Manila Bulletin
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Marcos' late term legislative agenda makes sense to these House leaders
Philippines
National
Marcos' late term legislative agenda makes sense to these House leaders
Marcos' late term legislative agenda makes sense to these House leaders
Published Jul 28, 2026 11:54 pm
At A Glance
- Lawmakers including Reps. Migz and Luigi Villafuerte express full support for President Marcos' legislative agenda in his fifth SONA, highlighting relief for low-income families, the middle class, and small businesses.
- They back amendments to the EPIRA to scrap systems loss charges and VAT, alongside expanded tax exemptions and a broader tax amnesty to ease the burden on households and entrepreneurs.
- Deputy Speaker Jay Khonghun and Rep. Agatha Paula Cruz emphasize that the proposals directly address family expenses, promising lower costs, affordable healthcare, dignified jobs, and responsive governance.
President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. (Facebook)
Ranking congressmen have expressed their full support for the legislative agenda set by President Marcos in his fifth and penultimate State of the Nation Address (SONA), which coincided with the start of the second regular session.
Camarines Sur Reps. Migz Villafuerte (5th distict) and Luigi Villafuerte (2nd district) hailed Marcos for laying out proposed legislation designed to dish out relief not only to low-income Filipinos but also those in the middle class and small entrepreneurs.
“We give our full backing to the long-overdue overhaul of the EPIRA (Electric Power Industry Reform Act) by junking the systems loss charge and the VAT (value-added tax) on this charge that DUs (distribution utilities) pass on to power consumers as these are responsible for jacking up our monthly electricity bills,” Rep. Migz, chairman of the House Committee on Information and Communications technology (ICT), said in reference to the SONA Monday, July 27.
On the other hand, Rep. Luigi, a deputy majority leader, said “We are likewise supporting the President’s proposed legislation to expand the tax breaks not only for low-income Filipinos but for the middle class as well by exempting those earning up to P350,000 annually from paying income taxes and exempting small businesses from paying the CIT (corporate income tax).”
For the Villafuertes, the President’s proposals “spell genuine relief for Filipinos reeling from the elevated cost of living arising from the global oil shock touched off by the Middle East conflict".
The siblings lamented that there seems to be "no end in sight" to the oil supply problem "amid the on-and-off hostilities between the United States and Iran for five months now".
President Marcos also proposed a broader tax amnesty for taxpayers with outstanding liabilities in their estate tax, income tax, donor’s tax and VAT payments.
In his speech on Monday, the Chief Executive asked the 20th Congress to write new laws on, among others, amending the EPIRA to: (1) do away with the systems loss charge and its corresponding VAT that power firms tuck in the electricity bills they charge their consumers, and (2) broaden the tax relief for income and corporate taxpayers by increasing tax-free annual taxable income to P350,000 and exempting small businesses from paying the CIT.
These systems losses include technical and non-technical losses such as defective or tampered meters and pilferage by unscrupulous customers.
Meanwhile, the President is, in effect, proposing an amendatory measure to the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law by increasing the tax-free threshold for taxpayers from P250,000 to P350,000.
Marcos, who won the presidency in 2022 with a record 31 million votes, will deliver his final SONA in 2027. He will then step down from Malacañang the following year, ending a six-year term.
'Maganda ang mensahe'
Deputy Speaker Zambales 1st district Rep. Jay Khonghun says the President’s proposals directly addresses expenses carried by workers, small businesses, and common households.
He says this gives Congress practical measures to pursue instead of broad policy declarations.
“Maganda ang mensahe dahil ang sukatan ay nasa tahanan ng bawat ordinaryong Pilipino: mas mababang buwis, mas murang kuryente, gamot na abot-kaya at trabahong may dignidad,” Khonghun noted.
(The message is good because the measure lies in the home of every ordinary Filipino: lower taxes, cheaper electricity, affordable medicine, and dignified work.)
“Ang trabaho namin ngayon sa Kamara ay gawing batas ang mga hakbang na makakabawas sa gastos ng pamilya,” he explained.
(Our job now in the House is to turn into law the steps that will reduce family expenses.)
For Assistant Majority Leader Bulacan 5th district Rep. Agatha Paula Cruz, the Chief Executive’s legislative agenda reflects a strong commitment to ease the burden on Filipino families while sustaining the country's economic growth.
“The President’s SONA delivered hope and direction by focusing on reforms that improve the daily lives of Filipinos,” Cruz said.
“These measures will provide meaningful relief to workers, consumers, and entrepreneurs who continue to face rising living costs,” she said.
Bulacan lawmaker says the House of Representatives is ready to act on the President’s priority measures this second regular session. “Congress will work with urgency to translate this vision into laws that create jobs, lower costs, and improve the lives of every Filipino."