PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has endorsed 44 legislative measures that he wants passed under the 20th Congress, including some bills that were not passed by the previous Congress.
Among these are those that aim to uplift the lives of farmers and fisherfolk, expand social services, modernize governance, ensure energy security, and strengthen the country’s readiness for future challenges.
The Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said the President emphasized during the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) that these amendments to the Local Government Code and the Rice Tariffication Law “should be prioritized and crafted comprehensively, ensuring that governance efficiency and agricultural competitiveness remain central to the nation’s progress.”
In view of this, House Speaker Faustino Dy III yesterday urged the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (Ledac) to add eight more bills to its priority measures, since all but one of the 33 measures identified by the executive have already been filed at the House.
Dy, who led the House contingent in the Ledac meeting in Malacañang, said the House’s early accomplishment “sets a positive tone for our productive collaboration with all branches of government.”
The PCO said the President emphasized during the Ledac that the amendments to the Local Government Code and the Rice Tariffication Law “should be prioritized and crafted comprehensively, ensuring that governance efficiency and agricultural competitiveness remain central to the nation’s progress”.
The Speaker then asked the Ledac to include the eight bills, among them a Disaster Risk Financing and Insurance Framework to ensure swift and transparent calamity response, and a bill to strengthen the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) by extending its corporate life and opening select lands for development.
He also pushed for a presidential merit scholarship program to reward outstanding graduates from low and middle-income families and another bill disqualifying relatives of officials up to the fourth degree from government contracts to strengthen integrity in public service in light of the flood control fund scandal.
To safeguard democracy, the Speaker said the chamber seeks to regulate digital campaigning through a Fair Use of Social Media, AI, and Internet Technology in Elections. It also proposes to modernize the Bureau of Immigration by professionalizing its ranks, adding visa categories, and upgrading border security.
Dy also batted for the inclusion of the proposed Rice Industry and Consumer Empowerment (RICE) Act, which aims to stabilize prices and empower the National Food Authority (NFA) and the Magna Carta for Barangays, which aims to institutionalize long-overdue benefits and ensure resources for local officials and communities.
“With the President’s leadership and the collective will of this Council, we are confident that we can achieve these legislative goals,” said the Speaker, who was accompanied during the meeting by Majority Leader Ferdinand Alexander Marcos.
“We meet today in a spirit of collaborative governance to align our legislative agenda with the Administration’s Philippine Development Plan and its 8-point Socioeconomic Agenda,” Dy said.
The Speaker, who took the helm after the resignation of former Speaker Martin Romualdez, said the House’s legislative agenda for the 20th Congress “is anchored on economic growth, stronger social protection, and governance reforms.”
“Central to this agenda are laws that will secure affordable food, generate sustainable jobs, expand digital connectivity and raise the quality of public services for all Filipinos,” he said.
The PCO said the 44 measures were included in the Common Legislative Agenda of the 20th Congress that were approved during the first Ledac meeting held under the current Congress.
Among these bills are the amendments to the Rice Tariffication Law or Rice Industry and Consumer Empowerment (RICE) Act, including minor amendments to the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act, and Amendments to the Fisheries Code, which aims to protect both producers and consumers; and the comprehensive amendments to the Local Government Code.
The other measures are amendments to the Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund Act; amendments to the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps); Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) Act; amendments to the Universal Health Care (UHC) Act; National Center for Geriatric Health to expand the reach of government assistance to families, students, and vulnerable sectors.
These measures were also on the President’s list: the Masustansyang Pagkain para sa Batang Pilipino Act, the Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education (GASTPE) ACT, Teacher Professionalization Act, and the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, which all aim to assist students and teachers.
The other bills are the Department of Water Resources Bill, Waste-to-Energy Bill, amendments to the EPIRA Law and Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) Strengthening Bill, the National Land Use Act, the excise tax on single-use plastics, the Blue Economy Act, and Amendments to the Bank Deposits Secrecy Law, which were all included in the priority bills in the 19th Congress.
The Common Legislative Agenda also includes the Progressive Budgeting and Modernized Governance Act; Right to Information Act; amendments to the Anti-Money Laundering Act; Philippine Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Act; General Tax Amnesty; Extension of Estate Tax Amnesty; Amendments to the Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Law; Amendments to the Biofuels Act; Cybersecurity Act; and Amendments to the National Building Code.
Also include are the: Amendments to the Magna Carta for MSMEs; National Reintegration Bill; Reprogramming of Seal of Good Local Governance; Digital Payments Act; Masterplan for Infrastructure and National Development; Classroom-Building Acceleration Program Act; Requiring Civil Servants to Waive Bank Secrecy; Law on Online Gambling; Disaster Risk Financing Insurance; Strengthening the Bases Conversion and Development Authority; and Presidential Merit Scholarship Program.
