Senate President Vicente Sotto III pressed for a joint Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) meeting in advance of Monday’s resumption of regular session to firm up a common agenda of the two chambers of Congress.
The Senate leader expects the LEDAC meet to finalize the priority bills that will be promptly taken up by lawmakers for early approval before lawmakers adjourn anew on March 26.
Sotto III however acknowledged the possibility that Malacanang may take time to confirm the meeting, recalling that the Office of the President needs to be informed within 2 days before.
Asked about the agenda, the Senate President said: “we usually leave it to the Majority leader (Miguel Zubiri), he always has a guide.”
Sotto added the guide would be what the leadership discussed with the other House and the Executive department. “In this case, we have a program that we agreed on, a common legislative agenda. with the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) on top of the list.”
“Still priority pa rin sa amin ay yung CREATE,” he said noting that the fina reconciled bill is now being finalized be a bicameral panel.
Also in the list of bills being finalized for final reading, Zubiri added, are the “bills creating the Department of the Overseas Filipinos and the National Land Use Act, as well as issues on the E-Governance Act amendments and the imposition of death penalty for high-level drug trafficking, the National Housing Development Act, amendments to the Professional Development Act.”
He added that other bills still included in the common legislative agenda are the Medical Reserve Act, the creation of a Disease Prevention and Control Authority noting that “I think this is also very important topic to tackle, and then amendments to the Anti-money Laundering Law, the Internet Transactions Act, that Senator Sherwin Gatchalian is keen to pass.”
“And then, amendments to the Retail Trade Liberalization Act and the Magna Carta for the Barangay Healthcare Workers,” he said adding in the priority list “bills Increasing the Age of Statutory Rape, the Expanded Solo Parents Act now up for second reading, along with the Hybrid Election Act “na kailangan talagang desisyunan ng maaga at baka ito’y mahuli for the 2022 elections.”
In addition, Zubiri likewise listed “consideration of amendments to the Public Service Act, the Potable Water Supply for every barangay and the Military Uniformed Personnel (MUP) Services Separation and the MUP pension.”
Image credits: Simeon Celi Jr./Malacañang Presidential Photographers Division via AP