Senate President Vicente Sotto III on Thursday said that he wants the Senate to fasttrack action on the medical scholarship bill and four other proposals when they resume sessions later this month.

The second regular session of the 18th Congress will open on July 27, coinciding with President Duterte's his fifth State-of-the-Nation Address.

In a statement, Sotto said he will push for priority discussions on the proposed Medical Scholarship Act, the proposed Presidential Drug Enforcement Authority Act, the proposed Hybrid Election Act, proposed Anti-False Content Act, and his proposed 14th Month Pay law.

"I will move for speedy but comprehensive committee and plenary discussions on these five priority measures which I believe can make a huge impact on the lives of the Filipino people. The variety in the objectives of these measures would hopefully bring about needed reforms in governance, which at this time are essential to tip the scale in favor of public welfare over political, corporate or personal interests," Sotto said.

Last May, Senate Committee on Higher Education chairman Sen. Joel Villanueva sponsored the proposed Medical Scholarship Act, or Senate Bill No. 1520. The bill, now awaiting plenary discussion, seeks to provide scholarships for "deserving" Filipino students in State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) and in private Higher Education Institutions.

In exchange, it proposes a mandatory return service of scholars for at least one year, in hospitals in their hometown or in underserved areas as determined by the Department of Health.

Sotto said the measure will encourage financially-challenged students to take up medicine and eventually increase the number of physicians in the country, mentioning that the "country's healthcare system teetered on the brink of collapse under the medical weight of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic due to the lack of health professionals to attend to the surge in the number of sick patients."

The Senate chief also renewed his call for the passage of his Senate Bill No. 3, which aims to establish a Presidential Drug Enforcement Authority to "strengthen the government's fight against illegal drugs by unifying its four major programs – enforcement, prosecution, prevention, and rehabilitation – into a single agency."  The bill is pending before the Senate Committee of Public Order and Dangerous Drugs.

He also pushed for his SB No. 7 or the proposed Hybrid Election Act which suggests an electoral system that would use manual voting and counting on the precinct level and electronic transmission and canvassing. "The mixed mode is aimed at ensuring credible, accurate, and transparent elections," he said.

The proposed Anti-False Content Law  pushes to prohibit and penalize the publication and proliferation of "false" online content. Sotto also called this his "anti-fake news bill."

He also reiterated the need for the grant of 14th month pay to workers in the private sector.

"Times are difficult, especially with the impacts of the COVID-19 nightmare likely to haunt us for a long time. We need a break. These measures would, hopefully, give our people something to look forward to," he said.