Differing legislative agenda

There were at least a dozen of priority bills of the administration that President Rodrigo Duterte mentioned in his state of the nation address (SONA) last Monday. In almost two hour-long SONA, President Duterte underscored the importance of having these priority bills approved at the soonest possible time by the 17th Congress during its second regular sessions. 

Malacanang though did not release an official list of the administration’s priority bills. But from our own reckoning, we listed at least 12 of these priority bills out of the President’s SONA. One of these bills, in fact, was submitted by President Duterte himself right after he delivered his second SONA.

The President formally turned over the two volumes of the proposed 2018 General Appropriations Act (GAA) to Senate president Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III and House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez.

Aside from the bill on the proposed budget for next year, the President identified the following among his priority bills:

– The Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL); the shift to federalism; restoration of Death Penalty law; the long pending National Land Use Authority bill; the creation of a Department of Disaster Resilience; Rightsizing the National Government; the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act (TRAIN); another long pending Emergency Powers bill; proposed review of the Mining Act; review of the Government Procurement Law to remove “lowest bid” requirement; and, the proposed National Broadband Plan.

The President also bared his plan to raise “savings” that will bankroll the upgrade of the defense capability of both the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP). However, the President needs authority from Congress which have the constitutional power over the purse.

The Commander-in-chief told lawmakers he needed funds to sustain the government’s peace and order campaign, including his “unrelenting war” against the illegal drugs menace. He warned about the military and police resources were running thin in protecting the Filipino nation from the enemies of the state.

Amid the conflagration in Marawi City in Lanao del Sur triggered by the Islamic States (IS)-influenced Maute and Abu Sayyaf terrorist bands, the President stressed, the AFP and PNP are also confronting threats from the New People’s Army (NPA) rebels elsewhere around the country.

The President especially underscored the need to reconstruct and rehabilitate Marawi City from the ravages of war after he declared last May 22 the Mindanao-wide martial law for 60 days. In a special sessions and voting jointly by both chambers of Congress last Saturday, the super majority approved an extension of martial law until the end of this year all over Mindanao.

Although he did not spell it out, the President was apparently referring to administration plans to submit a supplemental budget for 2018 for the Marawi-related reconstruction funds. The President earlier hinted a ballpark figure of at least P20 to P50-billion reconstruction fund to rebuild Marawi.

The President enumerated in broad strokes his priority bills from what we culled from his written speech, interspersed with his extemporaneous speaking of his SONA.

The President delivered his SONA a few hours after Pimentel and Alvarez delivered their respective opening speeches to mark the formal opening of the second regular sessions.

Both leaders of Congress declared their own priority bills, some of which are not in the President’s legislative agenda.

The Duterte administration’s tax reform program, the proposed national ID system, amendments to the Constitution and the reconstituted BBL bill will be among the priorities for approval in the Senate, according to the Senate president.

On the other hand, Speaker Alvarez unveiled what he called the lower chamber’s priority measures, including one on “dissolution of marriage” and allowing same sex union.

Also on top of the lower chamber’s order of business are the proposed shift to the federal form of government and the approval of the BBL.

Interviewed at DzBB yesterday, Alvarez was frothing in the mouth to deny having said he filed a “divorce” bill as printed at The STAR a day after his pre-SONA press conference at the House. He decried this as “fake news” because what he filed was a bill calling for the “dissolution of marriage,” with “unhappiness” of one or both couples among the grounds to dissolve a marriage.

A lawyer and a self-confessed Manobo from Mindanao, who like a Muslim man is allowed multiple marriages, the Davao del Norte Congressman insisted it should not be called “divorce.” However, Alvarez replied and did not correct news anchors Arnold Clavio and Ali Sotto who kept referring to the term “divorce” in the course of interview.

According to the Speaker, he has designated House Deputy Speaker Pia Cayetano – also estranged from her legal spouse – to shepherd his “dissolution of marriage” bill.

Alvarez himself is estranged from his wife. Credit him for candor, Alvarez earlier admitted having mistresses and had a falling out with Rep. Tonyboy Floirendo over their girlfriends’ spat. Floirendo is the ex-husband of former Miss Universe Margie Moran.

Splitting hairs by Alvarez is quite understandable because the bill is certainly controversial and is expected to generate debate especially from Catholic Church and pro-marriage/family advocacy groups.

Like Alvarez, Pimentel introduced his new partner, Kathryn Yu. He escorted her at the Senate opening session last Monday. Yu currently manages Pimentel’s law firm. Pimentel and his wife Jewel Labaton have been separated since 2012. They have two kids.

No wonder President Duterte wisecracked several times during his SONA about being in the company of philandering husbands. One of the self-deprecating jokes he makes in public, President Duterte admits to having two families to divide his measly salary as the country’s Chief Executive.

Differing priority bills will be ironed out in today’s meeting at Malacanang of the mini-Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC).

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Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos is our featured guest in today’s Kapihan sa Manila Bay at Café Adriatico in Remedios Circle, Malate.