RECENTLY, the Manila City Hall Reporters’ Association (MACHRA), of which I am the president, held its ‘Balitaan sa MayniLove’ news forum at the Mehan Garden near the Manila City Hall.
We had for our solo guest that morning, Rep. Joel Chua of Manila’s third district. It was our fourth forum and for the first time, I am writing about it.
Why? It’s because we did not expect to have such a fruitful discussion of wide-ranging issues with the good congressman, and indeed, we learned a lot from him.
Honestly, we initially thought he would not be enough to fill in the one full hour of our forum, since he is just an ordinary member of Congress. We were wrong and we were surprised at how good he was in handling questions, no matter how delicate they were and even if his answers might earn him enemies.
Rep. Chua, by the way, is not a newbie in politics. He served as Manila Councilor for four terms, first, in three consecutive terms from 2007 to 2016. Having reached the term limit, he then served as secretary to the vice mayor from 2016 to 2019 and in 2019, he ran for the third district representative and won handily.
During the forum, he bared many significant ideas which he hopes would form part of the laws of the land.
Take for example his desire to include all senior citizens when it comes to providing benefits. He notes that presently, only those who are considered as ‘indigents’ become recipients.
If he would have his way, he wants all- be it rich, middle class or poor- to have the same benefits.
Rep. Chua also favors a charter change, saying the 30-year-old Constitution is no longer in keeping with the times and has not given Filipinos better lives.
He wants the requirements upgraded. From 40 being the minimum age, Congressman Chua wants a younger president, saying the country needs a leader who has more energy to face head-on the country’s gargantuan problems.
Too, Rep. Chua believes that for one to become a member of the Congress, he must at least be a college graduate, without thinking less of those who are not.
Currently, he is pushing for all ride hailing apps like Grab and Angkas to be required to get a certificate of public convenience so that they would have liability and the passengers will have some sort of protection.
Rep. Chua likewise wants the people to give the Maharlika Fund a chance, saying he was initially against it but was enlightened about the benefits it will bring to the country, since it is more on infrastructure that would generate revenues for the country.
Recently, he wants certain areas in Quiapo, where he was born, raised and presently lives, to be declared as National Heritage zones and he filed a bill to make this happen.
Oh, and by the way, even is he ran and won under the ticket of Isko Moreno in the last electdions, he is for giving President Bongbong Marcos, Jr. a chance to prove his worth, instead of shooting down all his moves just for the heck of it.
I have known Rep. Chua for quite some time but it never occurred to me that he was that brainy and really, such a congressman material. By the way, he is a lawyer, first and foremost and a very good one at that.
Third district residents should know that they have such a very good representative in Congress.
Maybe we’ll have a better performing Congress if those who will be allowed to run for seats are from the legal profession. Hmmm…
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