Villanueva: PBBM's proposals in SONA have sense of urgency

Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva said the Senate looks forward to the convening of the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) so it could take up the 19 pieces of legislation that President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. laid out in his State of the Nation Address (SONA).

“As Senate Majority leader, we will pay close attention and prioritize these proposed laws. It is clear that these proposals are rooted in the experience and lessons from the crises from the pandemic, in the economy, energy, and education. These give the proposals a sense of urgency,” Villanueva stressed on Monday, July 25.

“For me, we can infer the opportunities for job creation from the administration’s plans for digital technology, agriculture, and infrastructure. We can also see the labor policy from the priority legislation of establishing the Medical Reserve Corps and support for medium, small, medium enterprises (MSMEs),” he added.

Villanueva said “We are one with the president in paying close attention to the welfare of our OFWs through the recently established Department of Migrant Workers (DMW). The administration can count on us that we will focus on the transition of the DMW.”

He said that the Senate would also be studying the administration’s policy of fiscal discipline and taxation proposals, as these are key to funding the programs laid out by President Marcos.

“We can also conduct an evaluation of the current tax collection efforts to ensure proper and effective tax collection. We should also balance the needs of the government to generate funds with the interest of affected sectors of these tax proposals,” he added.