The House of Representatives under the leadership of Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano has backed the administration's effort to institutionalize the crucial reforms that are vital to deliver the “campaign promises” of President Rodrigo Duterte and sustain economic growth.
The recent SWS survey showed that majority of the Filipinos believes that the President will be able to fulfil most of his promises in the next three years of his term.
Cayetano expressed elation over the Duterte administration making a significant headway in pursuing measures to provide a safer and more comfortable life for Filipinos.
The administration’s efforts have started to make significant impact with 5.9- million Filipinos pulled out of poverty in 2018, as poverty incidence fell to 16.6 percent from 23.3 percent in 2015.
At the start of the session, the House leaders have reiterated that they will prioritize the passage of the bills creating three key vital departments: Department of Disaster Resilience, Department of Overseas Filipinos and Department of Water.
Cayetano also vowed to pass priority tax measures .
“We have good laws like the Universal Health Care, and Free Tertiary Education Act but we need to ensure that the they are properly funded hence we need to pass all these tax measures,” he said.
Last week, the President signed a measure imposing additional excise taxes on alcoholic beverages and e-cigarettes effective January 2020. The new law is set to generate around P24.9 billion in revenues for the government, which will be used for the implementation of the Universal Health Care program, Health Facilities Enhancement Program of the Department of Health and programs seeking to attain the country’s Sustainable Development Goals.
To ensure that the economic growth will be not greatly affected by the recent Taal volcano eruption, Cayetano has urged his colleagues to help craft long-lasting, reliable solutions, programs and mechanisms to help the country cope with the effects of disaster.
“We need to speed up the rehabilitation efforts so that the government can effectively assist the affected victims and reinvigorate the CALABARZON local economy,” he added.
After the first ever out-of-town plenary session in Batangas last week, Cayetano convened a meeting with House leaders to discuss the possible sources of the requirements of the recovery and rehabilitation programs for the Taal Volcano victims.
The House leadership also urged the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) not to repeat the mistakes of the past where the slow pace of utilization caused the money to be reverted to the National Treasury.