BY SAMMY JULIAN
Manila News Bureau Chief, Panay News
MANILA – Malacañang presented 23 priority bills to congressional leaders during the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) meeting convened by President Benigno Aquino III yesterday.
Aquino was joined in the meeting, which began at 10 a.m., by Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., several members of the Senate, the House of Representatives and the Cabinet.
Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. earlier stated the priority bills initially identified were 17 but six more were added.
"All the 23 proposals went through benchmarking, goal-setting, and prioritization process during various Cabinet workshops and the succeeding meetings of the Cabinet clusters," Ochoa said.
He said the measures reflect the administration’s 16-point agenda for human development, infrastructure development, economic development, sovereignty and security and good governance, as well as the targets under the integrated Medium-Term Development Plan.
"In determining the measures to be included in our priorities, we reckoned with four parameters: people, resources, legal basis and political objectives," he added.
The 23 priority measures are:
• An act further amending certain sections of Republic Act (RA) 6957, as amended by RA 7718, entitled "an act authorizing the financing, construction, operation and maintenance of infrastructure projects by the private sector, and for other purposes," appropriating funds for the said purpose, and for other purposes.
• An act creating the Department of Housing and Urban Development, defining its mandate, powers and functions, providing funds therefore and for other purposes.
• An act rationalizing the night work prohibition on female workers, thereby amending Articles 130 and 131 of Presidential Decree 442, as amended, otherwise known as the Labor Code of the Philippines.
• An act enhancing the curriculum and increasing the number of years for basic education, appropriating funds therefore, and for other purposes.
• An act providing a definite targeting strategy in identifying the poor, amending RA 7875 or the National Health Insurance Act of 1995 as amended, and for other purposes.
• An act reorganizing the National Food Authority into the National Food Corp. and the Food Development and Regulatory Administration, redefining their powers, appropriating funds therefore and for other purposes.
• Amendments to RA 9136 or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001.
• An act rationalizing the economic regulation of water utilities, creating the water regulatory commission, and for other purposes.
• An act rationalizing the grant and administration of fiscal incentives for the promotion of investments and growth, and for other purposes.
• An act instituting a national land use act, providing the implementing mechanisms therefore, and for other purposes.
• An act to establish the archipelagic sea lanes in the Philippine archipelagic waters, prescribing the rights and obligations of foreign ships and aircraft exercising the right of archipelagic sea lanes passage through the established archipelagic sea lanes and providing for the associated protective measures therein.
• An act to define the maritime zones of the Republic of the Philippines.
• An act to strengthen the modernization of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, extending the implementation of the modernization program of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, instituting necessary reforms in the Armed Forces of the Philippines, amending for the purpose certain provisions of RA 7898, otherwise known as the AFP Modernization Act and for other purposes.
• An act resetting the date of the regular elections for elective officials of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), synchronizing the ARMM elections with the synchronized national and local elections 2013, amending for the purpose RA 9333, entitled "an act affixing the date for regular elections for elective officials of the AMM pursuant to RA 9054" entitled "an act to strengthen and expand the organic act for the ARMM, amending for the purpose RA 6734, entitled an act providing for an organic act for the ARMM, as amended," and for other purposes.
• An act penalizing anti-competitive agreements, abuse of dominant power, and anti competitive mergers, establishing the Philippine fair competition commission and appropriating funds therefore, and for other purposes.
• An act strengthening the witness protection, security and benefit program, amending for the purpose RA 6981 otherwise known as the Witness Protection, Security and Benefit Act and providing additional funds.
• An act providing for protection, security and benefits of whistleblowers.
• An act to provide for the National Defense of the Philippines, penalizing certain violations thereof, appropriating funds therefore, and for other purposes.
• An act instituting reforms in land administration.
• An act to promote financial viability and fiscal discipline in government-owned or controlled corporations and to strengthen the role of the state in its governance and management to make them more responsive to the needs of public interest and for other purposes.
• An act amending certain sections of RA 9184 otherwise known as the Government Procurement Reform Act.
• An act to further strengthen the anti-money laundering law, amending for the purpose RA 9160, otherwise known as the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001, as amended, and for other purposes.
• An act defining terrorist financing as a crime and providing penalties./PN |
No comments:
Post a Comment