Martin

PRIORITY FOR OK

May 7, 2023 Jester P. Manalastas 187 views

PRESIDENT Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. has approved 11 additional bills, including the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) as part of the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC).

This was disclosed by Speaker Ferdinand Romualdez to which these 11 will be added to the 31 priority measures of the Marcos government.

“President Marcos approved eleven bills designed to address key issues on public health, job creation, and further stimulate economic growth as part of his administration’s priority legislation (LEDAC). These measures will be the focus of our legislative efforts when Congress resumes session this Monday,” Romualdez said in a statement.

The House leader has accompanied President Marcos during his “meaningful” and “constructive” five-day official visit to the United States (US) and coronation of newly crowned monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, King Charles III and Queen Camila.

The 11 bills are: 1. Amending the AFP Fixed Term Bill, which was transmitted to the President; 2. Ease of Paying Taxes, 3. Maharlika Investment Fund, 4. Local Government Unit Income Classification, and 5. Amendment to Universal Health Care Act, which were already sent to the Senate; 6. Bureau of Immigration Modernization and 7. Infrastructure Development Plan/Build Build Build Program, which is now for committee report preparation; 8. Philippine Salt Industry Development Act; 9. Philippine Ecosystem and Natural Capital Accounting System (PENCAS), 10. National Employment Action Plan, and 11. Amendment to the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act, which is under committee/technical working group (TWG) meeting.

Romualdez also said the leadership aims to approve the remaining eight LEDAC bills from the original 31 bills before the sine die adjournment of Congress on June 2.

These proposed pieces of legislation support the President’s Agenda for Prosperity and his eight-point socio-economic roadmap.

“They are intended to sustain our economic growth, hasten the country’s digital transformation and speed up the delivery of public services to our people, among other objectives,” he said.

A total of 31 proposed laws had been originally listed by the President in his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) in July last year and later adopted by the LEDAC.

Two of the 31 are now laws the government is implementing: SIM (subscriber identity module) Registration Act and the postponement of the barangay/Sangguniang Kabataan elections, which are now scheduled for October this year.