Seven major bills await Marcos' signature, highest legislative output since 10th Congress
By Derco Rosal
At A Glance
- Seven priority bills ratified by the House of Representatives before the 19th Congress ended two weeks ago are expected to be signed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., making the total priority measures the highest number of enacted laws since the 10th Congress.
Seven priority bills ratified by the House of Representatives before the 19th Congress ended two weeks ago are expected to be signed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., making the total priority measures the highest number of enacted laws since the 10th Congress.
Reports showed that the 19th Congress had passed a total of 40 priority bills under the common legislative agenda (CLA) identified by the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC).
According to the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev), this marks the “highest number of priority measures passed since the 10th Congress during the Ramos administration.”
The seven priority bills are the Government Optimization Act, Liberalization of the Lease of Private Lands by Foreign Investors, E-Governance Act, Konektadong Pinoy Act, Virology Institute of the Philippines Act, Accelerated and Reformed Right-of-Way (ARROW) Act, and Enhanced Fiscal Regime for Large-Scale Metallic Mining Act.
“Once signed by the President, these seven bills will be added to the 33 measures already enacted under the CLA,” DEPDev noted.
Fort the 20th Congress, National Socioeconomic Planner Arsenio Balisacan said that DEPDev particularly supports the passage of the Department of Water Resources Bill and the proposed National Land Use Act.
Balisacan said the enactment of these bills will help build a strong foundation “for more efficient governance and sustainable development” in the coming years.
To date, there are 33 enacted measures covering major economic and tax reforms such as the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Code of the Philippines, Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises to Maximize Opportunities for Reinvigorating the Economy (CREATE MORE) Act, Real Property Valuation and Assessment Reform Act (RPVARA), Capital Markets Efficiency Promotion Act (CMEPA), Trabaho Para sa Bayan Act, and Tatak Pinoy Act.
Also passed by the 19th Congress were social development measures focused on education, including the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning Program Act and Enterprise-Based Education and Training Framework Act, as well as laws to improve agricultural output, such as the New Agrarian Emancipation Act, Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act, and amendments to the Agricultural Tariffication Act.
“As we look ahead to the 20th Congress, we are hopeful for continued momentum in advancing our legislative agenda,” Balisacan said.