AS Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo vowed to carry out the legislative agenda of President Duterte in the lower chamber, the House of Representatives is expected to resume its session on Monday with focus on several priority measures.
Arroyo said the House will focus to finish the administration’s legislative agenda, topped by the national budget, as the midterm elections in May 2019 is seen to cut their time frame.
Topping the list of pending key measures on the agenda for deliberations and approval are House Bill 8169, or the proposed “Fiscal Year 2019 General Appropriations Act,” and HB 8400, or “An Act Establishing The Fiscal Regime For The Mining Industry.”
House members have already approved on second reading HB 8169 or the Fiscal Year 2019 General Appropriations Bill (GAB), which provides for a national budget of P3.757 trillion for next year.
The House leadership said the timely approval of the budget ensures there will be no budget reenactment next year.
Mining
Also expected to be passed on third and final reading is HB 8400, seeking to establish the fiscal regime for the mining industry to ensure the government gets its rightful share in profits.
Arroyo led the list of the bill’s coauthors. She closely followed deliberations on the bill both in the committee and the plenary.
Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Rep. Estrellita Suansing of Nueva Ecija, citing Department of Finance data, said the government collected total taxes, fees and royalties from the mining industry in the amount of P32.76 billion in 2014, P30.07 billion in 2015 and P33.43 billion in 2016.
Presently, for large mines, mining contracts offer varying fiscal regimes and therefore fiscal burden is differentiated, Suansing said.
“Under this measure there is no more distinction on whether mining exploration is conducted outside or inside a mineral reservation and whether it is large scale or small scale. Equity dictates that fiscal burden should be shared equally by all who explore the natural resources of the country,” said Suansing.
Suansing said the bill shall significantly impact the government’s revenue generation effort, the mining industry’s growth, and the environment, which is under tremendous threat from certain destructive mining practices.
Federalism
Meanwhile, House Committee on Constitutional Amendments Chairman Vicente Veloso of Leyte said the lower chamber will still work hard toward federalism despite opposition of senators.
He said House leaders gave him the go-ahead to continue the Charter change deliberations as part of their job.
The lower chamber earlier adopted House Resolution (HR) 2056 authored by Arroyo, stating, “There is an urgent need to convene the Senate and the House of Representatives as Constituent Assembly in order to consider the proposed amendments to the 1987 Constitution.”
House members support a Constituent Assembly (Con-ass), saying convening Congress into an assembly will shorten the time needed for Cha-cha.
Arroyo also vowed to facilitate discussions on Cha-cha at the House of Representatives once Congress sits as a Con-ass.
Under the legislative calendar for the third regular session of the 17th Congress, Congress is expected to resume its session on November 12 and adjourn on December 14 for Christmas holidays.
The session will again resume on January 22 to February 8. But it will take another break on February 9 to May 19 for the midterm elections.
After the 2019 midterm elections, Congress will resume from May 20 to June 7 before its sine die adjourment from June 8 to July 21, which is the end of the 17th Congress.
For Senate approval
The House approved on third and final reading and endorsed for Senate approval a total of 125 bills. These comprise 33 national and 91 local measures, and one joint resolution.
After the Senate approves these measures, bicameral conference committee meetings will be conducted to reconcile the differences between the Senate and House versions of the said bills.
Meanwhile, already pending at the bicameral conference are eight measures —five national bills and three local bills. The national bills are HB 7652, “The Mobile Number Portability Act”; HB 6769, “Prohibiting Discriminatory Acts Against Women on Account of Sex”; HB 5615 and SB 1716, “Establishing the National Sports Training Center”; HB 7449, “Appropriating the Sum of P1.161 billion as Supplemental Appropriations for Dengvaxia Vaccinees” which has been certified as urgent; and HB 5162, “Separating General Santos City from the First Legislative District of South Cotabato.”
778 processed measures
The House of Representatives has processed a total of 778 measures, or an average of 31 measures per session day, before Congress adjourned its session on October 10.
This translates to a total of 3,707 measures processed by the House from the opening of the 17th Congress on July 25, 2016.
Of the 778 processed measures during the third regular session, a total of 32 were enacted into law, eight of which were of national significance and 24 of local significance.
Meanwhile, 41 more measures are awaiting the President’s signature to become additional laws.
Apart from these landmark measures, the House ratified 10 bicameral reports, nine of which are of national importance and one of local significance.
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