Congress aims to pass bills on the Mandatory Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) and the Ease Of Paying Taxes (EOPT) among the priority measures during the Second Regular Session of the 19th Congress, which opens on July 24.
These two bills and seven others to be given priority were discussed during the pre-Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) meeting held in Malacanang Monday night.
The pre-LEDAC was led by Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda, Finance committee chairman Senator Juan Edgardo Angara, House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, and House Majority Leader Mannix Dalipe.
Leaders of the Senate and the House of Representatives will meet again Wednesday with officials of the executive department to iron out the priority measures that the administration wants passed during the 2nd Regular Session.
Once enacted into law, ROTC will be mandatory in colleges as well as in technical and vocational courses.
Senator Ronald dela Rosa, author and sponsor of the mandatory ROTC bill, said that an eligible student who fails to complete the ROTC training would not be able to graduate.
The EOPT on the other hand, will make it easier for Filipinos to pay their taxes as this will boost taxpayer compliance. It will also strengthen the government’s finances, and help businesses accelerate the creation of more and better jobs.
The other bills included in the LEDAC priorities are the National Disease Prevention Management Authority or CDC, the Internet Transactions Act, amendments to the BOT Law on public-private partnerships, Revitalizing the Salt Industry, Magna Carta for Filipino Seafarers, LGU Income Classification and PENCAS (Philippine Ecosystem and Natural Capital Accounting System).
National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said there would be a LEDAC meeting before the President’s State of the Nation Address.
Secretary General Reginald Velasco of the House of Representatives on Tuesday announced that the LEDAC would convene Wednesday so lawmakers could meet with the President to discuss the administration’s legislative priorities. The meeting will be at the Palace at 2 p.m., Velasco said.