Members of the House of Representatives have been forging a tighter coordination with Malacañang and the Senate to prevent even a single presidential veto of bills to be approved by the 19th Congress.
During the Ugnayan sa Batasan Majority News Forum, House Majority Leader Manuel Jose M. Dalipe said closer coordination with the Palace would smoothen the process and guarantee better linkages, synergy and coordination to fast-track, facilitate and harmonize the passage of vital measures.
“We are closely coordinating with Malacañang and the Senate so that we can avoid vetoing of a measure, which is a waste of time and resources. Under the leadership of Speaker Martin [Romualdez], we are working with our counterparts to ensure the smooth passage of important bills,” Dalipe said.
Committee on Appropriation Senior Vice Chairperson Stella Luz Quimbo bared that she attended the first Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC)- Technical Working Group (TWG) last Thursday to expedite the approval of President Marcos’s priority bills and ensure that government resources will not be put to waste.
“Speaker [Martin Romualdez] said it is very important at this point in time of course not only effective legislation but cost-effective legislation. In other words, ayaw nating magkaroon ng veto, magastos ang vetoed bill. The Speaker said let us use the LEDAC as a platform to ensure that our legislation [will be approved with dispatch],” Quimbo said.
“The first LEDAC-TWG meeting was held last week to ensure that we will be able to pass the swiftest possible time the 19 legislative priority measures that have been identified by the President. Kasama doon ang pagbabaliktanaw kung anong nangyari in the past Congress, at anong naging problema particularly doon sa vetoed bills,” Quimbo added.
During the LEDAC-TWG meeting, Quimbo said eight of the 19 legislative priority measures of President Marcos were already approved on third and final reading by 18th Congress.
She said these measures are eligible for swift approval under Rule 10, Section 48 of the House of Representatives.
Quimbo said the use of this particular rule would greatly hasten consideration and endorsement by any committee of any covered bill, and its eventual plenary approval.
“At the same time, there are eight measures out of 19 that had already been approved on third reading by the last Congress,” Quimbo said.
House Assistant Majority Leader and Pwersa ng Bayaning Atleta Party-list Rep. Margarita Ignacia Nograles said the super majority in the House has been very supportive of Romualdez’s plan for a zero veto of bills to ensure that government resources are spent wisely and prudently.
She assured that the House of Representatives would pass well-crafted legislative measures where Cabinet members and other stakeholders will be given a chance to be heard.
Meanwhile, the 19 priority measures enumerated by President Marcos in his State of the Nation Address (SONA) were the Valuation Reform Bill, Passive Income and Financial Intermediary Taxation Act (PIFITA), E-Governance Act, Internet Transaction Act, GUIDE bill, Medical Reserve Corps 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.
The eight measures approved by 18th Congress were 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.
Under Rule 10, Section 48, it authorizes the committees to dispose of priority measures already filed and approved on third reading in the immediately preceding 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.”
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