THE House of Representatives has already approved on third and final reading seven of the 17 priority measures that President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Romualdez Marcos, Jr. requested Congress to pass in his second State of the Nation Address (SONA) last Monday, according to Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez.
Romualdez, leader of 312-member House of Representatives, expressed confidence that the chamber would wrap up the final approval of the remaining 10 SONA priority measures before the yearend— four before the congressional recess in October and the other six in December.
“I am extremely confident that the House of Representatives would again rise up to the occasion and accept the challenge from our President: to pass the 17 priority measures needed to sustain our economic recovery and improve the living condition of our people,” Speaker Romualdez said.
“Sa pagpasa ng lahat ng panukalang batas na hiniling na Pangulo, umaasa kami na makakatulong kami dito sa House of Representatives na mapalago pang lalo ang ekonomiya, mapasigla ang negosyo, maparami pa ang trabaho at mapalawak ang serbisyong hatid natin sa mga PIlipino,” he explained.
The list of 17 SONA priority measures, he noted, does not include the proposed 2024 national budget which the Executive Department will submit to Congress sometime next month.
“Of course, the most important bill that we need to discuss and approve the soonest time possible is the 2024 General Appropriations Bill based on the National Expenditure Program prepared by the Executive Department,” Speaker Romualdez pointed out.
“Ang national budget na ipapasa namin ang magsisiguro na lahat ng buwis na ibinabayad ng mga kababayan natin, gayundin ang iba pang revenue sources na nakokolekta, ay babalik sa taumbayan sa pamamagitan ng mga programa, proyekto, at serbisyo,” the House leader said.
The highest ranking House leader explained that the House of Representatives need to work double time in order to meet their self-imposed deadline of approving the 2024 appropriations bill as well as the 17 SONA priority measures before the end of the year 2023.
The seven SONA priority measures that were already approved by the House of Representatives on third and final reading are:
1. House Bill No. 4102 or Single-Use Plastic Bags Tax Act
2. House Bill No. 4122 or An Act Imposing Value-Added Tax on Digital Transactions
3. House Bill No. 6716 or An Act Mandating the Establishment of Fisherfolk Resettlement Areas by the Department of Agriculture, Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and Local Government Units
4. House Bill No. 7393 or Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act
5. House Bill No. 7006 or Automatic Income Classification Act for Local Government Units
6. House Bill No. 8203 or Bureau of Immigration Modernization Act
7. House Bill No. 4125 or Ease of Paying Taxes Act
The four SONA priority measures for approval by October are:
1. Anti-Agricultural Smuggling
2. Amendments to the Cooperative Code
3. Tatak Pinoy
4. Blue Economy
The six remaining priority measures for approval by December are:
1. Motor Vehicle User’s Charge
2. Military and Uniformed Personnel (MUP) Pension
3. Revised Procurement Law
4. New Government Auditing Code
5. Rationalization of Mining Fiscal Regime
6. National Water Act.
