ECONOMICS became the highlight of the latest meeting of the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council last Monday with legislators agreeing to support the priority bills of the Duterte administration.
“The meeting last night with members of [Congress] was the President’s way of keeping in touch with the third branch of government, the independent legislature. It was not a Ledac meeting per se, although they did discuss legislation and the representatives expressed general support of the Chief Executive’s legislative agenda,” presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said.
Some of the priorities included the administration’s income tax reform package, which includes the reduction of income tax per individual, anti-money laundering law amendments, budget reform and government rightsizing bill.
Presidential Legislative Liason Secretary Adelino Sitoy said the informal Ledac meet was meant to iron out the priorities of both the Executive and the Legislative for their next meeting on December 5.
A Palace source, meanwhile, said that much of the discussions were about the war against drugs after President Rodrigo Duterte asked the leaderships of the Senate and House of Representatives.
The cooperative tone of the meeting was a departure from the practise during the administration of former President Benigno Aquino III who never convened the inter-branch body in his six years in office.
On the part of the Senate, those who were present were Senate President Aquilino Pimentel and Senators Vicente Sotto III, Juan Miguel Zubiri, Emmanuel Pacquiao, Ralph Recto, Francis Escudero, Alan Peter Cayetano, Cynthia Villar and Sonny Angara.
Members of the House of Representatives included Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, and Representatives Danilo Suarez of Quezon and Karlo Nograles of Davao.