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President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. meets with his Economic Team at Malacañang Palace on Friday, January 30, 2026. PCO

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MARCOS

Katrina Domingo

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/177070587070020260130-marcos-economic-team-meeting-PCO1.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. meets with his Economic Team at Malacañang Palace on Friday, January 30, 2026. PCO </div>MANILA (UPDATED)—President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. wants lawmakers to prioritize the passage of bills that would abolish travel tax, ban political dynasties in the Philippines and 19 other bills &quot;that would uplift the livelihood&quot; of Filipinos before the current Congress adjourns in June, Malacañang said on Tuesday.During the 3rd Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) meeting in Malacañang, the President and leaders of the House and the Senate identified 21 priority bills, Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said in a Palace briefing.&quot;Kanina ang napagusapan lang nila kung ano ang maitutulong nito sa ekonomiya… Nakita ng Pangulo na mas makakagaang ito sa mga turista sa mga nagbibiyahe,&quot; she said.&quot;Batid ng Pangulo na ang nagbyabyahe hindi lang para sa mamasyal pero para sa trabaho at negosyo,&quot; she said.Under the current scheme, the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) collects P2,700 in travel tax for passengers in first class seats while economy class passengers are charged with P1,620.Discounts are given to certain sectors while government workers on travel orders, overseas contract workers and infants below 2 years old are exempted from the fee.<div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2025/1/27/economy-passengers-should-not-be-burdened-by-travel-tax-tulfo-1619">READ: Economy passengers should not be burdened by travel tax -- Tulfo</a></div>Under the law, half of the Philippines&#x27; total travel tax is used to fund tourism infrastructure projects, 40 percent for education assistance programs and 10 percent for the promotion of culture and heritage.&quot;Kung saan kukunin ang dagdag na pondo para TIEZA… Hindi pa napaguusapan ang detalye,&quot; Castro said.<div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2026/1/29/dot-travel-tax-supports-tourism-infrastructure-education-0100">READ: Travel tax supports tourism infrastructure, education -- DOT</a></div>When asked why Marcos Jr. considered the abolition of the travel tax as a priority, Castro underscored that she was not privy to the President&#x27;s assessment of the Philippines&#x27; tourism performance this year.Earlier this year, <a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/2/4/house-bill-seeks-to-scrap-travel-tax-1046">House Majority Leader Sandro Marcos</a> — the President&#x27;s eldest son — filed a bill abolishing the travel tax after recent reports showed that the Philippines lagged behind its regional neighbors Malaysia and Thailand in terms of tourist arrivals.Marcos Jr. is still waiting for the details of Congress&#x27; consultation sessions before commenting further on the Anti-Dynasty bill, Castro said.<div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/2/4/political-dynasties-partly-to-blame-for-flood-control-crisis-ngo-says-1822">READ: Political dynasties partly to blame for flood control crisis, NGO says</a></div>&quot;By establishing stronger oversight mechanisms over infrastructure spending and advancing real-time transparency in the budget process, the administration continues to drive reforms to make sure every peso spent works for the benefit of the Filipino people,&quot; DEPDev Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said in a statement.&quot;Looking ahead, we see 2026 as our rally point. To regain our stride, we must act decisively to restore public trust through better governance and stronger public service delivery—improvements that Filipinos can see and feel in their daily lives,&quot; he said.Below is the full list of the priority measures identified during the 3rd LEDAC meeting under the Marcos Jr. administration<div> </div><div>Priority Common Legislative Agenda bills for passage by June 2026:</div>1. Anti-Political Dynasty Law  2. Party-list System Reform Act  3. Citizen Access and Disclosure of Expenditures for National Accountability (CADENA) Act  4. Independent People&#x27;s Commission Act  5. Amendments to the Bank Deposits Secrecy Law / Banking Reform for Integrity, Good Governance, Honesty, and Transparency (BRIGHT) Act  6. Right to Information Act  7.  Amendments to the Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund Act  8. Amendments to the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) Act  9. Amendments to the Masustansyang Pagkain Para sa Batang Pilipino Act  10. Amendments to the Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education (GASTPE) Act  11. Classroom-Building Acceleration Program (CAP) Act  12. Amendments to the Anti-Online Sexual Abuse or Exploitation of Children (OSAEC) and Anti-Child Sexual Abuse or Exploitation Materials (CSAEM) Act  13. National Center for Geriatric Health Act  14. Waste-to-Energy Bill / Waste Treatment Technology Act  15. Amendments to the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) – Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) Strengthening Bill  16. Amendments to the Rice Tariffication Law / Rice Industry and Consumer Empowerment (RICE) Act  17. Department of Water Resources Bill  18. Estate Tax Amnesty  19. Travel Tax Abolition  20. Anti-Fake News and Disinformation Act  21. Resetting the First Regular Elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) <div> </div><div>Remaining Common Legislative Agenda bills: </div>1. National Land Use Act  2. Excise Tax on Single-Use Plastics  3. Blue Economy Act                                                                                          4. Progressive Budgeting for Better and Modernized Governance Act  5. Amendments to the Anti-Money Laundering Act  6. Philippine Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Act  7. Amendments to the Universal Health Care (UHC) Act  8. Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) Act  9. Amendments to the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act  10. Amendments to the Teachers Professionalization Act  11. Amendments to the Local Government Code (LGC)  12. General Tax Amnesty   13. Amendments to the Fisheries Code  14. Amendments to the Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Law  15. Amendments to the Biofuels Act  16. Cybersecurity Act  17. Amendments to the National Building Code  18. Amendments to the Magna Carta for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)  19. National Reintegration Bill  20. Reprogramming of Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG)  21. Digital Payments Act  22. Masterplan for Infrastructure and National Development (MIND)  23. Requiring Civil Servants to Waive Bank Secrecy  24. Law on Online Gambling  25. Disaster Risk Financing Insurance  26. Strengthening the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA)  27. Presidential Merit Scholarship Program  28. Disqualifying Relatives of Officials (4th degree) in Government Contracts  29. Fair Use of Social Media, AI and Internet Technology in Elections  30. Modernizing the Bureau of Immigration  31. Magna Carta for Barangays<div> </div><div>RELATED VIDEOS: <iframe width="1201" height="675" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/H0UK0wf-eOo" title="Tourism chief Frasco defends need for travel tax | ANC" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><iframe width="1349" height="759" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/m1YWTajfJ-8" title="Anti-political dynasty bill muling tinalakay sa kamara | ABS-CBN News" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. wants lawmakers to prioritize the passage of bills that would abolish travel tax, ban political dynasties, and 19 other measures “that would uplift the livelihood” of Filipinos before the current Congress adjourns in June, Malacañang said on Tuesday.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. wants lawmakers to prioritize the passage of bills that would abolish travel tax, ban political dynasties, and 19 other measures “that would uplift the livelihood” of Filipinos before the current Congress adjourns in June, Malacañang said on Tuesday.

Marcos wants Congress to scrap travel tax, pass anti-dynasty bill before June 2026

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Marcos wants Congress to scrap travel tax, pass anti-dynasty bill before June 2026

Katrina Domingo,

ABS-CBN News

Published Feb 10, 2026 02:48 PM PHT

|

Updated Feb 10, 2026 04:46 PM PHT

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Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council

LEDAC

travel tax

anti-dynasty bill

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