THE 18th Congress has vowed to maximize its remaining weeks before its election break for the passage of pending priority bills, including the Government Financial Institutions Unified Initiatives to Distressed Enterprises Act (GUIDE), Center for Disease Prevention and Control as well as the tax packages under the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program of the Duterte administration.
Speaker Lord Allan Velasco said the session will return on Monday to a post-holiday break session with strict health and safety protocols in place amid the ongoing threat of the highly contagious Omicron coronavirus variant.
“We only have three weeks or nine session days to finish some priority measures before we adjourn for the election period,” Velasco said in a statement.
After it resumes session on Monday, the House will adjourn on February 5 in time for the start of the campaign period for nationally-elected positions on February 8.
Nudge to Senate
Velasco also appealed to the Senate to act on at least a dozen measures that have already been approved on final reading by the House.
These include the proposed Internet Transactions Act and the Government Financial Institutions Unified Initiatives to Distressed Enterprises or GUIDE Act; the bills creating the Medical Reserve Corps, Philippine Virology Institute, and Center for Disease Prevention and Control; hiring of mental health professionals in basic education; increasing social pension of indigent senior citizens; and strengthening data privacy protection.
“We urge the Senate to expedite the deliberations and approval of these measures so we can pass them into law before the campaign period,” Velasco said.
For his part, House Committee on Ways and Means Joey Sarte Salceda said the lower chamber is “always ready and always committed to the President’s socioeconomic reform agenda.”
Salceda responded to a recent statement by the Department of Finance appealing to Congress to pass the remaining packages of the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program, President Duterte’s landmark fiscal legislative agenda, and which Salceda principally authored.
In a recent statement, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said that the Department is “optimistic” about the chances of Congress approving the remaining tax reform packages.
“The House is ready for bicam. Whenever the Senate sends it, we will act on it,” Salceda assured.
“I’m a true believer in many of the features of these reforms, which I have advocated for since the 1990s.”
Salceda said that he has “some proposals to make the packages more responsive to the economic situation.”
Tweaks to valuation
“On Package 3 [Real Property Valuation and Assessment Reform], I suggest amending the rules so that we no longer tax fixed machinery and equipment that is in active use for business. That will encourage modern and productive use of land,” Salceda said.
Salceda also said “a transition period may be necessary to ease in LGUs, so that the changes in valuation are not so drastic that small farmers, residential owners, and small businesses are not shocked by their tax increases.”
“I think a five-year transition period is a good starting point for discussions. For high-value areas such as business districts and exclusive for-the-rich villages, we can immediately implement the accurate valuations. Finally, I also want a bigger discount for socialized housing, through lower assessment levels,” Salceda said.
Salceda also sees certain changes that could be made to Package 4 of the CTRP, on passive income and financial intermediaries, to make the proposal “more appealing to a broader consensus.”
“I propose three major changes to PIFITA [Passive Income and Financial Intermediaries Taxation Act]. First, I would like to reconsider the taxes we impose on basic records such as birth certificates. Second, let us take a second look at the DST taxation of the PCSO, to see whether we are taking away from their revenues to serve the medical needs of the poor. Finally, I would like to take a look at how we tax trading gains on cryptocurrencies and other non-security assets.
These in principle should at the very least be subject to capital gains taxes,” Salceda added.
“The aim should still be revenue neutrality for Package 4, and the non-tax priorities of Package 3. With Package 3, we can complete infrastructure faster, since confusing or disharmonized valuation tends to be part of the right-of-way issues,” Salceda explained.
“I think the Secretary of Finance knows that the House will not cause any delay in the passage of key reforms. We still have time. I urge my Senate counterparts to see what we can still finish among the reforms,” Salceda said.
Protocols
Meanwhile, Velasco said the House will implement necessary protocols to protect lawmakers and employees as the chamber “continues to fulfill its mandate of producing laws designed to improve the lives of Filipinos.”
“This is not the time to be complacent. We needed to step up our health and safety protocols in the House so we could keep the legislative mill running even in the midst of what has been described as the worst surge in Covid-19 cases in the country,” Velasco said.
Emerging from a two-week lockdown, the House is expected to intensify the implementation of the HousePass System while plenary sessions will still be done in a hybrid manner.
Velasco maintained that only 20 percent of the workforce in each department and office in the House will be allowed to report for work starting Monday.
Under the HousePass system, a health and safety officer (HSO) assigned to each department and office can nominate staff members who will be reporting for work daily. These personnel can then fill out online a digital copy of their health declaration form and, after which, will be assigned a QR code.
The code will then be scanned upon entering the buildings at the Batasang Pambansa complex. Only authorized persons, as nominated by HSOs, will be allowed inside.
An antigen test will be administered to those physically reporting for work at the start of every week. Those with symptoms or have received a positive test result should consult a physician and self-isolate for at least 7 days, pursuant to recent guidelines released by the Department of Health.
The sessions shall be held from Monday to Wednesday, with a limited number of House members and Secretariat personnel physically present inside the plenary hall. The rest of lawmakers shall attend the session through videoconference.
All committee meetings, public hearings and events in the House shall be conducted via videoconferencing platforms.
Image credits: AP/Aaron Favila