87% of bills still pending in 17th Congress

Eight months after the 17th Congress opened last July, the Senate was able to act only on close to 200 of the 1,399 bills filed at the chamber with only two enacted into law.

The Senate’s own record posted on its website showed that from July 25, 2016 to March 15, 2017, the chamber either acted on or passed 176 bills.

The only measures enacted into law were the General Appropriations Act of 2017 and the Postponement of Barangay and Sangguninang Kabataan Election.

Of the total number of bills filed, 1221 (87.27 percent) remained pending in various, committees, 32 are pending on second reading, three were approved on second reading, while seven were approved in the Senate but still needed concurrence of the House of Representatives.

The seven bills pending at the House are the Philippine Tech-Voc Day, the Speech Language Pathology Act of 2016, the PNP Reorganization Act, the Philippine Food Technology Act of 2016, the Free Internet Access in Public Places, the Free Higher Education For All Act, and the Expanded Maternity Leave Law of 2017.

But Senate President Aqulino “Koko” Pimentel III said Congress is expected to approve the seven bills this year.

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“I am confident the House would easily accomplish its mission,” Pimentel said in a statement Tuesday.

Aside from acting on the bills, the Senate has also adopted 43 of 333 resolutions, including three treaties — the Agreement of the Asian Infrastructure Investment, the Philippine-Japan Agreement on Social Security, and the Paris Agreement.

Of the resolutions filed, 243 are still pending in the committees, one was withdrawn while another one was sent to the archives.

The House also sent 85 bills to the Senate but only two were approved by both chambers — the bills extending the legislative franchise of Smart Communications Inc. and of GMA Network Inc. for another 25 years.

Congress went on break last March 15 and will resume work on May 2. It will adjourn its first regular session on June 2. IDL