EDITORIAL - Full speed ahead

A visibly emotional President Aquino asked his “bosses” the people yesterday for continued support as he pursues reforms in his final two years in office. Many of those reforms need legislation, and Congress has a lot on its plate even as it confronts corruption scandals implicating several of its members.

Business groups have presented their “wish list” for the executive and legislative branches to work on as the 16th Congress begins its second regular session. The House of Representatives has promised to give priority to the Bangsamoro Basic Law and the Freedom of Information Act even as it works with the Senate to pass within the year what is likely to become the most closely scrutinized national budget bill for 2015.

The Senate leadership said public trust in the chamber must be restored as people wait for more lawmakers to be indicted and arrested on allegations of skimming funds from their pork barrel. Some of that trust can be restored if people see a better, transparent system of crafting and utilizing the annual national appropriation. President Aquino, rebuffed by the entire Supreme Court in his Disbursement Acceleration Program, asked Congress yesterday for a supplemental budget to continue DAP projects such as scholarships.

Congress must work on the supplemental budget on top of the proposed 2015 General Appropriations Act. The deliberations on the GAA must not be bogged down by attempts to restore a modicum of the individual discretion over billions in public funds that lawmakers and other officials used to enjoy. And while it is inevitable that the legislature will be distracted by the legal woes of many lawmakers, the 16th Congress must not be diverted from its tasks.

As the business groups’ wish list shows, there’s still much work to be done to sustain reforms, accelerate development and make economic growth inclusive. The reforms and achievements of the Aquino administration must be sustained beyond the President’s term. Accomplishing this calls for a Congress that is fully focused on the work ahead.