The Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council is pushing for amendments to 16 laws in a “wish list” it wants the 20th Congress to approve, the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development said yesterday.
The list, 44 bills in total, forms part of the Marcos Administration’s legislative agenda aimed at driving social and economic transformation, the department said in a statement.
LEDAC met on Tuesday and agreed on the list of bills that should be amended.
The list includes the Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund Act; the the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) Act; the Bank Deposits Secrecy Law; the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA); the Anti-Money Laundering Act; the Masustansyang Pagkain Para sa Batang Pilipino Act; the Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education Act; the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act; the Teachers Professionalization Act; the Local Government Code; the Fisheries Code; the Rice Tariffication Law; the Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Law; the Biofuels Act; the National Building Code; and the Magna Carta for MSMEs.
Among the proposed laws pushed for approval are the creation of a Department of Water Resources Bill; the Waste-to-Energy Bill; the National Land Use Act; the Excise Tax on Single-Use Plastics; the Blue Economy Act; the Progressive Budgeting for Better and Modernized Governance Act; and the Right to Information Act, among others.
DEPDev Secretary and LEDAC Secretariat Head Arsenio Balisacan said said that of the 44 bills, 33 were proposed measures submitted by executive agencies, evaluated based on their alignment with the President’s priorities as outlined in his State of the Nation Address (SONA) and the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028, as well as their developmental impact, urgency, and readiness for legislation.
The Senate and the House of Representatives proposed an additional 11 bills.
“Two new priority measures directly stem from President Marcos Jr.’s 4th SONA. These are the Amendments to the Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund Act, which seek to improve the Fund’s absorptive capacity and responsiveness to the needs of coconut farmers, and the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) Act, which aims to guarantee that family-beneficiaries achieve a self-sufficiency level before graduating from the program,” he said.
Balisacan said the council also reaffirmed support for nine key measures carried over from the 19th Congress that are critical to national development. — the Department of Water Resources (DWR) Bill, the Waste-to-Energy Bill, and the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA)
Amendments: Energy Regulation Commission (ERC) Strengthening Bill, the National Land Use Act, Excise Tax on Single-Use Plastic, the Blue Economy Act, the Amendments to the Bank Deposits Secrecy Law, the Progressive Budgeting for Better and Modernized Governance Act, and the Amendments to the Fisheries Code.
The remaining priority measures for the 20th Congress span a broad range of priorities, including education, health, and social protection; agriculture and food security; good governance and transparency; and economic competitiveness and digital transformation.
Balisacan noted that in the 19th Congress, 40 priority bills were enacted, marking the highest number of measures passed since the 10th Congress under the Ramos Administration.
