House churned out 392 measures in 3 years, says Belmonte

MANILA, Philippines – Hours before the 15th Congress finally draws to a close on Wednesday, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said that the House of Representatives has enacted into law 392 measures during the Aquino administration’s first three years.

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

In a statement, he said that out of all the bills enacted into law by the lower chamber of Congress, from July 26, 2010 to until mid-May this year, 104 were of national significance while 283 were on local concerns.

“Human limitations may have prevented us from achieving all that we had hoped, but collective determination to institute reforms promoting transparent and responsive governance never fell short,” he said.

Of the 104 measures covering issues of national significance, 10 were on economic and fiscal reforms, Belmonte said. Among these were the 2011, 2012 and 2013 General Appropriations Act; Further Strengthening the Anti-Money Laundering Act; Restructuring the Excise Tax on Alcohol and Tobacco Products; Rationalizing the Taxes on International Air Carriers in the Philippines; and the Extension of the Implementation of the Lifeline Rate under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001.

Some measures delved on political and governance reforms like the GOCC Governance Act of 2011; Requiring all Government Offices to ensure the release of the retirement benefits of its employees within 15 days from retirement; Conferring upon a member of the Sangguniang Bayan, Sangguniang Panlunsod and Sangguniang Panlalawigan the Appropriate Civil Service Eligibility; the Amendments to the AFP Modernization Act; and the Strengthening of the National Electrification Administration.

Public order and safety was also covered in the following bills: the Act Decriminalizing Vagrancy; the statute Defining the Crime of Financing Terrorism; and Penalizing Unauthorized taking, Stealing, Keeping or Tampering of Government Risk Reduction and Preparedness Equipment, Accessories and similar Facilities.

Human rights was also covered in the recently enacted the Anti-Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance Act and the law providing Compensation to Victims of Human Rights Violations during the Marcos Regime.

Bills on the protection of women and children were also enacted like the Rationalization of Nightwork Prohibition on Women Workers; Strengthening and Propagating Foster Care for Abandoned and Neglected Children and Children with Special Needs; Expanding R.A. 9208 entitled “An Act to Institute Policies to Eliminate Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children, Establishing the Necessary Institutional Mechanism for the Protection and Support of Trafficked Persons; and Declaring November 25 of every year as ‘National Consciousness Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.”