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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Speaker vows full support for PBBM’s Agenda for Prosperity with needed laws

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Speaker Martin Romualdez on Tuesday assured the business community that the House of Representatives is committed to support with the necessary legislation the Agenda for Prosperity of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr..

Addressing the 2022 Asia CEO Forum, a gathering of captains of industry at Marriott Hotel in Pasay City, Romualdez laid out measures that would help the Marcos administration achieve the goals of its prosperity roadmap.

Romualdez promised the businessmen that they would be consulted on these legislative proposals.

“As stakeholders, you will be consulted in every measure that we tackle, especially those involving commerce and industry. Please make your positions very clear on the issues…as I want all stakeholders heard before we pass these measures,” Romualdez said.

He said the Marcos administration’s prosperity blueprint “has as its core mission the country’s economic transformation towards inclusivity and sustainability.”

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“We in Congress are one with the President in this mission,” Romualdez said.

This is why the House, shortly after the 19th Congress convened in July, adopted – through Concurrent Resolution No. 2, the administration’s Medium-Term Fiscal Framework (MTTF) and eight-point socio-economic plan, which comprise the roadmap for the Agenda for Prosperity, Romualdez said.

“For the first time, the country has a clear six-year agenda with clearly defined goals,” he stressed.

The Speaker pointed out that the President’s socio-economic development masterplan has started to achieve significant results.

Romualdez noted that the economy grew by 7.6 percent in the third quarter of this year, faster than the 7.5-percent expansion in the second quarter, with the country reported as the second best performer among major emerging economies in Southeast Asia.

He credited such growth to the Agenda for Prosperity and the “sound economic plan of our President and economic managers.”

“These encouraging figures strengthen our resolve, as lawmakers, to remain fully committed in supporting the Agenda for Prosperity with the necessary legislative measures,” Romualdez said.

He said the immediate focus of the House would be on helping the government boost domestic demand and increase the competitiveness of local production to sustain and further accelerate economic recovery.

Romualdez also said his chamber has already passed the proposed P5.268-trillion 2023 national budget, which includes P1.528 trillion for economic services.

“Following our participation at the ASEAN Summit in Cambodia and at the APEC meetings in Thailand where I joined the President, we in Congress are likewise determined to further study needed refinements in our laws, regulations and government policies so as to further attract foreign investments and create more jobs for Filipinos,” he added.

The Speaker said the House has also approved House Bill (HB) No. 4339, which is the last component of the Comprehensive Tax Reform Package and which aims to simplify taxation of passive income, financial services and transactions by reducing the number of tax rates from 83 to 58.

“If we are able to enact this package as proposed, we will be able to complete one of the largest tax reform programs of any country in the world,” he said.

The House has likewise approved the bills taxing single-use plastic bags and non-resident digital service providers, and the proposed Ease of Paying Taxes Act.

Just recently, the President signed into law the SIM Registration Bill that requires the registration of all mobile subscriptions, whether postpaid or prepaid to lessen mobile phone-aided scams and other illegal activities.

“In response to the President’s call to expedite the transition to a digital economy, Congress will prioritize the passage of the E-Governance Bill, which would significantly reduce, if not eliminate, red tape,” Romualdez said.

He said he is the principal author of most of the Marcos administration’s priority legislative measures and expects his colleagues in Congress to support them.

“In fact, I am hopeful that we can approved most of these measures before the year ends,” Romualdez said.

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