LEDAC to tackle pending bills

MANILA, Philippines - President Arroyo will convene the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) on Thursday to draw up the list of urgent economic measures that lawmakers – preoccupied with congressional investigations and Charter change – failed to pass before they adjourned last week, officials said yesterday.

Presidential adviser for political affairs Gabriel Claudio said the LEDAC would try to refresh the economic agenda of the Arroyo administration in Congress as the country continues to feel the effects of the global economic crisis.

“The LEDAC meeting on Thursday will take up economic and revenue measures proposed to be given priority upon resumption of session to enhance the country’s economic resiliency and stability,” Claudio said.

“Charter change is not part of the agenda, which will be finalized in coordination with the Department of Finance and the National Economic and Development Authority,” he said.

Claudio clarified that the meeting will be attended by Cabinet members and among those invited are leaders of the Senate and the House of Representatives as well as representatives from business and other sectors.

Congress adjourned on June 3 following weeks of tumultuous sessions in both chambers.

While the House approved the much-awaited bill extending the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program, Mrs. Arroyo’s allies also passed the controversial Resolution 1109 convening Congress into a constituent assembly.

Senators, meanwhile, were busy investigating one of their own, Sen. Manuel Villar, who is facing complaints of conflict of interest for allegedly inserting billions in the national budget for the C-5 road project that reportedly would benefit his properties where the highway would pass through.

Villar has repeatedly denied the allegations.

The Senate also conducted hearings on the sex video scandal that some sectors viewed as pointless and an opportunity for senators, many of whom have presidential ambitions, to grandstand.

Officials said among the pending economic measures are the amendments to the Consumer Act to strengthen consumer protection against unscrupulous traders, price manipulation and unfair trade practices; the proposed Anti-Smuggling Act, which will impose stiffer penalties for technical smuggling and other violations; and the Rationalization of Fiscal Incentives bill.

Meanwhile, the President will inaugurate today in Porac, Pampanga the newly renovated water reservoir donated by the Japanese government in 1982 that will supply potable water to remote barangays of the municipality.

After the inauguration, Mrs. Arroyo will lead the groundbreaking of the installation of water distribution pipes of the water tank leading to barangay households, a Palace statement said.

The President will be assisted by Porac Mayor Rogelio Santos, Cabinet Officer for Region 3 Secretary Edgardo Pamintuan, Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) chairman Prospero Pichay, Porac Water District general manager Gil Manalastas, and Hacienda Dolores barangay chairman Emilio Sarmiento.

Before its renovation, the water tank had been idle for the past two years and most barangay households merely depended on nearby streams and rainwater for their daily water needs.

Santos said a proposed Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) is now being finalized between LWUA and Porac Water Works for the rehabilitation and turnover of the maintenance of the reservoir.

He said Mrs. Arroyo will also look into urgent problems that require immediate funding support such as drainage and flood-control systems, rehabilitation of irrigation canals, support mechanisms for agricultural production and construction and repair of school buildings in the remote villages of Porac. – Paolo Romero