WITH the goal of providing a comfortable life for every Filipino, the President on Monday defined the agenda of his administration for the next three years and asked Congress to pass at least 18 measures, topped by a number of economic bills to raise revenues and improve the business environment.
In his fourth State of the Nation Address (Sona), which lasted one hour and 33 minutes, President Duterte talked at length about corruption, efforts to improve the business climate and the Philippine economy in general.
He also addressed some of the issues being thrown at him such as his preference for military men in his Cabinet, as well as the country’s concerns when it came to the West Philippine Sea, which he said his administration will “definitely” address before he steps down from office.
“We are now entering a period of consequences. The consequences of what we did and did not do but should have done during [the] first half of my term. I assume full responsibility. As President I cannot pass the blame to anybody, so it’s on me. Though we cannot change the past, we will not squander the future,” Duterte said.
“I will push harder in the pursuit of programs that we have started but always with the parameters of the law. I will not merely coast along or while away my time during the remaining years of my administration. It ain’t my style. But I will not stop until I reach the finish line. Then and only then shall I call it a day. My goal for the next three years is clear —a comfortable life for everybody, all Filipinos,” he added.
Wish list
The President also laid out his legislative wish list to both houses of Congress, comprising at least 18 measures he wants passed.
He remained tentative, however, on one key bill that he had asked the 17th Congress to pass, but which has remained pending at his office since then: the Security of Tenure (SOT) bill, or alternately referred to as the “end to Endo” measure, targeted at all forms of illegal contractualization.
Business groups, foreign and local, have warned that the SOT bill as crafted will kill many small businesses and lay off workers instead of ensuring job security. They asked Duterte to veto it.
Duterte indicated he is still undecided whether to sign or veto the SOT bill as he still wants to consult the stakeholders concerned.
The President is also not closing any doors on letting the bill lapse into law by July 27.
In an interview with Palace reporters right after his Sona, the President said: “Pinag-aralan na namin mismo [We have studied it], I have to confer with a lot of people affected, you know this is two to tango. It will also affect the employers and of course it would also greatly favor the workers. It’s too catchy for me.”
Meanwhile, his wish list for the 18th Congress contained bills led by the reinstatement of the death penalty for heinous crimes such as drugs and plunder; the creation of the National Academy of Sports for high school students; postponement of the May 2020 barangay elections to October 2022; and enactment of the Magna Carta for Barangays.
It can be noted that a bill in the 17th Congress was filed by Hon. Mark Aeron H. Sambal to create the Philippine Sports Academy as an attached agency of the Philippine SPorts Commission.
Another bill was filed by Senator Sonny Angara last Congress which pushed for the establishment of Philippine High School for Sports to serve as breeding ground for future world-class Pinoy athletes.
On the postponement of the Magna Carta for Barangays, Senator Koko Pimentel filed a bill in the 17th Congress to declare barangay officials as regular government employees.
The proposed measure will help guarantee mandatory share of barangays in taxes, fees and other charges collected from residents or entities operating within the area.
Meanwhile, the President also threw his support behind the establishment of the Department of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and the passage of the Tax Reform for Attracting Better and Higher-quality Opportunities (Trabaho) Bill, which economic zone locators oppose, as well as the rest of the tax reform packages in the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program (CTRP).
Neophyte Senator Bong Go has already filed the bill establishing Department of OFW which he said will be certified as urgent by Duterte inthis 18th Congress.
In terms of the CTRP, Albay Representative Joey Salceda is sponsoring the Trabaho bill in the current Congress.
Further, the President requested that both houses of Congress pass the right-sizing bill; create the Department of Disaster Resilience; and pass the bill on the Fire Protection Modernization program.
Reports showed that a bill was passed by the House of Representatives in Congress that would right-size the national government to improve public service delivery.
On the creation of the Department of Disaster Resilience, Salceda also filed this bill in the current Congress and pointed out that it was one of the priority bills of the administration.
Senator Go also filed Senate Bill No. 204 which is known as the “Fire Protection Modernization Act of 2019,” which includes a modernization program for the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) with the DILG.
The modernization program also entails the establishment of a Fire Protection Service in all LGUs with no existing fire protection services.
Meanwhile, the President again urged Congress to pass the National Land Use Act (NLUA), a request that he has made since his first Sona in 2016. Mr. Duterte, in his Sona on Monday, requested Senator Cynthia Villar to pass the NLUA.
He also pushed for the passage of the Coconut Trust Fund bill according to the version supported by the administration. The President earlier vetoed the bill, saying it lacked “vital safeguards to avoid the repetition of painful mistakes committed in the past.”
In addition, the President urged Congress to pass the uniformed personnel pension reform bill proposed by the Department of National Defense.
The bill raises the compulsory retirement age to 60 years old from 56, with at least 20 years of satisfactory active service.
The President complemented this with the passage of mandatory ROTC in Grades 11 and 12 to train young Filipinos. He lamented that should a war occur, Filipinos do not have sufficient training to defend even their families.
He also pushed for the creation of the Department of Water Resources to avert a water crises in the country in the future. The bill was pushed by former Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in the last Congress.
Corruption
The President opened his Sona with efforts to improve good governance in his administration by requesting the reinstatement of the death penalty for Filipinos involved in the illegal drug trade and public officials found guilty of plunder.
Duterte said this is part of the administration’s efforts to boost anti-corruption measures during his term.
The President said these efforts have already helped boost government revenues. As of July 9, 2019, the government collected P61 billion from Government Owned and Controlled Corporations (GOCCs).
Duterte said about 32 percent or P16 billion of the collections came from Pagcor. This is more than the P36 billion collected in 2017.
He added that the Bureau of Customs, though corruption-ridden, collected P585 billion in 2018. He said this could have been higher “if the BOC had been cleaned or less corrupt.”
5 agencies
The President also directed the Land Transportation Office (LTO), Social Security System (SSS), Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Land Registration Authority (LRA) and Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG) to reform their services and simplify their processes.
He reminded them he signed the landmark Ease of Doing Business Law (EODB) law last year to make more efficient the delivery of state services, and all government agencies must abide by this.
The Chief Executive asked national state agencies and instrumentalities, as well as local governments and government corporations, to simplify their processes. He demanded that they adopt a zero contact policy and make their transactions electronic.
With a report by Bernadette D. Nicolas
https://businessmirror.com.ph/2019/07/23/duterte-asks-congress-to-approve-18-sona-bills/
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