THE Senate yesterday committed to pass at least five more priority legislative measures of the Marcos administration, in addition to the proposed 2025 national budget, before the year ends, while the House of Representatives said it would approve two more, after Congress reported that only 19 of the 64 Common Legislative Agenda (CLA) measures of the administration have been enacted into law this year.
“In the Senate, we expect an additional five of these bills to be finished and enacted before the year ends and before we go on our Christmas break,” Senate Francis Escudero said in a briefing after the 6th Legislative-Executive development Advisory Council (Ledac) meeting in Malacañang.
Speaker Martin Romualdez, in the same briefing, said the House will pass the proposed amendments to the Foreign Investors’ Long-Term Lease Act and the amendments to the Agrarian Reform Law before the congressional holiday break.
Escudero said apart from the two measures yet to be approved by the lower chamber, the Senate is committed to pass the proposed amendments to the Universal Health Care Act, amendments to the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) and the Department of Water Resources law.
These are all in addition to the proposed 2025 national budget, which President Marcos Jr. certified as urgent on Tuesday.
Romualdez said the House expects to pass the 2025 budget by the end of Wednesday and send its copy to the Senate for its actions.
Both leaders of Congress reported during the LEDAC that it passed only 19 of its 64 priority measures.
These include the SIM Card Registration Act, postponement of the Barangay and SK Elections, the law on Strengthening Professionalism in the AFP, New Agrarian Emancipation Act, Maharlika Investment Fund, Regional Specialty Hospitals, “Trabaho Para sa Bayan” Act, and the Automatic Income Classification of local government units.
Also passed were the Public-Private Partnership Code of the Philippines, Internet Transactions Act, Ease of Paying Taxes Act, “Tatak Pinoy” (Proudly Filipino) Act, New Philippine Passport Act, Philippine Salt Industry Development Act, and Philippine Ecosystem and Natural Capital Accounting System (PENCAS).
The other priority measures passed were the Real Property Valuation and Assessment Reform Act, New Government Procurement Act, Anti-Financial Accounts Scamming Act, and the Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers, which was signed into law earlier this week.
Romualdez said he saw no hindrances in the passage of the 2025 budget despite challenges surrounding the budget of the Office of the Vice President.
He said the House is committed to passing the P6.352 trillion budget by Wednesday night.
Escudero said that on the part of the Senate, he does not see any delays in the passage before the Christmas holidays amid the ongoing hearings on various issues.
“Sa ngayon on schedule ang mga pagdinig sa komite ng Senado at inaasahan namin na ito ay maaprubahan ng may sapat na panahon para ito ay mabasa at ma-review ng Pangulo kaugnay ng mga line item veto na maari niyang gawin sa panukalang budget at maging ganap na batas ito bago matapos ang taon (All Senate committee hearings are on schedule and we expect the budget to be passed with enough time to give the President the chance to read, review the proposed budget for possible line item vetoes, and sign it into law before the end of the year),” he said.
He said the Senate has also entered into a government-to-government agreement with the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) for the leasing of five rooms “to enable members of the Senate sharing the various committees to be able to do their respective hearings without affecting the budget process that we are currently undertaking”.
He said at present, the Senate is only using six rooms for its various hearings and needed the extra rooms.
Escudero also said that apart from the priority bills, the Senate is also committed to enact the bills extending the charter of IBC 13, renewal of the National Housing Authority (NHA) charter, and the extension of the charter of the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management (PSALM) which are all set to lapse in 2025.
“So, although not included in the priority list of legislation, these are important bills nevertheless that need Congressional action,” he said.
Escudero said the Senate is also eyeing to pass three to five more priority measures shortly after the Senate resumes its session after the Christmas holiday, or at least bring the total enacted priority measures to 13 before 19th Congress ends.
The President, during the Ledac meeting, reiterated the urgency of passing the 2025 budget.
“I commend both houses of the 19th Congress for their display of unity in collaborating and pushing our key priority bills forward. I am counting on your continued support in passing the 2025 National Budget — our Agenda for Prosperity – before Christmas. This will fund crucial projects that will uplift the lives of all Filipinos,” Marcos said in an Instagram post after the LEDAC meeting.
During the meeting, he again called for the passage of the remaining CLA prioritizing the passage of the Waste-to-Energy bill to address the flooding problem in the country, and the bill creating the Department of Water Resources to improve the country’s water management.
FLOOD, WATER BILLS
The Presidential Communications Office, in a news release, said Marcos emphasized the urgency of enacting the Waste-to-Energy bill as it has become an important discussion in flood control “because the garbage problem is actually severe.”
The bill was approved on third reading by the House of Representatives but is still pending on second reading at the Senate.
“I think waste-to-energy now has taken on a new role. It is no longer just for garbage, or waste disposal or waste management. It is also now very much part of the flood control effort,” the President said.
Marcos said waste-to-energy projects have helped reduce flooding by 40 percent and should be implemented at the local government level.
He also called for the passage of the law reorganizing the water management in the country through the creation of a Department of Water Resources.
“It’s a department because we are going to reorganize everything. But the original idea was that we will reorganize the entire water management process in the Philippines. But because of the exigencies of climate change, we really have to direct our efforts, our attention to [water],” he said.
The President said Malacañang would come up with an executive version of the Department of Water Resources bill and submit it to the Senate, which Escudero said will be used by the senators in its deliberations.
Marcos said he prefers to give the flood control job directly to the water resources body with the National Irrigation Authority (NIA) as one of the coordinating agencies.
He said water problems such as flooding and irrigation can’t be solved on a piecemeal basis, and needs a comprehensive plan.
“Hindi nangingilala ng boundary ang tubig, kung saan-saan. Basta kung saan iyung puwedeng daanan, dumadaan doon. That’s why there has to be an overall plan. So, I really think that we have to include all of those agencies (Water does not recognize boundaries. As long as it can flow in an area, it would pass through there. That’s why there has to be an overall plan. So, I really think that we have to include all of those agencies,” he said.
