Cheaper drugs, tax relief bills passed by May 1--Palace
By Lira Dalangin-Fernandez
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 06:57:00 04/22/2008
MANILA, Philippines -- (UPDATE 3) The cheaper medicines bill and a measure exempting minimum wage earners from paying income tax will be passed by lawmakers on or before May 1, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's spokesman said Tuesday.
Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye told reporters that the legislators prioritized the two bills on top of the 15 others at the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) meeting in Malacańang presided by Arroyo.
Bunye said some of the priority bills were focused on measures that would facilitate food production and agricultural productivity to alleviate the current problem on high prices of food, particularly rice.
Both chambers committed to work for the passage of the measures on or before the adjournment of sessions in June, he added.
Of the 17 measures, eight were leftover bills from the last LEDAC on December 11 last year -- cheaper medicines bill, amendment of the EPIRA law, concurrence of the amnesty proclamation, creation of the credit information bureau, establishment of the Personal Equity Retirement Account, amendment to the Customs Brokers Act, renewable energy bill, national tourism policy bill.
Nine bills were added during the pre-LEDAC meeting of lawmakers on April 18 -- exemption of minimum wage earner from income tax, extension of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program, amendments to the Consumer Act, strengthening of the Ombudsman, anti-smuggling bill, bill to impose stiffer penalties for possession of explosives, magna carta for women, witness protection act, and fire protection modernization bill.
"It was clear that in this meeting [April 18 pre-LEDAC meeting], Speaker [Prospero] Nograles committed to the passage of these measures. … As for the Senate, they are likewise interested," Bunye said.
He said the lawmakers who attended the LEDAC also "tacitly approved" the measures and proposals put forward by Senators Edgardo Angara and Richard Gordon centering on food production, which include the farmland as collateral bill, food donation bill, incentives for over production of rice, amendment to the Agri-Agra law, and amendment to the Agricultural Modernization and Fisheries Act.
During Tuesday’s meeting, Bunye said the executive also pushed for the Senate ratification of international treaties and protocols -- the controversial Japan-Philippine Economic Partnership Agreement, Optional Protocol Against Torture, UN Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, RP-Australia Visiting Forces Agreement, and the Convention on Avoidance of Double Taxation on New Zealand Forestry.
Nine senators led by Senate President Manuel Villar and 14 congressmen, led by Nograles attended the LEDAC. Cabinet members and representatives of the Price Coordinating Council were also present.
Bunye said the presence of the nine senators were "more than the usual attendance" of the Senate members.
"That means everyone is concerned to the problems we are facing. … I believe everybody is interested in looking for solutions and that's a good start," Bunye said.
Aside from Villar, Angara, and Gordon, the senators who attended the meeting were Francis Pangilinan, Loren Legarda, Miguel Zubiri Juan Ponce Enrile, Rodolfo Biazon, and Manuel Roxas II.
What is needed now is unity and cooperation to confront the problem, the President said in her opening statement at the LEDAC meeting.
"What is happening now with rice and global prices is a once in a millennium global crisis," Arroyo said. "But this is a global problem and we must work together to resolve this."
"We in government hear the people’s call to stand side by side, regardless of political affiliation, to unite so that we can deliver at affordable prices food, medicine, and other benefits of progress to each and every Filipino,” said Arroyo in Filipino.
The LEDAC meeting, the first for this year, discussed the rice problem and measures to mitigate the rising prices of other commodities. It also tackled the common legislative agenda to be prioritized by Congress for passage.
Villar said he wanted to get the real picture on the rice problem, saying this could get more serious without the proper response from the government.
Since 2001, Arroyo said her administration has been focused on "modernizing every aspect of economic underpinnings of the Philippines," including the agriculture sector.
She said irrigated lands now number to 1,434,597 hectares, the largest irrigated area ever in the country's history. The government has also infused funds to provide loans to farmers and to teach them the best agricultural practices.
She also called on the Price Coordinating Council to help the government monitor prices of basic commodities.
With a report from Kathleen Martin, Contributor
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