LEDAC to thresh out priority bills next month
August 5, 2016 | 5:39pm
President Rodrigo Duterte signs the Freedom of Information (FOI) Executive Order in Davao on July 23. The document is a commitment of the President to the Filipino people to bring transparency in government transactions. The EO covers all agencies under the executive branch.
Simeon Celi / Presidential Photographers Division, File
MANILA, Philippines — The Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) will meet next month to thresh out the priority bills of the Duterte administration and Congress.
This was agreed upon by members of the executive and legislative branches during a meeting in Malacañan Monday night.
“The executive committee of the LEDAC will he held on December 5. The submission of the list of priorities will be between now and Dec. 5,” Presidential Legislative Liaison Office Secretary Adelino Sitoy said in an interview Tuesday.
Among the lawmakers who attended the meeting were House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III, Senate Minority Ralph Recto, House Minority Leader Danilo Suarez, House justice committee Chairperson Rep. Reynaldo Umali and Senate justice committee Chairperson Richard Gordon.
The Cabinet members who were present during the meeting include Sitoy, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez, Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia.
“The meeting last night with members of the upper and lower house was the president's way of keeping in touch with the third branch of government, the independent legislature,” presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said.
“They did discuss legislation and the representatives expressed general support of the chief executive's legislative agenda,” he added.
A source from the executive branch said the problem on illegal drugs was the most discussed topic during the meeting.
“The president asked the help of the Senate and House leaderships because of the widespread drug problem,” the source said.
According to the source, the president gave Congress leaders thick sheets of paper believed to contain the names of government officials with alleged links to the narcotics trade.
Earlier, Duterte said he would ask the help of Congress to deal with the drug menace, admitting that he cannot solve the problem by himself. Among the solutions being eyed by Duterte is the reimposition of death penalty, which he said would serve as a retribution to criminals
Duterte is the chairman of LEDAC while Vice President Ma. Leonor “Leni” Robredo is its vice chairman. The council has 20 members from the legislature, the Cabinet and other sectors.
The Duterte administration is pushing for the passage of 15 bills clustered into four categories namely security, justice and peace; economic development; good governance; and human development and poverty alleviation.
Priority measures under the security, justice and peace are the following:
- Amendments to the Human Security Act including provisions seeking to strengthen efforts against terrorism financing and cybercrime
- Bangsamoro Basic Law, which aims to establish a new autonomous entity in Mindanao
- A new national defense act to revive the mandatory Reserved Officers Training Program
Bills under the economic development cluster are:
- Tax reform package including a bill lowering personal and corporate income tax
- Relaxing the bank secrecy law to facilitate the resolution of pending tax evasion cases. The measure is expected to result in a higher tax collection that would offset revenue losses from lower income tax.
- Relaxing of some economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution
- A bill granting the president emergency powers to address the traffic move
Bills under the good governance cluster are:
- Establishing a federal system of government
- A bill creating a People’s Broadcasting System that would replace state-run media outlets PTV-4 and DZRB to make them more financially viable
- Freedom of Information Bill
- Whistleblower Act
- Enhancement of the Witness Protection Program
Bills that fall under the human development and poverty alleviation cluster are:
- Creation of a Department for Overseas Filipinos
- A law amending the 1996 Passport Law to lengthen the validity of passports from five years to ten years
- Amendments to the National Health Care Insurance Program to cover all Filipinos. Bills seeking to expand the coverage of PhilHealth to include women about to give birth and their newborn and persons with disabilities have been filed in Congress.
BrandSpace Articles
<
>
Philstar
- Latest
- Trending
Trending
Latest
Trending
By Rhodina Villanueva | 22 hours ago
By Jean Mangaluz | 2 days ago
By Sheila Crisostomo | 22 hours ago
By Cecille Suerte Felipe | 22 hours ago
Latest
By Helen Flores | 22 hours ago
By Christine Boton | 22 hours ago
By Cecille Suerte Felipe | 22 hours ago
By Bella Cariaso | 22 hours ago
Recommended
January 4, 2025 - 12:00am
3 days ago
3 days ago
3 days ago
