MANILA — Sen. Bam Aquino called on the Senate to return its focus to addressing pressing national concerns in order to restore public confidence in the institution, following recent developments including a leadership change and a shooting incident inside the chamber.

Aquino said the events in the Senate have placed the institution in a negative light in the eyes of the public. He earlier filed Senate Resolution No. 397, calling for an investigation into the shooting incident that occurred within Senate premises.

“Sa gitna ng mga kaguluhan, naghihirap pa rin ang taumbayan sa mataas na presyo ng gasolina at bilihin, hindi pa rin tumataas ang suweldo, at bagsak pa rin ang ating ekonomiya,” he pointed out.

“Ang tanging paraan para maibalik ang tiwala ng taumbayan ay gawin namin ang aming trabaho para matugunan ang kawalan ng trabaho, mahal na halaga ng bilihin, at iba pang pasanin ng ating mga kababayan,” he added.

Aquino said the Senate should prioritize measures aimed at easing the burden of high prices, including proposals to remove value-added tax on fuel and reduce VAT from 12 percent to 10 percent.

He also filed Senate Bill No. 2047, which seeks to lower VAT on goods and services, including petroleum products, and Senate Bill No. 265, which proposes the abolition of excise taxes on diesel, kerosene, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), fuel oil, and unleaded gasoline under the TRAIN Law.

The senator also expressed support for Sen. Loren Legarda, who assumed the chairmanship of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, a panel previously handled by Aquino when he was still part of the majority bloc.

“She’s (Legarda) been working in the education space for a long time and she asked me to be vice chairman. I told her our office will turn over all the research, all the studies, all the bills that we’ve prepared, and I hope that she will continue what we started,” he said.

Aquino expressed hope that Legarda will continue efforts to strengthen education funding, citing the P1.34 trillion allocation in the 2026 national budget.

“Dapat madagdagan pa ang budget ng edukasyon sa susunod na taon,” he said.

He also highlighted legislative efforts during his tenure as Basic Education committee chair, including the Class-Building Acceleration Program (CAP) Act, which seeks to address the country’s estimated 166,000-classroom backlog.

Aquino said other measures he sponsored—such as the Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDA) and Last Mile Schools Act and the Curriculum Flexibility Act—are now awaiting the President’s signature, along with the Basic Education Voucher Program Act.