Speaker, House sec-gen sign, send MIF to Senate

MANILA, Philippines — The camp of Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez confirmed yesterday that he and the secretary-general of the House of Representatives have already “signed” the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) and “transmitted” it to the Senate.

The signatures of the House leader and secretary-general Reginald Velasco are necessary before the document is transmitted to the upper chamber, which in turn will forward the same to the Palace for President Marcos’ signature.

This was after Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri signed the MIF when he was still in the US on a working visit, where he was accompanied by Sen. Francis Tolentino, chair of the Senate Blue Ribbon committee.

The Office of the Senate President said the proposed MIF has been transmitted to the Office of the President through the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office.

Marcos earlier promised that he will sign the priority measure as soon as he gets a copy of it.

Meanwhile, the Speaker has assured American businessmen that the House of Representatives has “solid commitment” to Marcos’ initiatives and programs aimed at making the Philippines a “more investor-friendly place.”

“The 19th Congress (2022-2025), in partnership with President Marcos Jr., is committed to creating an environment that fosters economic growth and attracts investments,” Romualdez said in his message during a recent gathering of the American Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines at Fairmont Hotel in Makati City.

The Speaker said the partnership between the Executive and the Legislative branches of the government has resulted in a comprehensive legislative agenda.

He added that Congress is committed to passing laws that enhance the country’s education and skills development systems to ensure our workforce remains competitive and adaptable in the rapidly evolving global economy.

‘Fruitful’

Zubiri described as “fruitful” the pre-Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) meeting between members of the Senate and the House of Representatives on Monday night that tackled the proposed priority bills of both the Executive and Legislative branches.

Zubiri said he was joined by Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda and Sen. Sonny Angara when they had the pre-LEDAC meeting with Romualdez and House Majority Leader Mannix Dalipe.

“Had a fruitful pre-LEDAC meeting yesterday,” Zubiri said in a message to Senate reporters, adding that the pre-LEDAC meeting on July 3 will be followed by the LEDAC meeting with officials from the Executive branch.

During the pre-LEDAC meeting, Zubiri said lawmakers discussed priority measures that Congress will push and work on in the coming Second Regular Session. Zubiri noted that the nine bills that will be prioritized include National Disease Prevention Management Authority or Center for Disease Control, Mandatory Reserve Officers Training Corps and Internet Transactions Act.

He said there would be amendments to the Build Operate Transfer Law/Public Private Partnership, Revitalizing the Salt Industry, Magna Carta for Filipino Seafarers, Local Government Units Income Classification, Ease of Paying Taxes and Philippine Ecosystem and Natural Capital Accounting System.

Zubiri said there were also four bills that are not yet among the LEDAC priorities but will be proposed by the Legislative department for inclusion in the LEDAC priorities: the Philippine Defense Industry Development Act/Self-Reliant Defense Posture, Amendment to the AFP Modernization Law, Tatak Pinoy and Blue Economy.

Virology institute

The Department of Health (DOH) will push for bills creating a disease control center, a virology institute and a medical reserve corps during the LEDAC meeting.

Among the bills proposed by the DOH are the measures creating the Philippine Center for Disease Prevention and Control, which has been approved by the House of Representatives.

“The Senate is now redoing its version and they (senators) have some questions to it, which I was asked to answer as well. So we will discuss that. There are certain provisions that they want to put in,” DOH Secretary Ted Herbosa said.

The DOH is also pushing for the bill establishing the Virology Institute of the Philippines, which will be under the science department; and the measure creating the health emergency auxiliary response teams or HEART, previously known as the Medical Reserve Corps.

Herbosa said his agency is also seeking the passage of the magna carta for barangay health workers.

President Marcos is scheduled to convene the LEDAC today to tackle the priority measures of his administration. — Cecille Suerte Felipe, Alexis Romero