Senator Sherwin Gatchalian believes the Senate impeachment court will vote on the arguments of Vice President Sara Duterte’s camp seeking to junk the impeachment charges against her.
Meanwhile, House spokesperson Princess Abante said the forthcoming impeachment trial would not derail efforts by Congress to tackle priority measures for the benefit of the people.
Gatchalian was among the five senators of the 19th Congress who voted against remanding the impeachment case to the House of Representatives.
“We will see in the Vice President’s reply invoking the constitutionality of the Articles of Impeachment. I am very sure the defense lawyers will invoke it again, so possibly, there will be voting,” Gatchalian said in mixed English and Filipino.
Senate President Francis Escudero has said the impeachment case could be dismissed through majority vote.
Gatchalian declined to say if he favored junking the case without trial, but asserted the need to start the hearings.
“My position is for the trial to begin. Even during the votation, the trial needs to begin… Whatever the defense will raise, whatever the defense, the prosecution will raise, then we will discuss it. At least, the public will hear the arguments of both sides,” he said.
Abante issued the clarification stating that the job and duty of the congressmen and the the senators to legislate laws is separate from their impeachment roles as prosecutors and senator-judges, respectively.
“The work and duties of legislators are separate from the passing of laws and the impeachment process. For the House, the authorized panel of public prosecutors are there in the impeachment proceedings, but the work in the House is continuous for the legislative measures that have already been filed” Abante said.
She said members of the House and the Senate have always found middle ground to address conflicting positions to pass measures to uplift the lives of the people.
“I think that the Senate and the House sometimes have conflicting positions on other matters, but for the betterment of our people’s lives, there is always room to come to an agreement and talk. And that is also what we want to see in the 20th Congress,” Abante noted.
She also assured the public that the House will continue to work with the Senate to pass priority measures that address socio-economic concerns of the people.
Abante said the reason most of the bills and resolutions filed upon the opening of Congress are focused on the basic needs of the people because incoming legislators see the continuing need to make these needs affordable and within reach of the masses.
“We are looking forward to these coming days for more measures to be filed and tackled by the appropriate committees. This is the first day of the terms of our members of the House of Representatives. We are looking forward to a productive 20th Congress,” Abante said.
At least 683 measures were filed at the House on Day one of the 20th Congress, 666 of them bills while the rest were resolutions.
Escudero also filed some bills aimed at strengthening the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), the backbone of the Philippine economy, by giving them tax incentives and greater access to credit to help them flourish and expand their business operations.
The pro-MSME bills, which count among the 10 proposed measures the Senate chief wants to prioritize during the 20h Congress, recognize the significant contributions of the small businesses to the national economy as they provide 67 percent of the total employment across the country.
Under his proposals, Escudero wants to exempt MSMEs from the income tax for three years and deduct from their taxable income an amount equivalent to 25 percent of their labor expenses. Along these, he is proposing to slash the optional tax on gross sales or receipts to 5 percent from the current 8 percent.
The Senate leader is also pushing for the streamlining of the rates under the creditable withholding tax system to two, namely, 1 percent for the purchase of goods and properties, and 2 percent for the purchase of services.
He is also calling for the reinstitution of the mandatory credit allocation for MSMEs by all lending institutions for a period of 10 years in order to provide small businesses with better access to financing.
“These will allow our MSMEs, particularly those that are struggling financially, to continue their operations, hire more people and even consider an expansion in the future,” Escudero said.
Leyte First District Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez himself filed the first five measures logged as House Bills (HBs) 1 to 5.
HB 1 or the proposed “Rice Industry and Consumer Empowerment (RICE) Act,” seeks to restore the National Food Authority’s (NFA) regulatory powers to lower rice prices and protect the farmers in support of President Marcos’ push to ensure affordable food and strengthen agriculture.
The other bills.Romualdez filed sought to exempt Overseas Filipino Workers’ (OFWs) from paying premium contributions to the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), create the Philippine Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) as the lead agency in developing and implementing disease prevention and control initiatives, update on the private school educational assistance and creation of the Eastern Visayas Development Authority.
Neophyte Valenzuela City Rep. Gerald Cloyd Alexis Galang filed seven bills, including House Bill 154, or the proposed “Magna Carta for Senior Citizens,” HB 155 or the proposed “Social Pension of Senior Citizens Act” and HB 156, which seeks to amend the qualifications under Republic Act 11768 or the “Sangguniang Kabataan Reform Act of 2015.”
Returning Parañaque City Rep. Eric Olivarez also filed 10 measures on the first day, including HB 144 establishing the Philippine CDC similar to Speaker Romualdez’s proposal, HB 148 exempting senior citizens from paying parking fees in commercial establishments and government buildings, and HB 150 exempting persons with disabilities and senior citizens from paying travel tax.
The House expects more bills to be filed in the coming days.
