PCCI head named private sector rep in LEDAC

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) president George Barcelon has been appointed by President Marcos as a private sector representative to the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC).

“The President signed Barcelon’s appointment papers on Nov. 21 which was received on Tuesday

Barcelon previously served as LEDAC private sector representative under the Duterte administration.

“I am extremely honored for the trust and confidence of the President. As PCCI head, I vow to commit to work proactively and harmoniously with the government to realize its vision in providing employment to Filipinos, eradicating poverty and achieving a resilient economy,” Barcelon said.

The LEDAC serves as a consultative and advisory body to the President, chair of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) board, on certain programs and policies essential to the realization of the goals of the national economy.

It also serves as a venue to facilitate high level policy discussions on vital issues and concerns affecting national development.

The council was created through Republic Act (RA) 7640 approved by then president Fidel Ramos in 1992.

The LEDAC is composed of 20 members with the president as chair.

Members of the council include the vice president, senate president, speaker of the house of representatives, seven members of the cabinet designated by the president, three members of the Senate designated by the senate president,and three members of the House of Representatives designated by the Speaker of the House.

Also part of its membership are representatives from the local units, the youth sector and the private sector.

According to the PCCI, the Marcos administration will prioritize 30 out of 32 total bills approved by LEDAC as its Common Legislative Agenda (CLA), 20 of which were priority measures enumerated by President Marcos in his first State of the Nation Address (SONA).

These include the Valuation Reform Bill, Passive Income and Financial Intermediary Taxation Act (PIFITA), E-Governance Act, E Government Act, Internet Transaction Act, Government Financial Institutions Unified Initiatives to Distressed Enterprises for Economic Recovery (GUIDE) bill, Medical Reserve Corps bill, National Disease Prevention Management Authority bill, Virology Institute of the Philippines bill, Unified System of Separation, Retirement and Pension bill, Department of Water Resources bill, National Land Use Act, Mandatory Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) and National Service Training Program, Budget Modernization bill, National Government Rightsizing Program, National Defense Act, Enactment of an Enabling Law for the Natural Gas Industry, Amendments to the Electric Power Industry Reform Act, Amendments to the Build-Operate-Transfer Law, and the Condonation of Unpaid Amortization and Interests of Loans of Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries.