Palace bares LEDAC measures to push in Congress in 2023

The Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council has identified 20 measures which will be pushed for approval by Congress before the end of the year, Malacañang said on Wednesday.

According to the Presidential Communications Office, the LEDAC in a meeting presided by President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. approved the following as legislative priorities:

1. Amendments of the BOT Law/PPP bill
2. National Disease Prevention Management Authority
3. Internet Transactions Act/E-Commerce Law
4. Health Emergency Auxillary Reinforcement Team (Heart) Act formerly Medical Reserve Corps
5. Virology Institute of the Philippines
6. Mandatory ROTC and NSTP
7. Revitalizing the Salt Industry
8. Valuation Reform
9. E-Government/E-Governance
10. Ease of Paying Taxes
11. National Government Rightsizing Program
12. Unified System of Separation/Retirement and Pension of MUPs
13. LGU Income Classification
14. Waste-to-Energy bill
15. New Philippine Passport Act
16. Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers
17. National Employment Action Plan
18. Amendments to the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act
19. the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas-endorsed Bank Deposit Secrecy
20. Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act (AFASA)

Eighteen of the 20 bills are among the priority legislative measures at the first LEDAC meeting in October 2022.

Of the 42, three (RA 11934 or An Act Requiring the Registration of Subscriber Identity Module; RA 11935 or the Postponement of Brgy./SK elections and RA 11939 or Amendment to AFP Fixed Term) have been signed into law.

Another three (RA HB 6608 or the Maharlika Investment Fund Act, HB 7751 or the Department of Health Specialty Centers Act and HB 6336 or New Agrarian Emancipation Act) are up for Marcos' signature.

The other priority measures from the 2022 LEDAC meeting include:

• the Passive Income and Financial Intermediary Taxation Act (PIFITA)
• National Land Use Act (NALUA)
• Enabling Law for the Natural Gas Industry
• Apprenticeship Law
• Philippine Ecosystem and Natural Capital Accounting System (PENCAS)
• Government Financial Institutions Unified Initiatives to Distressed Enterprises for Economic Recovery (GUIDE)
• Free Legal Assistance for Police and Soldiers
• Negros Island Region
• Leyte Ecological Industrial Zone
• Eastern Visayas Development Authority
• Philippine Immigration Bill
• Comprehensive Infrastructure Development Master Plan
• Magna Carta of Barangay Health Workers

Five bills are in various stages of the legislative process: Budget Modernization Bill, Amendments to the Electric Power Industry Reform Act, Department of Water Resources, National Defense Act, and, Amendments to the Universal Healthcare Act.

Speaker Ferdinand Romualdez said of the remaining 36 priority measures from the first LEDAC, they have passed 32 measures on third and final reading in the House of Representatives.

On top of the SONA priority bills, several legislative measures are also being proposed for inclusion in the common legislative agenda (CLA).

Under Republic Act No. 7640, LEDAC serves as a consultative and advisory body to the President on certain programs and policies essential to the realization of the goals of the national economy.

The CLA is a list of priority legislative measures of the Executive and Legislative branches of government, which the Council has agreed to actively pursue to be passed in Congress. —NB, GMA Integrated News