(FILE PHOTO MARCH 16, 2023) House Speaker Martin Romualdez (Photo from Martin Romualdez FB page)
MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives is set to approve on third and final reading two more bills that are priority measures by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (Ledac) before the sine die adjournment of the 19th Congress’ first regular session this week.
“We are doing our part in supporting the President’s socio-economic development agenda by passing these urgent proposed pieces of legislation that would sustain our economic growth and create more job and income opportunities for our people,” Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez said in a statement.
“We are inching toward accomplishing our goal of approving all of these priorities measures, thanks to the hard and tireless work of our colleagues,” he added.
According to Romualdez, these two bills are the proposed Philippine Salt Industry Development Act and the Bureau of Immigration Modernization Act, adding that their approval would bring the total number of approved measures to 33 out of the 42 bills in the Ledac list.
Meanwhile, three other Ledac priority bills, namely the Natural Gas Industry Enabling Law, National Employment Action Plan, and Philippine Ecosystem and Natural Capital Accounting System Bill, are also scheduled for second-reading approval before the session break.
Romualdez said the draft Philippine Salt Industry Development Act seeks to revive the dying salt industry in the country, highlighting the need to assist salt farmers through “training, technology, and funding to increase their produce, and in marketing it.”
The bill’s provisions include “the creation of the Philippine Salt Industry Development Council and the formulation of a Philippine salt industry roadmap. It designates the Department of Agriculture, through its Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), as the lead agency in reviving and developing the salt industry,” he said
On the other hand, the Bureau of Immigration Modernization Act aims to update the 83-year-old immigration law, Commonwealth Act No. 613, or the Philippine Immigration Act of 1940.
“The bill aims to modernize and streamline our immigration system to encourage international tourism and foreign investments that would boost the economy,” Romualdez said.
He added that it would refresh the country’s immigration law and cover cross-border crimes, including smuggling, illegal recruitment, and human trafficking, and would update immigration personnel’s compensation.
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