House identifies 14 priority bills
AP FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines – In a bid to fast-track the passage of more important bills, the House of Representatives has identified 14 priority bills that should be approved before the chamber adjourns in June.
“We have to prioritize and synchronize our actions in the House with that of the Senate to maximize output for the remaining first regular session of the 16th Congress,” Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said in a statement on Tuesday. The chamber will adjourn indefinitely on June 13.
The bills were identified after both chambers of Congress met to identify vital pieces of legislation on Monday.
Among the lawmakers in the meeting were Belmonte, Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales, Minority Leader Ronaldo Zamora, and Marikina Rep. Romero Quimbo from the House of Representatives; and Senate President Franklin Drilon, Senators Vicente “Tito” Sotto and Alan Peter Cayetano from the Senate.
“There are various legislative measures which really need to be given appropriate action, but we have to prioritize what could be listed as common concerns within a limited time frame,” Belmonte said.
The priority bills and their respective status are:
- Extending the corporate life of the Philippine National Railways (HB 4089) – approved on third reading and pending with the committee in the Senate
- Mandating Telecommunications Service Providers to send free mobile alerts in the event of natural and man-made disasters and calamities (HB 353) – approved on 3rd reading and approved on 3rd reading by the Senate
- Amendments to the Sandiganbayan Law – for Committee Report preparation in the lower House, and period of interpellations in the Senate
- Sangguniang Kabataan Reform – for committee deliberation in the lower House and pending in a Senate committee
- Ladderized Education Program (post-secondary) (HB 3575) – approved on 3rd reading by the lower House, and pending in Senate committee
- Providing for an Open High School System for out of school youth (HB 4085) – approved on 3rd reading by the lower house, and pending in Senate committee
- Open Learning through Distance Education in Post-Secondary and Tertiary Levels Act – For House committee report preparation, and pending in Senate committee
- National Student Loan Program (UNIFAST) Act – Substitute bill referred to the House appropriations committee, pending with appropriate panel in the Senate
- Special Education Center – Substitute bill referred to the House appropriations committee, also pending in the Senate panel
- Iskolar ng Bayan Act – Pending in House committee and in Senate committee;
- Providing for mandatory PhilHealth coverage for all senior citizens – Pending with the House committee, also pending in Senate panel
- Picture-based Health Warning Law – Pending in House committees and for interpellations in Senate
- Strengthening the Anti-Illegal Drugs Law (HB 2285) – approved on 3rd reading by the lower House, and pending in Senate committee
- Fisheries Code amendment – Now under study by a technical working group (TWG) in the lower House, and pending in Senate committee
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