LEDAC to meet regularly to ensure passage of priority bills

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang will meet regularly with lawmakers to fast-track the passage of the priority bills of the Duterte administration, an official said on Thursday.

Presidential Legislative Liaison Office (PLLO) chief Adelino Sitoy said the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) would meet every two months to tackle the administration’s priority measures.

“The cabinet members have to agree among themselves, in coordination with PLLO, on which bills to push through among the priorities and then we communicate the matter to the House and to the Senate. That’s the job of PLLO to make the necessary follow up,” Sitoy said in a press briefing.

“The LEDAC before was convened only two times during the presidency of President (Benigno) Aquino (III). And so this time, we intend to meet regularly,” he added.

Sitoy said there is no schedule yet for the convening of the LEDAC.

The Duterte administration’s legislative wish list includes tax reform bills and security measures. It is seeking the passage of 15 bills clustered into four categories namely security, justice and peace, economic development, good governance and human development and poverty alleviation.

Priority bills under the security, justice and peace are the following:

• Amendments to the Human Security Act including provisions seeking to strengthen efforts against terrorism financing and cybercrime
• Bangsamoro Basic Law, which aims to establish a new autonomous entity in Mindanao
• A new national defense act to revive the mandatory Reserved Officers Training Program

Measures under the economic development cluster are:

• Tax reform package including a bill lowering personal and corporate income tax
• Relaxing the bank secrecy law to facilitate the resolution of pending tax evasion cases. The measure is expected to result in a higher tax collection that would offset revenue losses from lower income tax.
• Relaxing of some economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution
• A bill granting the president emergency powers to address the traffic move

Bills under the good governance cluster are:

• Establishing a federal system of government
• A bill creating a People’s Broadcasting System that would replace state-run media outlets PTV-4 and DZRB to make them more financially viable
• Freedom of Information Bill
• Whistleblower Act
• Enhancement of the Witness Protection Program

Measures that fall under the human development and poverty alleviation cluster are:

• Creation of a Department for Overseas Filipinos
• A law amending the 1996 Passport Law to lengthen the validity of passports from five years to ten years
• Amendments to the National Health Care Insurance Program to cover all Filipinos. Bills seeking to expand the coverage of PhilHealth to include women about to give birth and their newborn and persons with disabilities have been filed in Congress.

President Rodrigo Duterte is the chairman of LEDAC while Vice President Ma. Leonor “Leni” Robredo serves as its vice chairman.

The council has 20 members including Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, Senators Franklin Drilon, Vicente Sotto III, Ralph Recto, and Representatives Rodolfo Fariñas, Danilo Suarez, and Dakila Carlo Cua. It also has representatives from the cabinet, youth, local governments and the private sector.