The Senate is ready to hit the ground running on priority bills and other key pieces of legislation as it opened the Second Regular Session of the 19th Congress.
“We made a commitment that, on the part of the Senate, we will pass 20 priority bills by December 2023,” Senate President Migz Zubiri said.
“We made a commitment that, on the part of the Senate, we will pass 20 priority bills by December 2023.”
“We need to hit the ground running,” Zubiri added.
The Senate chief said the 24-member chamber, in resuming plenary sessions under the 19th Congress, aims to pass the proposed Public-Private Partnership Act, which will amend Republic Act No. 6957 or the “Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT)” Law; the creation of a National Disease Prevention Management Authority; the proposed Internet Transactions Act; the establishment of the Medical Reserve Corps and the Virology Institute of the Philippines; the reinstatement of the mandatory Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) Program; and the bill revitalizing the Philippines’ salt industry.
Senators are also set to work on the approval of measures aimed at improving and streamlining government transactions and services, specifically: the proposed Real Property Valuation and Assessment Reform Act; the proposed E-Governance and E-Government Act; Ease of Paying Taxes Act; the National Government Rightsizing Act; Automatic Income Classification of Local Government Units; and the bills providing for a Unified System for Separation, Retirement and Pension of Military and Uniformed Services; and a New Philippine Passport Law.
The chamber also sees the passage of the proposed Waste-to-Energy Act; Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers; the proposed “Trabaho Para Sa Bayan” Act; as well as the Anti-Financial Scamming Act, and proposed amendments to the Bank Secrecy Law, the veteran legislator said.
Apart from the priority bills, the seasoned lawmaker said the Senate is resolute in its commitment to help uplift the lives of Filipinos by pushing for an increase in the wages of workers through a legislated nationwide wage hike.
The Senate President will also push the third reading passage of the Philippine Defense Industry Development Act (PDIDA), Cybersecurity Act, and proposed amendments to the procurement provisions of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Act.
The Upper Chamber, he added, also continues to uphold and stand for the Philippines’ sovereign rights over the West Philippines Sea. A Senate resolution would be adopted to support calls for the government to bring China’s incursions in Philippine waters before the United Nations General Assembly.
“The Senate is the last bastion of democracy.”
“The Senate is the last bastion of democracy. It is important to maintain independence,” Zubiri concluded.
