The House of Representatives led by Speaker Martin Romualdez on Monday night approved on third and final reading 11 national and local bills that seek to promote the safety of private and public buildings and infrastructure, protect the environment, and boost tourism in the country.
“We immediately buckled down to work on the first day of our resumption of session. It was a productive day,” Romualdez said.
He said Mondays are usually devoted to House members’ privilege speeches on their concerns, aside from referral of numerous bills, resolutions, and communications to the various committees and tackling unfinished business.
“But yesterday (Monday), we managed to pass bills of national and local importance, thanks to the cooperation of every House member,” Romualdez said.
The House also approved on second reading several tax bills that were principally authored and sponsored by Albay Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda.
These bills were House Bill 4102, or the Single-use Plastic Bags Tax Act, HB 4122, or the VAT on Nonresident Digital Service Providers, and HB 4339, or Package 4 of the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program.
“With this, the House wraps up with all the priority tax measures of the Duterte-era Comprehensive Tax Reform Program, and is ready to move on to tax collection reforms, as prioritized by the Marcos administration,” Salceda said.
One national measure approved was HB 5087. Authored principally by Deputy Speaker and Pampanga 3rd District Rep. Aurelio Gonzales Jr., it seeks to include the National Building Code as a subject in engineering and architecture courses and as part of licensure examinations for these professions.
Gonzales said the bill “aims to safeguard life, health, property, and public welfare.”
The two other proposed laws of national application are HB 5110, which seeks to “strengthen the conservation and protection of Philippine cultural heritage through cultural mapping and enhanced cultural heritage education program,” and HB 3622, which would extend the life of the Philippine Aerospace Development Corp. by another 50 years.
The state corporation’s corporate life, which is under the Department of National Defense (DND), is set to expire on Sept. 5, 2023.
The two bills’ principal authors are Pangasinan Rep. Christopher de Venecia, former Speaker and Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Jay Velasco, and Ilocos Sur Rep. Kristine Singson-Meehan.
The House also adopted three resolutions on Monday night. One condoles with the families of those who died during the onslaught of Severe Tropical Storm “Paeng,” the second was expressing solidarity with Paeng victims, and the other condemned the senseless killing of veteran broadcaster Percival “Percy Lapid” Mabasa.
The resolutions were authored by Speaker Romualdez, Majority Leader and Zamboanga City Rep. Manuel Jose Dalipe, Minority Leader and 4Ps party-list Rep. Marcelino Libanan, Senior Deputy Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte Rep. Ferdinand Alexander A. Marcos, and Tingog party-list Reps. Yedda Marie K. Romualdez and Jude A. Acidre.
The eight other measures of local importance and their principal authors are:
HB 5167, declaring the Tugonan Waterfalls in Barangay San Lorenzo, Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur, an ecotourism site, by Reps. Afelito Bascug and Eddiebong Plaza.
HB 5168, declaring the immediate environs of the National Shrine of our Mother of Perpetual Help, popularly known as Baclaran Church along Roxas Boulevard in Parañaque City, a heritage site and a tourist destination, by Rep. Edwin Olivarez.
HB 5169, declaring Mount Arayat located along the borders of the towns of Arayat and Magalang in Pampanga as an ecotourism destination, by Deputy Speaker Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales Jr. HB, declaring the Luzon Datum in Barangay Hinanggayon in Mogpog, Marinduque as a tourist spot, by Rep. Lord Allan Jay Velasco.
HB 5171, by Rep. Vincent Franco Frasco, declares the Cebu Safari and Adventure Park in Barangay Corte of Carmen in Cebu a tourism
destination.
HB 5172, distinguishing the Dao tree located within the secondary forest in E. Pelaez Ranch in Bayombong, Barangay Cugman, Cagayan de Oro City, as the Cagayan de Oro Heritage Tree and declaring it as a tourist attraction, by Rep. Rufus Rodriguez.
HB 5173, declaring the Guinsaugon Eco-adventure Park in Barangay Ginsaugon, St. Bernard, Southern Leyte, a tourism designation, by Rep. Christopherson Yap.
HB 5174, declaring the Passig islet in Barangay Bato, Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur, as an ecotourism site, by Rep. Tracy Cagas.
The House will send the 11 bills shortly to the Senate for its consideration.
Meanwhile, the measures filed by Salceda could yield a total of P47 billion pesos annually.
According to the House tax panel chair, this includes some P12 billion from the nonresident DSP VAT, P5 billion from plastic bags, and P30 billion from Package 4, the bulk of which will come from removing the tax exemption in pickup trucks, and increasing the tax rates on foreign currency deposit units to 20%.
“That is around 2 percent of BIR collection targets, and 0.2 percent of GDP, so Secretary Diokno only needs to look for 0.1 percent of GDP more in tax collection improvement. The Medium-Term Fiscal Framework, which we in Congress approved, takes into account 0.3 percent of GDP in tax collection efficient improvement every year,” Salceda said.
He also emphasized some key points for the measures approved by the House.
“For the digital services VAT, it will not be imposed on Filipino businesses. The emphasis is on foreign or nonresident digital service providers. All major ASEAN economies impose VAT on these entities.
Tayo na lang ang hindi,” Salceda said.
The plastic bags tax, which will impose an excise tax of P100 per kilo of disposable plastic bags, is in line with the country’s efforts to fight ocean pollution, especially “as we are now recognized ignominiously as the world’s biggest ocean plastic polluter,” he said.
As for Package 4, Salceda explained the lifting of the exemption on pickup trucks “merely corrects an unfair privilege on a vehicle that is mostly for the rich, occupies very large space on the road, and is by all accounts less fuel-efficient than most other vehicles.”
He expects that the measures will be approved on 3rd reading in the House by Monday or Tuesday next week. The solon also expects that the measures will be ready for discussion in the Senate, which is also expected to tackle the Ease of Paying Taxes Act.
“I think we will have at least one tax law enacted over the next six months, very possibly EOPT. But I am hopeful that we will have at least one more, hopefully, one of these three.”
Meanwhile, the House Committee on Government Reorganization is expected to take up the Real Property Valuation and Assessment Reform Act or Package 3 of the CTRP this week. Salceda is also the principal author of the measure.
