Photo courtesy of House of Representatives
QUEZON CITY (PIA) — The 19th Congress of the Philippines has expressed resolute determination to pass the five remaining priority bills and complete all the necessary measures to spur the country’s economy forward to its goals.
Both Houses of Congress expect to enact the following bills before the year ends:
1. Amendments to Foreign Investors’ Long-Term Lease
This bill aims to attract foreign investors by extending land lease contracts to draw in foreign direct investment as a source of financing, critical in realizing socio-economic objectives such as increasing employment levels, creating decent work, infusing technology into domestic businesses, and improving the integration of local enterprises with the global market.
The land lease contract is proposed to be up to 99 years.
2. Amendments to the Agrarian Reform Law
The purpose of the amendments to this law is to assist agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) in the event of natural calamities to make their losses more bearable, to help them recover from adverse effects, and to mitigate the effects of natural calamities by providing full crop insurance coverage to qualified agrarian reform beneficiaries.
By providing full crop insurance coverage, ARBs are being unburdened from insurance premium payments, aiding them in times of calamities and allowing them to immediately recover, thereby protecting food security in the country.
3. Universal Health Care Act
The proposed amendments to the Universal Health Care Act include the granting of power to the president to suspend the scheduled increases in PhilHealth premium contribution rates.
It also seeks to exempt migrant workers from the payment of premium contributions to PhilHealth.
4. Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) Amendments
Proposed amendments to this law seek to extend the corporate term of the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM).
The principal purpose of PSALM is to manage the orderly sale, disposition, and privatization of National Power Corporation (NPC) generation assets, real estate, and other disposable assets, and Independent Power Producers (IPPS) contracts to liquidate all NPC financial obligations and stranded contract costs in an optimal manner.
5. New Department of Water [Resources] Bill
The bill seeks to declare policies reaffirming the state’s commitment to the right of all Filipinos to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation as essential to the full enjoyment of life and all human rights.
It further seeks to attain nationwide water supply, sanitation, and sewerage services at reasonable rates that must be pursued in an orderly, rational, efficient, and dynamic manner.
Also, it seeks to declare that water is a public good subject to diverse use in economic, agricultural, and industrial activities, and is thus a scarce resource that must be carefully regulated to prevent resource depletion and to ensure its availability for future generations.
According to reports from the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office (PLLO), the top priority bills are making progress, with no significant pending issues. (PIA-DMD)
