MANILA, Philippines - The Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) will hold more meetings in a bid to save administration-backed measures from being vetoed by President Aquino, Malacañang said yesterday.
“I think we will see a LEDAC meeting convened sooner rather than later,†Secretary Ricky Carandang of the Presidential Communications Strategic Planning and Development Office told reporters yesterday.
There have been only three LEDAC meetings since Aquino assumed office in June 2010 – two in 2011 and another in 2012.
During the term of former Presidents Fidel Ramos and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, LEDAC meetings were held on a regular basis to iron out details of measures pending in Congress.
The Palace official said the President wanted a closer working relationship between Malacañang and his allies in the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Aquino on Monday hosted lunch at the Palace for newly elected Liberal Party (LP) lawmakers.
During the lunch, the President congratulated them and clarified why he disallowed some of the bills that were strongly pushed by the chamber.
Secretary Manuel Mamba of the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office said around 65 of more than 200 bills were vetoed by the President in the 15th Congress.
“We understand the hard work that goes into the passage of a bill, and the President does not like vetoing bills. But in certain cases, he felt that the national interest would be served by vetoing them,†Carandang said.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives will try to address the objections raised by President Aquino on the key measures that he vetoed when the 16th Congress convenes, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said yesterday.
Belmonte issued the statement after meeting Aquino at the Palace Monday.
Aquino has vetoed at least four bills of national importance and scores of measures of local scope, including the Magna Carta for the Poor, the Centenarian Act, the Rights of Internally Displaced Persons Act, and the bill removing the height limits for policemen, firemen and jail guards.
Last week, Aquino ordered Cabinet officials to actively participate in hearings on pending bills in the House and the Senate so they could give their inputs and relay Malacañang’s position on certain issues.
“The President explained that most of the vetoed bills involved big spending that had no clear source of funds. We will review these bills to see if we can respond to the objections,†Belmonte said in a text message.
Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone, principal author of the Magna Carta for the Poor, said he will improve the objectionable provisions of the bill and refile it when the 16th Congress convenes on July 22.
Other authors of the vetoed bills vowed to refile the measures.
The Speaker earlier called for closer coordination between Congress and Malacañang in crafting laws.
“The simple changes in the language will do it,†Belmonte earlier said, referring to efforts to have the vetoed bills enacted into law once they are amended.
Last session
The House of Representatives will hold its last plenary session and aims to pass pending measures in the final stages of approval before adjourning tonight to mark the end of the 15th Congress.
Belmonte earlier said among the bills likely to be tackled in the final plenary session are the proposed amendments to the juvenile justice law, which is up for ratification, the Delineation of Specific Forest Limits of the Public Domain, and the bill expanding the science and technology scholarship programs.
House records as of Feb. 6 showed there are 304 Congress-approved measures.
Lawmakers, particularly outgoing House members, would be given citations during the closing ceremony.
Navotas Rep. Tobias Tiangco of the United Nationalist Alliance earlier questioned the one-day session, saying the legislative calendar mandates the final session should be three days or June 3 to 5.
He said the administration bloc shortened to just one day the remaining sessions to block opposition lawmakers from criticizing the Aquino administration. –With Paolo Romero