PRESIDENT Marcos Jr. Yesterday said the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) has agreed to prioritize the passage of 28 bills under the government’s Common Legislative Agenda (CLA) by June this year, with the Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act as among the “top priority” list.
Marcos presided over the fifth LEDAC meeting in Malacañang which was attended by members of the Senate led by Senate President Francis Escudero, the House of Representatives led by Speaker Martin Romualdez, and the Cabinet.
“Just concluded the 5th LEDAC meeting, where we laid out our top legislative priorities – addressing rising prices, increasing job opportunities and reducing poverty. We continue to work hand in hand with the Senate and House of Representatives in enacting transformative legislation for a Bagong Pilipinas,” the President said in a post in his official Instagram account.
National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Director General and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arseno Balisacan said 10 bills were classified as top priority and another 10 were categorized as second priority.
“The Council came up with a list of top priority bills that the members, the leaders of both Congress commit to pass within the remaining period of the current session,” said Balisacan who described the meeting as “productive and full of enthusiasm”.
“We see the current leadership of Congress responding to these needs of our economy, of our society, so that we can achieve the socioeconomic transformation that is a program under the Marcos administration,” he added.
The top priority bills include the Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act which is “a complementary measure to the Philippine Maritime Zones Act, to strengthen the country’s sovereignty over its archipelagic waters and maritime resources”.
The “priority bills” endorsed by the economic team, are the Amendments to the Right-of-Way Act to expedite the implementation of critical infrastructure projects by streamlining the right-of-way acquisition; the Excise Tax on Single-Use Plastics to encourage sustainable consumption and production, and reduce plastic waste generation; the Rationalization of the Mining Fiscal Regime to enable the nation to better reap the benefits of the Philippines’ rich mineral resources by introducing a straightforward and streamlined fiscal policy; and the Amendments to the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) to accelerate national efforts toward a more energy-secure country.
Also endorsed by the economic team were the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises to Maximize Opportunities for Reinvigorating the Economy (CREATE MORE) Act to improve the current regulations by enhancing the tax and administrative incentives available to companies, and clarifying rules on implementing VAT incentives; and the Department of Water Resources to institutionalize a primary agency responsible for comprehensive and integrated water resources development and management.
The other bills included in the priority bills are the Amendments to the Foreign Investors’ Long Term Lease Act which seeks to reinforce the opening of the economy to foreign investments by extending the lease of private lands (excluding agricultural lands) to foreigners from a maximum of 75 years to 99 years; the proposed amendments to the Reforms to Philippine Capital Markets which seek to facilitate capital raising for Filipino companies through the stock market and boost the value of pension funds invested in the Philippine stock market by reducing taxes on stock transactions and equalizing the dividend tax; and the amendments to the Rice Tariffication Law.
Escudero proposed the inclusion of the Amendments to the Foreign Investors’ Long Term Lease Act in the first priority list while Romualdez recommended the Philippine Capital Markets amendments.
The bills in the second priority list are the Blue Economy Act, Enterprise-Based Education and Training Framework Act, amendments to the Universal Health Care Act, Open Access in Data Transmission Act, Waste-to-Energy bill, Mandatory Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC), Unified System of Separation, Retirement and Pension of Military and Uniformed Personnel, E-Government Act / E-Governance Act, amendments to the Agrarian Reform Law, and the Philippine Immigration Act.
Escudero expressed confidence the Senate will pass the Marcos administration’s priority measures in the remaining 73 days of the 19th Congress, which will resume sessions on July 22.
“Magandang karanasan, maganda ang naging usapan sa pagitan ng Kongreso — Kamara at Senado — gayundin ang Ehekutibo kaugnay sa mahahalaga at makabuluhang batas na kailangang tutukan sa nanatiling 73 araw ng session ng Kamara at Senado (It was a good experience. The two houses of Congress — the House of Representatives and the Senate — as well as the Executive, had a fruitful discussion on priority and relevant measures that we need to focus on in the remaining 73 session days of Congress),” Escudero said as he emerged from the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) meeting Tuesday.
For his part, Speaker Martin Romualdez vowed to steer the House of Representatives in approving the remaining three of the 28 bills identified by the LEDAC for approval before the adjournment of the 19th Congress next year.
Tuesday’s meeting was the first to be attended by Escudero as Senate chief and as a lawmaker. He was never part of the LEDAC contingent when he was a congressman or before he became Senate leader.
Escudero said the discussions with President Marcos Jr. and Romualdez were productive, saying the three of them committed to prioritize essential and meaningful pieces of legislation in the remaining days of the 19th Congress.
“Buo ang pag-asa at paniniwala ko na kaya naming magawa ito (I am confident that we can do this),” he said, adding the Senate will prioritize the passage of six of the remaining 10 priority measures identified by the LEDAC, together with three key Senate priority bills, when sessions resume next month.
“The Senate is committed to working diligently toward the passage of these essential measures. We aim to address critical areas that will enhance our economic framework, environmental sustainability, and governance,” he said.
Escudero said that further clarification is needed in four LEDAC measures – the Waste-to-Energy (Senate Bill No. 2267) bill, the Mandatory Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (SB No. 2034), Unified System of Separation, Retirement, and Pension of Military and Uniformed Personnel (SB No. 2501), and the E-Government Act /E-Governance Act.
Of the 20 CLA bills due for passage by end of June 2024, three have already been enacted into law. These are the Philippine Ecosystem and Natural Capital Accounting System (PENCAS) Act (R.A. 11995), the Negros Island Region Act (R.A. 12000), and the Real Property Valuation and Assessment Reform Act (R.A. 12001).
Three more measures are currently awaiting presidential approval – the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act (SB No. 2432/House Bill No. 3917), the New Government Procurement Act (SB No. 2593/HB No. 9648), and the Anti-Financial Accounts Scamming Act (AFASA) (SB No. 2560/HB No. 7393).
Four measures are in the bicameral conference committee level, including the Philippine Maritime Zones Act, the Self-Reliant Defense Posture Revitalization Act, the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) Program Act, and the VAT on Digital Services.
Escudero said the Senate’s legislative agenda is geared towards inclusive and sustainable development.
“By focusing on these measures, we aim to foster economic resilience, improve public service delivery, and enhance the quality of life for all Filipinos. We are optimistic that with collaboration and dedication, we can achieve these legislative goals and make a meaningful impact on the lives of our citizens,” he said.
Romualdez said “the House of the People has done its homework. Our accomplishments reflect our proactive stance in catering to the needs of the people by passing these much-needed legislation that are attuned to the Philippine Development Plan and the 8-point socio-economic agenda under the Medium-Term Fiscal Framework of the President.”
Romualdez said the House is now awaiting Senate action on several of the priority legislative measures, noting that the House has approved on third and final reading last March, or three months ahead of schedule, all of the 20 priority LEDAC measures targeted for passage by the end of June 2024.
“We will await the version of the Senate for possible adoption by the House as an amendment to the House bill, or for bicameral conference committee meeting,” he said.
Romualdez said that that as of June 25, 2024, 13 of the 59 LEDAC priority measures have been signed to laws.
These are SIM Registration Act, Postponement of Barangay /SK Elections, Strengthening Professionalism in the AFP, New Agrarian Emancipation Act, Maharlika Investment Fund, Regional Specialty Hospitals, National Employment Recovery Strategy/ Trabaho Para sa Bayan Act, LGU Income Classification; Internet Transaction Act / E-Commerce Law, Amendments to the BOT Law / PPP Bill, Ease of Paying Taxes, Tatak Pinoy (Proudly Filipino) Act, New Philippine Passport Act, Revitalizing the Salt Industry Bill, Philippine Ecosystem and Natural Capital Accounting System, Real Property Valuation and Assessment Reform Act, and Negros Island Region Act. – With Raymond Africa and Wendell Vigilia
