‘… we can only hope that their public hearings will be intelligent discussions of these bills and not the showbiz-style investigations that turn lawmakers into inquisitors.’
LAWMAKING in the Philippines is traditionally a collaborative effort of the Executive and Legislative departments, thus the leaders of the two branches of government should regularly meet and discuss their priorities.
This regular consultation happens in the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council or the LEDAC. The body is chaired by President Marcos Jr. and composed of representatives from the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the Cabinet. It is a high-level advisory body that sets government’s legislative priorities.
Without the LEDAC, the lawmakers will just propose all sorts of bills and resolutions in wild abandon, tackling various subjects some of which are not even the proper subjects of legislation.
It is welcome news that in the LEDAC meeting on Tuesday, the nation’s leaders agreed to prioritize the passage of 28 bills under the Common Legislative Agenda (CLA) before the 19th Congress ends, or by June 2025. The panel approved 18 bills as top priority, eight of which are already in advanced stages in the legislative process, and 10 bills as second priority for passage.
Seven priority bills introduced by the economic team were included in the top priority list. These are: Amendments to the Right-of-Way Act; Excise Tax on Single-Use Plastics; Rationalization of the Mining Fiscal Regime; Amendments to the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA); CREATE MORE Act; Department of Water Resources Act; and VAT on Digital Services;
The leaders of the two chambers of Congress also have their own pet bills that were given proper action by the LEDAC.
The Amendments to the Foreign Investors’ Long Term Lease Act, as introduced by newly elected Senate President Francis Escudero, was also included in the top priority list. The bill 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. If this proposal becomes a law, there will be no need for Charter change to accommodate a more liberal commercial use of local lands by foreigners.
The Council also included in the top priority list the proposal of Speaker Martin Romualdez on reforms in the Philippine capital markets. These reforms 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.
Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan has expressed hope the country’s economic growth will get a big boost if these bills are passed. He said: “The timely passage of these bills is critical in strengthening the country’s economic governance and ensuring that we are on track in implementing infrastructure flagship projects and maintaining fiscal sustainability.”
There are other inclusions in the list of priority bills, such as the Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act, a complementary measure to the Philippine Maritime Zones Act, to strengthen the country’s sovereignty over its archipelagic waters and maritime resources.
We expect President Marcos Jr. to mention these priority measures when he makes his State of the Nation Address on July 22. After that, the ball is in the hands of legislators, and we can only hope that their public hearings will be intelligent discussions of these bills and not the showbiz-style investigations that turn lawmakers into inquisitors.
