LEDAC delay won’t affect pending reforms, says Recto

MANILA, Philippines — The cancelled convening of the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) due to conflict among lawmakers will not affect pending reform measures, Finance Secretary Ralph Recto said.

On the sidelines of the 2024 Annual Reception for the Banking Community late Friday night, Recto said the supposed LEDAC meeting scheduled two days ago did not push through.

Earlier this week, Recto said he was scheduled to present to LEDAC the refined tax proposals of the Department of Finance.

“The meeting did not proceed. I have no idea what they spoke about. I was not part of the meeting,” Recto told reporters in reference to the separate meeting of President Marcos with congressmen and senators.

“The delay was in the LEDAC but I don’t think it will affect the reform measures in the Senate,” he said.

The 20-member LEDAC is the consultative and advisory body to the President on certain programs and policies essential to the realization of the goals of the economy.

The convening of the LEDAC is where the government’s legislative agenda is discussed, focusing on priority measures to be passed.

“Eventually a week or two weeks from now, I will be visiting the Senate to discuss all of these measures with them,” Recto said.

It should be noted that most of the tax proposals of the DOF have been passed by the House of Representatives and are just pending at the Senate level.

The scheduled LEDAC meeting was called off amid feuding over the people’s initiative to amend the Constitution.

This came after all 24 senators have opposed an ongoing people’s initiative that the House is supporting to amend restrictive economic provisions in the 1987 Constitution.

Earlier this week, Recto said that he personally supports amending the economic provisions of the Constitution. He was deputy speaker of the House before he was appointed DOF chief.

Nonetheless, Recto said this is now a prerogative of Congress and that the executive branch has no role in such.

“But having said that, there are segments in society that need to further liberalize the economy,” Recto said.

“I have not gotten instructions from the President, but I think the President, to attract more investments, would be amenable to amend the Charter, to further liberalize the economy,” he said.