President Marcos is expected to sign four of his priority bills, including the 2025 national budget, before the year ends, the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office (PLLO) said on Monday, Dec. 9.

President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. signs three legislative measures into law: ‘Amendments to the Agricultural Tariffication Act’ (R.A. No. 12078), the ‘Value-Added Tax (VAT) Refund for Non-Resident Tourists (R.A. No. 12079), and the ‘Basic Mental Health and Well-Being Promotion Act’ (R.A. No. 12080) during a ceremony at Malacañan Palace on Dec. 9, 2024. (Presidential photo)

PLLO Secretary Mark Llandro Mendoza disclosed that they are hopeful that four of the pending targeted bills by the Marcos administration will be signed by the President before Christmas.

“This year, it’ll be around, the others are in the bicam or the Senate plenary. So, this year, hopefully this year, maximum of four, four for this year, will maybe be signed,” he said in a mix of English and Filipino.

Mendoza, however, assured that 70 to 80 percent of the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) measures have already been completed.

Mendoza also noted that a LEDAC meeting has been set later.

Included also in the four priority bills that PLLO hopes the President could sign this year is the proposed P6.352 trillion national budget for 2025.

A technical working group (TWG) has been formed to summarize the provisions where the Senate and House of Representatives have disagreed on in their own versions of the bill. The bicameral conference committee—composed of members of both Houses—had already been convened last month.

The final version of the 2025 budget will be determined by the bicameral committee. A report from the committee will be awaited before the ratification from both Senate and Congress.

Meanwhile, Mendoza said that the bill on the postponement of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) elections initially set for 2025 is still being worked out in the House of Representatives.

“I think maghi-hearing pa ‘yun, maghi-hearing pa rin naman sa Senate (There will still be a hearing, there will also be a hearing in the Senate),” he said.

The postponement of the BARMM polls is expected after it was backed by personalities from the local and national offices because of a Supreme Court decision that excluded Sulu from the region.