Sen. Robinhood C. Padilla said he will continue to use Filipino during hearings and other official events in the Senate, instead of English, especially English words whose meanings have to be looked up in the dictionary.
“Opo, hindi na ako magpapanggap. Mahirap magpapanggap kang si Webster (Yes, I won’t pretend to understand high-sounding words. I won’t pretend to be Webster),” Padilla told reporters when asked if he will continue using Tagalog in hearings and other Senate functions.
Besides, he noted that while senators converse in Tagalog in the senators’ lounge, they sound like “Americans” once in the plenary
Earlier, Padilla filed a bill seeking the use of Filipino and English as official languages in official government documents.
On the other hand, Padilla said he will continue to adjust to the use of English in Senate functions, including reading the journal and having his staff brief him on what happened during the previous day’s session.
Padilla added that he will be supporting efforts to harness nuclear and renewable energy to address the perennial problem of brownouts, Sen. Robinhood “Robin” C. Padilla said Thursday.
Padilla said it would take much time and finances to plan the location and operation of power plants, especially those that use nuclear power.
Padilla noted that had the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant which was built in the 1970s been commissioned and not become a “casualty” of politics, the country would likely not be dealing with problems involving electricity.
On the other hand, Padilla said building such facilities will require foreign investment – thus the need to revisit the Constitution to ensure more foreign investments.
Padilla further maintained that he will remain an independent lawmaker though he is generally supportive of the legislative measures sought by the administration. He said he will not agree to measures that are “anti-people.”
“If it’s for the people, My support to BBM is 100 percent,” he said.
At present, Padilla said he is rallying behind the 19 priority measures of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., as stated in his first state of the nation address recently.
Padilla however said he was “left hanging as the President did not mention his stand on the government’s drug war
Padilla was elected as chairperson of the Senate Committee on
Constitutional Amendments and Revision of Laws and Codes.