14 Senate bills enacted into law from July 2019 to Dec. 2020

MANILA, Philippines — Fourteen of the nearly 2,000 bills filed in the Senate were enacted into law since the 18th Congress opened in July 2019.

According to a document provided by the Senate to the media on Tuesday, among the bills enacted into law in the upper chamber from July 22, 2019 to December 16, 2020 include the Postponement of the Barangay and Sanguniang Kabataan elections, the controversial Anti-Terrorism Act, the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, and the subsequent Bayanihan To Recover As One Act.

Other Senate bills enacted into law are as follows:

• Malasakit Centers Act
• Salary Standardization Law of 2019
• Excise Tax on Alcohol Products
• National Day of Remembrance for Road Crash Victims
• National Academy of Sports Act
• GMRC and Values Education Act
• Bicol Medical Center
• Lengthening the School Calendar
• Las Pinas General Hospital and Satellite Trauma Center
• Cagayan Valley Medical Center

In total, there were 1,957 individual Senate bills filed — 1,580 during the first regular session, seven during the special session, and 370 during the second regular session.

Four measures are also awaiting the signature of President Rodrigo Duterte after being approved by both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

These are the Organic Agriculture Act, the Alternative Learning System Act, the Doktor Para sa Bayan Act, and the bill Authorizing the President to Expedite the Processing of Permits.

Both the Senate and the House have also approved the conference committee reports of the National Cooperative Month bill and the Financial Institutions Strategic Transfer (FIST) Act. The measures will then be transmitted to Duterte’s office for approval.

There are also bills that have been approved in the Senate but have yet to be passed in the House:

• Night Shift Differential Pay
• Separate Facility for Heinous Crimes Inmates Act
• National Transportation Safety Board Act
• Teaching Supplies Allowance Act
• Firearms Act
• Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Legal Assistance Fund
• Philippine Energy Research and Policy Institute
• Amending Arts. 183 and 184 of RA 3815 (Perjury)
• Prohibiting and Declaring Child Marriage as Illegal
• PNP, BFP, BJMP and BuCor Height Equality Act
• Cooperatives Development Officer Act
• Cash Assistance for Filipino Farmers

The bill seeking to strengthen the Anti-Money Laundering Act has also been approved on second reading in the Senate and will soon be up for final reading approval.

In terms of resolutions, of the 598 resolutions filed since July 2019, 80 have been adopted.

EDV