House to pass more measures to rebuild typhoon-hit areas

MANILA, Philippines - The House of Representatives will continue to pass more measures to help rebuild communities devastated by Super Typhoon Yolanda and other calamities, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said yesterday.

In his address to the chamber Wednesday night before Congress adjourned for its Christmas break, Belmonte said the rebuilding of disaster-hit communities did not stop with the passage of the P2.606-trillion national budget and the P22.4-billion supplemental budget that contained provisions for rehabilitation projects.

Belmonte said the supplemental budget would fund urgent infrastructure, socioeconomic rehabilitation and reconstruction projects, which were not allotted funds under existing laws.

“An even greater challenge to the rehabilitation of typhoon-affected areas will be to provide the means by which victims can be genuinely empowered,” he said.

“We should not merely rebuild damaged infrastructure and property, or restore means of livelihood, or resume disrupted classes,” he added.

He also stressed the need to “restore hope, confidence, and resolve in individuals, families and communities.”

“It is only through genuine empowerment that our people can truly live their own lives, fend for their own families and carve their own future,” he said.

Belmonte said the House should work harder to provide more jobs and opportunities for Filipinos, even as he thanked lawmakers for their efforts to minimize the damage and casualties from Typhoon Ruby.

1,688 measures

Belmonte said the House has processed 1,688 measures as of Dec. 17, of which 20 were enacted into law and 350 approved on third and final reading.

He said among the key legislation enacted into laws to help boost the country’s economic growth and productivity were Republic Act 10635 or Establishing the MARINA as the Single Maritime Administration; RA 10638, Extending the Corporate Life of Philippine National Railways for another 50 years; RA 10641, Allowing the Full Entry of Foreign Banks; RA 10644, Promoting Job Generation and Inclusive Growth Through the Development of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises; RA 10645, An Act Providing For the Mandatory PhilHealth Coverage For All Senior Citizens; RA 10647, Strengthening the Ladderized Interface Between Technical-Vocational Education and Training and Higher Education; and RA 10648, Providing Scholarship Grants to Top Graduates of All Public High Schools. – With Marvin Sy