Congress. She authored the following laws: the Rent Control Act of 2009 (RA 9653), The Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006 (RA 9344), Magna Carta of Women (RA 9710), Philippine Nursing Act (RA 9173), Anti-Torture Law (RA 9745) and the Anti-Violence in Women and Children Act (RA 9262), which she co-authored.

#51 Francis Pangilinan

A lawyer and organic farmer, he is a veteran politician with a decent accomplishment during his two terms as Senator. He is the principal author of the Sagip Saka Act of 2019, which mandates government agencies to buy produce directly from farmers. He co-authored the Alternative Learning System Act, which institutionalizes the alternative learning system in basic education for out-of-school children.

#5 Bam Aquino

Social entrepreneur and politician. In his single term as Senator, he authored the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, which institutionalizes free tuition and exemption from other fees in state universities and colleges (SUCs), and local universities and colleges (LUCs) in the Philippines.

#45 Heidi Mendoza

An auditor, Certified Public Accountant, and former civil servant. Had it not been for her apology and declaration to be more open to the cause of the LGBTQ+ community, I would not have included her in this list. It’s time we put a stop to the government’s penchant for “creative accounting” and realigning funds to increase the share of unprogrammed appropriations in the yearly government budget, which is nothing more than another version of pork barrel that feeds corruption and government waste at the expense of the people. Having her in the Senate would be a good step towards this end.

Bending the Law: The Legacy of Estelito Mendoza

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At the age of 95, the so-called “Lawyer of last resort”, Estelito Mendoza, passed away today, March 26, 2025. While many will herald him as one of the titans of the Philippine legal landscape, we must not forget the roles he played during the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

As Minister of Justice and Solicitor General during the period of Martial Law, Mendoza was key to giving legal clothing to the Marcos dictatorship – using the law to silence dissent, sweep away democratic institutions, and kept political prisoners deprived of liberty.

The infamous case of Javellana v. Executive Secretary, Mendoza justified the legality of Martial Law and the indefinite suspension of civil liberties.

Even after the fall of the Marcos dictatorship, Mendoza continued providing legal services to the many cronies who enabled and benefitted from ill-gotten wealth: Imelda Marcos, Lucio Tan, Roberto Ongpin, and Danding Cojuangco.

Mendoza served as chief counsel for Joseph Estrada during his impeachment trial.

He went to score legal victories for accused plunderers:

Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was acquitted of plunder in the PCSO fund scam

Jaime Dichaves, the self-confessed owner of the Jose Velarde accounts, was acquitted of plunder charges.

Bong Revilla who was implicated in the pork barrel scam of Janet Lim-Napoles, also got acquitted.

Juan Ponce-Enrile, former Defense chief and one of the architects of Martial Law, was granted bail thanks to Mendoza.

When the Supreme Court decided in favor of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s appointment of Renato Corona as Chief Justice, ruling that the ban on midnight appointments did not cover it, it was Mendoza’s arguments that formed the basis for that decision.

This is Estelito Mendoza’s legacy: bending the law to benefit his clients, regardless of precedents or its spirit.

Double disqualification for Ferrari at Chinese Grand Prix

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Ferrari fans all over the world are in shock and tears. Lewis Hamilton’s maiden pole and win for the Scuderia at this weekend’s Sprint race has been all but forgotten after both drivers were disqualified from the Grand Prix itself.

Cars undergo scrutineering after a race to check for compliance with existing regulations. Unfortunately, both cars had been found to violate said regulations. For Charles, his car was 1kg short of the required 800kg minimum. As for Lewis, the plank assembly of his car was 0.5mm below the limit.

It’s already been a tough start to the 2025 season but I never thought I’d see the day that both Ferrari cars would be disqualified from a Grand Prix.

Duterte Impeachment – Timing is Everything

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Nothing happens in the House of Representatives without the approval or support of the President. So when 215 of its members endorsed the 4th and last impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte – the largest ever number of endorsements for impeachment in the history of the House, you’d know that the Marcos administration has done its homework, chosen a plan and finally set the ball rolling.

The INC rally was supposed to be a show of force to persuade the Marcos-Romualdez bloc to maintain the status quo, but the recent SWS survey showing 41% of the public supporting the VP’s impeachment and the VP herself suffering a continuing decline to 52% trust rating was enough to convince the administration that it’s time to get it done and over with.

As it has always been in politics, timing is everything. Sending the articles of impeachment to the Senate days before Congress adjourns on Feb 8 puts pressure on Senators who are running for re-election. These Senators are not only up for re-election, but they are also perceived to be friendly to the Dutertes thus making them vulnerable: with considerable public support for the VP’s impeachment, it will be difficult to go on the campaign trail if they would be seen to be defending and voting against Sara Duterte’s removal from office. Also, the impeachment trial would take away their time from campaigning.

Additional pressure comes from the daunting prospects of going against a well-funded administration whose prospects of securing a continuation of the Marcos restoration depend on the results of the 2025 elections.

If all goes well, the Marcos-Romualdez bloc would see more compliant Senators coming in to conduct Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial and give a satisfactory verdict.

This would then give Marcos a chance to nominate his preferred VP – a tantalizing prize for those with ambitions come 2028 – Romualdez, Escudero, Poe.

Ultimately, the Dutertes once more are in the fight for their political survival.