Senate goes on holiday break

MANILA, Philippines — The Senate adjourned its session yesterday to go on a one-month legislative break for the holidays.

Senators considered among their accomplishments for the first six months of the 18th Congress the passage of several bills, including the P4.1-trillion 2020 General Appropriations Act, the postponement of barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections and the establishment of Malasakit Centers.

Regular sessions will resume on Jan. 20, 2020.

“We opened the First Regular Session of the 18th Congress with a new batch of senators raring and eager to buckle down to work, and I am happy to note that we were able to file a record number of bills and resolutions, foremost of which is the P4.1-trillion 2020 budget,” Senate Majority Leader Miguel Zubiri said.

The General Appropriations Bill or the national budget for 2020 is the most important law of the land, according to Zubiri.

“By approving it well ahead of the Christmas break, we will be spared from the difficulties arising from a re-enacted budget as had happened earlier this year. The re-enacted budget delayed projects and, worse, delayed salaries of national and (local government) employees for the first quarter of 2019,” he said.

From the start of the 18th Congress on July 22 until last Tuesday, the senators had filed a total of 1,241 bills and 281 resolutions.

The Senate ratified Republic Act 11462, principally sponsored by Sen. Imee Marcos – the first law passed by the 18th Congress. It moved the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections initially scheduled for next year to Dec. 5, 2022 for which the government would have allocated P5.77 billion, according to the Commission on Elections.

Another important measure was the Malasakit Center Act of 2019 (RA 11463), principally sponsored by Sen. Bong Go, which establishes Malasakit Centers in 73 hospitals run by the Department of Health (DOH) all over the country and in the Philippine General Hospital in Manila. Fifty-four centers have been established so far, the most recent being the one in Antipolo, Rizal.

“With the Malasakit Center act in place to complement the Universal Health Care law, we are a step closer toward making quality health care more accessible and affordable for all Filipinos, especially the indigent and poor patients in need of medical assistance from the government,” Go said in past interviews.

The center consolidates the medical and financial assistance that patients may apply for from four government agencies, namely, the DOH, Philippine Health Insurance Corp., Department of Social Welfare and Development and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.

The Senate also passed the following on third and final reading: National Day of Remembrance for Road Crash Victims Act (Senate Bill 1122); Night Shift Differential Pay (SB 643); National Transportation Safety Board Act (SB 1077); Act Fixing the Validity Period of the License to Own, Permit to Carry and Registration of Firearms (SB 1155); Salary Standardization Law 5 (SB 1219); Establishment of Separate Facilities for Prisoners Convicted of Heinous Crimes (SB 1055); and Amending the National Internal Revenue Code by Increasing the Excise Tax on Alcohol, Heated Tobacco and Vapor Products and for Other Purposes (SB 1074), among others.

Also approved by the Senate was House Bill 5437, which extends the availability of the 2019 appropriations for maintenance and other operating expenses and capital outlays.

The Senate also adopted 35 resolutions, noteworthy of which are Senate Resolution 22 that expressed the sense of the Senate opposing liberalization of the sugar industry in order to protect the livelihood of millions of sugar workers and agrarian reform beneficiaries; SR 18, which recognizes the 70th anniversary of the Philippines-Republic of Korea relations and SR 8, which reconstitutes the special committee on Marawi City Rehabilitation.

“We went head-on against negative issues by steadfastly tackling serious issues afflicting the country’s jails, the illegal drugs problems, rising HIV cases and the decline in incomes of rice farmers and hog raisers due to calamities, diseases and import liberalization,” Zubiri said. – With Edu Punay