Tax reform, national ID top Senate priorities

MANILA, Philippines - The Duterte administration’s tax reform program, the national ID system, amendments to the Constitution and the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) will be among the priorities for approval in the Senate.

In his message yesterday at the opening of the second regular session of the 17th Congress, Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III said the Senate’s higher trust and approval ratings based on latest surveys meant greater expectations from the public that senators will work harder.

“We may have performed well before, but we must exceed the standard we set in the previous session if we are to retain or exceed the trust and approval that we have from the public,” Pimentel said.

He expressed confidence that the Senate could successfully meet this challenge.

Pimentel said the Senate faces a lot of work with 1,242 bills and 297 resolutions pending in the chamber, and more measures would be filed in the coming months.

“These are large numbers, but they are not daunting numbers. We have proven in the previous session just how much work we can put in when the public welfare is on the line,” Pimentel said.

He said the Senate would ease the burden of workers and middle-class Filipinos while ensuring that all government programs remain funded through the administration’s Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act (TRAIN).

Strengthening the Human Security Act of 2007 will help ensure the safety of Filipinos against terrorism, while the passage of a law mandating a national ID system will improve the delivery of basic services, he said. 

He also said the chamber aims to provide free health services to all Filipinos by approving the proposed Universal Health Care Act. 

Charter change, BBL

Pimentel said the Senate would also speed up the approval of the BBL, which President Duterte is expected to certify as urgent.

The chamber will also resume in earnest deliberations on various proposed amendments to the Constitution, including the shift to a federal system of government and easing restrictive economic provisions.

“We will empower our regions to determine their development plans, their overall direction, through the shift to federalism,” Pimentel said.

Pimentel and Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto, however, said the bill seeking to reimpose the death penalty is not in the list of priorities but will be tackled “in the regular course of business.”

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said his bloc is generally supportive of the legislative priorities as well as the proposed budget for the 2018.

Drilon, however, said the proposal to shift to a federal form of government would be closely scrutinized.

Sen. Manny Pacquiao, one of the advocates in the Senate for the reimposition of death penalty for heinous crimes, was not bothered by the exclusion of his pet bill among the priorities.

“I understand there are also other equally important bills but we’ll continue to push for it (death penalty),” Pacquiao told reporters in Filipino.