AT least eight of the 19 legislative priority measures enumerated by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. in his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) are eligible for swift approval.

This was assured by Speaker Martin Romualdez, as he cited Rule 10, Section 48 of the House of Representatives which authorizes the committees to dispose of priority measures already filed and approved on third reading in the immediately preceding Congress.

Meanwhile on the other measures, Romualdez said the House would “work on the immediate approval in the soonest time possible in order to make Marcos’ vision of a better nation a reality.

The eight measures whose passage could be hastened through Rule 10, Section 48 are Valuation Reform Bill, PIFITA, E-Governance Act, Internet Transaction Act, GUIDE, Medical Reserve Corps, National Disease Prevention Management Authority, and Virology Institute of the Philippines.

Of the eight measures, five are covered by bills authored by Romualdez namely GUIDE (House Bill No. 1), Medical Reserve Corps (HB 2), Internet Transaction Act (HB 4), National Disease Prevention Management Authority (HB 9), and Virology Institute of the Philippines (HB 10).

“We have the internal mechanism for an expeditious approval process that is enshrined in Rule 10, Section 48 of the House rules of procedure,” Romualdez said, adding the passage of eight measures could be expedited, since these had been approved on third and final reading by the House and transmitted to the Senate in the course of the three-year life of the18th Congress.

Rule 10 provides: “In case of bills or resolutions that are identified as priority measures of the House, which were previously filed in the immediately preceding Congress and have already been approved on third reading, the same may be disposed of as matters already reported upon the approval of the members of the committee present, there being a quorum.”

In his first SONA, Marcos cited 19 measures he wanted to be approved during his term . These are: Valuation Reform Bill, Passive Income and Financial Intermediary Taxation Act (PIFITA), E-Governance Act, Internet Transaction Act, Government Financial Institutions Unified Initiatives to Distressed, Enterprises for Economic Recovery (GUIDE) bill, Medical Reserve Corp bill, National Disease Prevention Management Authority bill, Virology Institute of the Philippines bill, Unified System of Separation, Retirement and Pension bill, Department of Water Resources bill, E-Governance Act, National Land Use Act, Mandatory Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) and National Service Training Program, Budget, Modernization bill, National Government Rightsizing Program, National Defense Act, Enactment of an Enabling Law for the Natural Gas Industry, Amendments to the Electric Power Industry Reform Act, and Amendments to the Build-Operate-Transfer Law.

“We will give these and all the other SONA measures utmost priority,” Romualdez said.

The Speaker pointed out that the prospect of economic recovery looks bright with the President’s plan to implement tax administration reforms and sound fiscal management, and to prioritize government spending that would immediately address the economic scarring caused by the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Jester P. Manalastas