PALACE AIMS FOR CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL OF 20 PRIORITY BILLS BY DECEMBER

Marcos Administration Sets Ambitious Agenda with 20 Priority Bills for Congressional Approval by December.

On Wednesday, the Marcos administration has identified 20 priority measures that it hopes to get approved by Congress before the end of this year.

Several bills were discussed and targeted for approval by the year’s end during the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) meeting led by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday. These bills include:

1. Amendments to the BOT Law/PPP
2. National Disease Prevention Management Authority
3. Proposed Internet Transactions Act/E-Commerce Law
4. Proposed Health Emergency Auxiliary Reinforcement Team Act (formerly the proposed Medical Reserve Corps Act)
5. Virology Institute of the Philippines
6. Mandatory ROTC and NSTP
7. Revitalizing the Salt Industry
8. Valuation Reform
9. E-Government/E-Governance
10. Ease of Paying Taxes
11. National Government Rightsizing Program
12. Unified System of Separation/Retirement and Pension of MUPs
13. LGU Income Classification
14. Waste-to-Energy
15. Proposed New Philippine Passport Act
16. Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers
17. National Employment Action Plan
18. Amendments to the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act
19. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas-endorsed Bank Deposit Secrecy
20. Proposed Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act

Out of these 20 bills, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) confirmed that 18 were already part of the 42 measures included in the common legislative agenda (CLA) established during the LEDAC’s first meeting in October.

The remaining two bills were added to the CLA based on the proposal of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas: the proposed Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act and the bill on amendments to the Bank Deposits Secrecy Law.

In a separate statement, the office of Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri expressed its support for the inclusion of nine additional bills in the CLA, which are as follows:

1. Proposed Philippine Defense Industry Development Act
2. Proposed Cybersecurity Law
3. Amendments to the procurement provisions of the AFP Modernization Act
4. Proposed Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning Program Act
5. Proposed Batang Magaling Act
6. Proposed Safe Pathways Act
7. Proposed Open Access in Data Transmission Act
8. Proposed Tatak Pinoy Act
9. Proposed Blue Economy Act

Furthermore, the House of Representatives has proposed the inclusion of 15 more bills in the CLA, according to Zubiri’s office.

Among the 42 priority measures identified by the LEDAC, three bills have already been signed into law. These include the SIM Registration Act, the law postponing the December 2022 Barangay and SK Elections, and the law amending fixed terms in the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Three other bills are currently awaiting President Marcos’ signature, namely the Maharlika Investment Fund bill, the proposed Department of Health Specialty Centers Act, and the proposed New Agrarian Emancipation Act.

Source: PhilNews24 | July 6, 2023