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President Marcos' unfinished priority bills languish in the Senate

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RG Cruz, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. signs Republic Act 11954 or the Maharlika Investment Fund Act in a ceremony at the Kalayaan Hall of Malacañan Palace in Manila on July 18, 2023." src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/life/07/19/20230718-marcos-maharlika-act-pna4433.jpg"/><figcaption>President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. signs Republic Act 11954 or the Maharlika Investment Fund Act in a ceremony at the Kalayaan Hall of Malacañan Palace in Manila on July 18, 2023.</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA - The Senate is on the spot as most of the remaining unfinished priority bills of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. continue to languish in the chamber. While Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri expects his colleagues to eventually vote on the measures, Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda explains that legislation remains a complicated process. One year into their three-year term, the 19th Congress has only finished 6 of the 42 priority bills identified by the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC), the consensus building body composed of leaders of the executive and legislative branches tasked to smoothen out the process of legislation. These are: the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections postponement, the SIM Card Registration Law, the Revised AFP Fixed Term Law, the Regional Specialty Hospitals Law, the Condonation of the loans of Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries, and the controversial Maharlika Investment Fund Act. By the time the 19th Congress opens its Second Regular Session on July 24, the priority list will have grown to 44 from just 19 bills in the President&#x27;s first State of the Nation Address last year. All continue to carry the President&#x27;s agenda for economic recovery and poverty alleviation. &quot;The LEDAC priority measures from the Second LEDAC meeting include a comprehensive list of bills previously made part of the legislative agenda of the President. It is important to note that LEDAC meetings are designed to adapt to the changing needs and challenges of our country. However, it is essential to recognize that not all measures may be reiterated in LEDAC discussions, as some may have already been adequately addressed in previous meetings or have different avenues for legislative deliberation,&quot; Legarda said. This means 38 priority bills are pending in various stages in the legislative mill. Congressional Leaders -- Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri and Speaker Martin Romualdez -- have committed to passing 20 of the unfinished priorities by year end. The 20 are the following: The Amendments to the Bank Deposits Secrecy Law (House Bill No. 7446), the Anti Financial Accounts Scamming Act (House Bill No. 7393), Amendments to the BOT Law/PPP Bill, National Disease Prevention Management Authority, Internet Transactions Act/E-Commerce Law, Medical Reserves Corps, Virology Institute of the Philippines, Mandatory ROTC and NSTP, Revitalizing the Salt Industry, Valuation Reform, E-Government/E-Governance, Ease of Paying Taxes, National Government Rightsizing Program, Unified System of Separation, Retirement and Pension of Military and Uniformed Personnel, Local Government Unit Income Classification, Waste-to-Energy Bill, New Philippine Passport Act, Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers, National Employment Action Plan, and Amendments to the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act. However, the House already approved on final reading 16 of the 20 bills, leaving only the National Rightsizing Program; Unified System of Separation, Retirement and Pension of MUPs; National Employment Action Plan and the Amendments to the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act in its to-do list. “Rest assured that we, in the House of People, will act on these pending three measures with careful dispatch,” Romualdez said in a statement after the last LEDAC meeting. “Rest assured that the House of the People will remain steadfast and committed to being partners of the Executive Branch to spur economic growth, alleviate poverty, augment healthcare services, and foster job creation for all Filipinos,” he added. By the time the House had finished the First Regular Session of the 19th Congress in June, it was already done with thirty-three (33) out of the then forty-two (42) LEDAC priorities. The Senate chief believes his colleagues would be amenable to most of the unfinished priorities. &quot;Most of them. Marami naman happy bills eh ... Ang meron lang may kokontra nakikita ko na medyo substantial would probably be the mandatory ROTC kasi meron din from the majority na ayaw. But the others, I presume they are happy bills. Even the MUP, yung pension ng ating sundalo at kapulisan, madugo yan dahil kailangan po natin makakuha ng consensus galing sa ating mga kapulisan at sundalo na kailangan mag ambag na po sila para sa kanilang pensyon dahil ngayon wala po silang kaltas sa kanilang sweldo,&quot; Zubiri said in an interview. &quot;I feel that within the Senate itself we can get a majority support on that kasi long term pag tinignan mo yung long term situation lalong lalala ang ating fiscal position pag hindi po natin naakysunan yan. Dahil as of today yung buwis na binabayarang buwis... &#x27;Yun po ginagamit natin para sa pensyon,&quot; Zubiri added. &quot;Over all wala naman akong nakikitang ibang mga bills na I think would be very controversial,&quot; Zubiri also said. &quot;May mga madugo pero sa tingin ko papasa rin,&quot; Zubiri said. <div>-- COMPLEX PROCESS --</div><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Senate PRIB/File." src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/tvpatrol/03/01/20230110-senate-legarda-sprib4024.jpg"/><figcaption>Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda presides over the hearing of the Committee on Culture and the Arts Tuesday, January 10, 2023 on various bills seeking to strengthen the protection and conservation of the Philippine cultural heritage. Bibo Nueva España, Senate PRIB/File.</figcaption></figure></div>Legarda, a former journalist who is now one of the most senior lawmakers in the chamber, however explained the complexities that remain before these bills become law. &quot;The passage of the bills related to these legislative priorities may pose both challenges and opportunities. Legislating any bill is a complex process that involves negotiations, consultations, and, at times, compromises. The extent to which these bills will be easy or difficult to pass will depend on various factors, such as the level of support and cooperation from both chambers of Congress, the alignment of interests among lawmakers, and the overall political climate,&quot; Legarda said. The priority bills had little problem getting the nod of the House, which is traditionally allied with whoever is the sitting President and is and now led by the President&#x27;s own cousin as Speaker, with the President&#x27;s eldest son as senior deputy majority leader. Legarda signals that the Senate will not resort to shortcuts. &quot;It is crucial for the President to garner sufficient backing from both the Senate and the House of Representatives. This ensures a smoother legislative process and higher chances of passing the bills. However, it is important to remember that our democratic system encourages healthy debates and discussions within the legislative branches. Respecting differing opinions and finding common ground is essential in advancing the President&#x27;s agenda and achieving meaningful results,&quot; Legarda said. &quot;Even if not explicitly reiterated in the LEDAC, numerous bills and measures will still undergo thoughtful deliberation in relevant committees or through other legislative processes. The legislative system recognizes the need for a comprehensive examination of bills, ensuring that they pass through multiple channels of scrutiny, stakeholder consultation, and public debates,&quot; Legarda also said. The President&#x27;s eldest sister Imee is a Senator, and she has been critical of at least one priority bill, the Maharlika Investment Fund. Dr. Francisco Magno, a political science professor from the De La Salle University, urges the President to take on a more active role in shepherding his priority bills. &quot;I think as the leader of the country he should use his power of persuasion he should really be active in the discussion in order to really interpret what he means by these priorities,&quot; Magno told ABS-CBN. &quot;I think especially if it is anchored on the Philippine Development Plan, which was developed with the participation of multiple stakeholders, he will get the support of both chambers,&quot; said Magno.&quot;But of course, we have to understand that Congress is an independent branch of government and they would have to do their own vetting process and they would have to do their public consultation. I think this is all part of the democratic process,&quot; Magno also said. However, the President&#x27;s forthcoming second State of the Nation Address won&#x27;t just be an opportunity for him to account for his achievements or inadequacies, but also to add to the list of priority bills, as has been the case for his predecessors. In other words, Congress will probably have more to work on before it even gets to knock off some of the priority bills from the list. The June 2023 Pulse Asia Survey on Urgent National Concerns shows that public clamor remains for the President to control inflation, which has emerged as the single most important national concern among those polled. It is also the one concern where the administration fared the poorest. &quot;Lalo na yung pinakamahalaga yung mataas na presyo ng bilihin hati ang Pilipino, 1/3 ang approving, 1/3 ang undecided at higit sa 1/3 ang disapproving. So ibig sabihin, &#x27;di nasisiyahan ang mga Pilipino, karamihan ng mga Pilipino ay parang hindi sila nasisiyahan o sa aprubado sa pagganap ng administrasyon, [sa] pagtugon ng administrasyon sa 2 usapin ito: kahirapan at mataas na presyo ng bilihin,&quot; Pulse Asia Research President Ronald Holmes told Teleradyo Serbisyo last July 15, 2023. Magno, however, chooses to go beyond all these current priorities and push for the modernization of the country&#x27;s budget and financial system, which he believes would be key to achieving all those other priorities. &quot;You need an enabling environment for effective use of the budget because this would require resources. I would like to say that the priority should be in terms of institutionalizing good governance practices specifically in the budget process,&quot; Magno said. &quot;Having said these, it will require information systems. We need to have an integrated financial management and information system in order to track budget execution kasi mapansin mo na in the past may underspending. It emanates from the weak monitoring system at saka yung lack of information din,&quot; Magno explained. &quot;We need to look at new technologies, artificial intelligence in order to make the provision of public services more efficient and effective. So citizen centric public services, through the use of emerging technologies. That includes artificial intelligence, blockchain and cloud computing, but I think artificial intelligence would be the most appropriate technologies,&quot; Magno also said. <div>RELATED VIDEO</div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2636067" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

The Senate is on the spot as most of the remaining unfinished priority bills of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. continue to languish in the chamber. 

President Marcos' unfinished priority bills languish in the Senate

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President Marcos' unfinished priority bills languish in the Senate

RG Cruz,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jul 19, 2023 10:57 PM PHT

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Senate

Marcos presidency

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priority bills

Juan Miguel Zubiri

Ferdinand Marcos

Jr.

LEDAC

Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council

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