ILOILO City – Jobs. Overall Welfare. Education. Candidate for congressman of the Lone District of Iloilo City, Atty. Jose “Joe” S. Espinosa III, has laid down his Top 3 priorities for the next three years.
Espinosa believes that for the next three years, the government should come up with an economic recovery plan, alongside the continuous implementation of a response plan to address the ongoing pandemic.
As a lawyer and an economist, Espinosa intends to focus on the crafting of legislations that will infuse new avenues for job opportunities, improve the delivery of social services and make education more accessible and affordable to all.
In the local scene, Atty. Joe III intends to look into investment incentives that would jumpstart the business industry of Iloilo City, especially the micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) sector. Pump-priming this sector by opening avenues for better financial and loan programs such as bridge financing, will have a ripple effect in the other marginalized sector, i.e, transport sector and the informal business sector.
Espinosa also said he will look into the protection and regulation of the new industry sector that has evolved during this pandemic – the delivery sector.
He also stated his interest in revisiting and reviewing the Social Security Pension Scheme of the private sector and look into making it more aligned with that of the public sector to answer issues on security of tenure and retirement benefits.
This, Atty. Joe III said, will be a big help to the senior citizens community that is greatly dependent on their pension for their financial needs.
Considering the direct impact of social services to the people, he plans to pass as his priority bill, the declaration of a “National Social Services Week”. This would mean making possible all the national government agencies involved in delivering social services into a One-Stop Shop Setup in every local government unit to serve the public.
“During my stint as City Mayor, I literally brought our social services to the barangays through our Pag-Ulikid Program. We gave instant solution to issues on health, concerns of the senior citizens, problem on legal documentation, provided job opportunities, and made more accessible all the basic services that a local government can give. I believe that if we were able to do it in Iloilo City, it can be done all over the country. I conform to the social justice law – “Salus populi suprema lex esto” – the welfare of the people should be the supreme law,” said Espinosa.
In collaboration with his fellow leaders in public service, especially the members of the Nacionalista Party in Congress and in the Senate, Atty. Joe III believes that this can be done and will be given much importance and priority.
Atty. Joe III also vows to look into the possibility of expanding the government’s scholarship programs, especially to those who want to pursue postgraduate courses in private schools and universities.
“There is a need to have a more inclusive scholarship program. Let us give everybody equal opportunity to avail themselves of these programs. As public servants, we should see to it that those who have less in life should have more in law,” he said.
Atty. Joe III specifically would like to grant scholarship for students who want to pursue postgraduate courses in medicine and law.
“Jobs. Overall Welfare. Education. In my campaign platform, J.O.E.A.B.L.E., we have also identified plans for Agriculture, Business, Law and Order and the Environment. However, for the next three years these are my top three priorities during my first three years,” said the Nacionalista Party stalwart.
For Atty. Joe III Espinosa, for the next three years, “Let’s JOE it, Iloilo!” sums it all up./PN
