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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider House has huge headstart on SONA priority bills

House has huge headstart on SONA priority bills

Published Jul 25, 2023 08:31 am
House of Representatives (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)




Thanks to the chamber's prolific production during the first regular session, the House of Representatives has already approved seven out of the 17 priority measures that President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr. asked Congress to pass in his second State of the Nation Address (SONA). As such, House Speaker Martin Romualdez expressed confidence that the 312-strong chamber would be able to give final approval to the 10 remaining SONA priority measures before the end of the year. "I am extremely confident that the House of Representatives would again rise up to the occasion and accept the challenge from our President: to pass the 17 priority measures needed to sustain our economic recovery and improve the living condition of our people,” the House leader said in a statement Tuesday, July 25. President Marcos delivered his SONA on Monday afternoon, July 24 before a joint session of House members and senators. SONA day also marked the beginning of the second regular session of the 19th Congress. The seven SONA priority measures that were already approved by the House on third and final reading during the first regular session are: 1\. House Bill \(HB\) No\. 4102 or Single\-Use Plastic Bags Tax Act 2\. HB No\. 4122 or An Act Imposing Value\-Added Tax on Digital Transactions 3\. HB No\. 6716 or An Act Mandating the Establishment of Fisherfolk Resettlement Areas by the Department of Agriculture\, Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development\, Department of Environment and Natural Resources\, and Local Government Units 4\. HB No\. 7393 or Anti\-Financial Account Scamming Act 5\. HB No\. 7006 or Automatic Income Classification Act for Local Government Units 6\. HB No\. 8203 or Bureau of Immigration Modernization Act 7\. HB No\. 4125 or Ease of Paying Taxes Act Of the 10 pending SONA measures, Romualdez said the House targets to pass four of them before the October recess. These are the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling, Amendments to the Cooperative Code, the "Tatak Pinoy", and Blue Economy bills. Meanwhile, the six other priority measures that are slated for approval by December are the bills on  Motor Vehicle User’s Charge, Military and Uniformed Personnel (MUP) Pension, Revised Procurement Law, New Government Auditing Code, Rationalization of Mining Fiscal Regime, and National Water Act. “Of course, the most important bill that we need to discuss and approve the soonest time possible is the 2024 General Appropriations Bill (GAB)  based on the National Expenditure Program (NEP) prepared by the Executive Department,” Romualdez pointed out. The House is awaiting the executive branches submission of the P5.768-trillion NEP, which will become the basis of the 2024 GAB.

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House of Representatives Martin Romualdez #SONA 2023
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