As Congress resumes session, Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano vowed to pass the crucial legislative measures that will help sustain the Duterte administration’s legacies in providing the Filipinos a safe and comfortable life.
During the launch of the “Duterte Legacy” campaign last week, the administration identified three important pillars of its accomplishments – peace and order, infrastructure development and poverty alleviation.
The House of Representatives has reaffirmed its commitment to support the President’s priority measures as it resumes its session this week.
“The creation of three key vital departments is among our top priorities – Department of Disaster Resilience, Department of Overseas Filipinos and Department of Water,” Cayetano said.
The Chamber is also focusing on the priority tax measures which will ensure the funding for the “Build, Build, Build program and the health and social services initiated by the Duterte administration.
The Speaker said that the leaders and members of the House of Representatives have vowed to make the 18th Congress a more relevant, responsive and reliable Chamber so we can pass the necessary reforms to fulfil the President’s vision.
“Our colleagues have committed to fast track the passage of the creation of Department Resilience to better equip our country to respond to natural and man-made calamities as well as improve our rehabilitation efforts,” Cayetano said.
Earlier, Cayetano has directed the Committee on Disaster Management to study and prepare a comprehensive rehabilitation plan for the affected provinces of the Taal volcano eruption.
The House of Representatives has already passed the remaining packages of the Comprehensive Tax measures, which include the following: a) Corporate Income Tax and Incentive Rationalization Act (CITIRA) to help propel the country to an “A” credit rating from its current BBB+, b) Instituting Reforms in Real Property Valuation and Assessment – to introduce a single valuation base with uniform standards to increase government revenues and promote higher investor confidence c) Passive Income and Financial Intermediary Taxation Act (PIFITA) – reduce the number of unique rates and bases to hald (80 to 40) and in turn create better quality jobs and boost economic growth d) Increasing and Restructuring the Excise Tax Rates on Alcohol, Heated Tobacco, and Vapor Products (Sin Tax) – to augment funds for the implementation of the Universal Health Care Program.
“We have good laws like the Universal Health Care, and Free Tertiary Education Act but we need to ensure that the they are properly funded hence we need to pass all these tax measures,” Cayetano explained.
Speaker Cayetano expressed confidence that the bill to create the Department of Overseas Filipinos and Foreign Employment will pass on Second Reading soon.
Meanwhile, the Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs is set to resume its special hearing on January 21 to discuss the current situation of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Iraq and other countries in the Middle East, particularly the repatriation efforts amid the tensions between Iran and the United States.
The agenda also includes the case of OFW Jerson Enriquez and his 14 companions for having been recruited and deployed to Saudi Arabia without any work awaiting them upon their arrival there and the case of the Jeanelyn Villavende, a domestic worker who was alleged killed by her employer in Kuwait.
