BY RAYMOND AFRICA and WENDELL VIGILIA
LAWMAKERS report back to work today as Congress resumes session today following an extended holiday break prompted by the spike in coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases believed to be caused by the highly transmissible Omicron variant.
Senate majority leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said the Senate will pass on third and final reading measures of national application which have already been sponsored before their holiday break.
The measures include Senate Bill No (SBN) 255 exempting a municipality with a P250-million annual generated income from the population and land area requirement for its conversion into a component city; SBN 1241 or an act institutionalizing the establishment of weighing centers in public and private markets; and SBN 2302 or an act providing protection to persons engaged in food, grocery, and pharmacy delivery services.
Zubiri said senators will have a caucus today to determine other measures that will be included in the Senate’s priority agenda.
At the House of Representatives, Speaker Lord Allan Jay Velasco said Congress only has three weeks, or nine session days, to “finish some priority measures before we adjourn for the election period.”
Congress will adjourn on February 5 in time for the start of the campaign period for nationally elected positions on February 8.
Velasco said the resumption will be undertaken with strict health and safety protocols in place.
He said the protocols are necessary to protect House members and employees as the legislative chamber continues to fulfill its mandate of creating laws.
“This is not the time to be complacent. We needed to step up our health and safety protocols in the House so we could keep the legislative mill running even in the midst of what has been described as the worst surge in COVID-19 cases in the country,” Velasco said.
The Speaker said the chamber is expected to pass on third and final reading HB 10582 or the proposed Rural Financial Inclusion and Literacy Act, which seeks to uplift the lives of the marginalized sectors–small farmers, fisherfolk and informal workers–by addressing the huge gap in reaching financial inclusivity.
Also up for final reading is House Bill (HB) 10579, which aims to strengthen the field offices of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) by upgrading and creating certain positions, amending for the purpose Section 53 of Batas Pambansa 881 or the Omnibus Election Code, as amended, and providing funds therefor.
The House leader said concerned committees will be working double time to finalize the proposed Magna Carta for Barangay Health Workers and the National Housing Development Act, as well as the bill assigning health workers in every barangay across the country.
Velasco also appealed to the Senate to act on at least a dozen measures that have already been approved on final reading by the House.
These include the proposed Internet Transactions Act and the Government Financial Institutions Unified Initiatives to Distressed Enterprises or GUIDE Act; the bills creating the Medical Reserve Corps, Philippine Virology Institute, and Center for Disease Prevention and Control; hiring of mental health professionals in basic education; increasing social pension of indigent senior citizens; and strengthening data privacy protection.
“We urge the Senate to expedite the deliberations and approval of these measures so we can pass them into law before the campaign period,” Velasco said.
NO MORE TIME
Zubiri said major contentious bills, like the proposed creation of the Department of Disaster Resilience, may not be passed in the 18th Congress due to lack of time.
“To be practical about it, three weeks are really not favorable for the passage of major contentious bills. I am personally in favor the Department of Disaster Resilience bill but the chair of the committee, Sen. (Panfilo) Ping (Lacson) is not in favor of (it). So, next Congress, I will refile and push for it if I hopefully make it back (to the Senate),” Zubiri said in a message to the media.
Zubiri said also included in today’s agenda is the interpellation for the following measures – SBN 2369, or an act instituting the Magna Carta of Filipino seafarers, SBN 1810 or an act providing protection to freelancers and for other purposes, SBN 1834 or an act to enhance the Philippine digital workforce competitiveness, SBN 2464 or an act providing for the establishment of registries of professionals and skilled workers in barangays and for other purposes, SBN 2467 or an act providing enhanced protection, security and benefits for media and entertainment workers, SBN 2365 or an act amending portions of the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation charter, and SBN 2421 or an act granting COVID-19 benefits and allowances to public and private health workers during the state of public health emergency.
Zubiri said nine measures will also be up for sponsorship today.
Senate minority leader Franklin Drilon has earlier called on Congress for the immediate passage of critical measures that will hasten the country’s economic recovery, address the proliferation of troll accounts, address franchise woes, and expand protection for solo parents before it adjourns on Feb. 5.
“Do not allow election fever get in the way of legislation…There’s a lot to be done for our country and our people. Even with the elections drawing closer, let us put our 100-percent towards the passage of much-needed laws that our people expect from Congress.”
