Palace: Bongbong Marcos pushing for Senate ratification of RCEP

FILE PHOTO: President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. | PHOTO: official facebook page of President Marcos

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is pushing for the Senate ratification of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), Malacañang said Wednesday.

The Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said the proposed law is among those being pushed by the Palace “based on the President’s directives.”

READ: DTI pins hopes on Senate for RCEP approval in early 2023

Other proposed measures include:

-Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) Regulatory Functions,

-Amendment to RA No. 8172 or ASIN Law Amendment,

-Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act

The RCEP is a free trade pact between all Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) member states and six regional bloc trade partners, including Australia, China, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand.

The free trade agreement provides preferential arrangements, including market access, in all participating countries.

In November last year, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said that no endorsement had been sent to the Senate to discuss the RCEP.

READ: No endorsement sent to Senate to tackle RCEP

Marcos admin priority measures passed by House

The PCO said ten of the 20 priority legislative measures mentioned by the President during his State of the Nation Address have been passed by the House of Representatives and transmitted to the Senate as of January 18.

These measures include:

-Tax Package 4: Passive Income and Financial Intermediary Taxation Act (PIFITA)

-Government Financial Institutions Unified Initiatives to Distressed Enterprises for Economic Recovery (GUIDE) Bill

-Tax Package 3: Real Property Valuation and Assessment Reform Act (HB No. 6558)

-Internet Transaction Act or the E-Commerce Law

– Condonation of Unpaid Amortization and Interests of Loans of Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries

Also among the priority legislation are the creation of the Medical Reserve Corps, the Philippine Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC), the Virology Institute of the Philippines, and an amendment to the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Law.

The remaining 10 SONA priority bills are at the level of the committees in both houses of Congress are:

-Department of Water Resources (DWR)

-E-Government/Governance Act

-Government Rightsizing Program (GRP)

-National Land Use Act

-Budget Modernization

-Natural Gas Industry Enabling Law

-EPIRA (RA 9136) Amendments

-MUP Pension Reform

-National Defense Act

Meanwhile, those certified as urgent were:

-Amendments to Republic Act (RA) No. 11709 (AFP Professionalism)

-Maharlika Investment Fund

-the Mandatory Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC)

-National Service Training Program

/MUF