JUNE 5, 2013

NR # 3125B

Growth lies in sustaining and furthering our gains Belmonte

Not without adversities and diversities, the 15th Congress has lived up to its mandate as a catalyst of reforms, and serving as the crucible of our peoples aspirations, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, Jr. today declared. Under challenging circumstances and finite resources, we have laid the foundations of genuine societal reformation. We remained steadfast to our mandate as representatives of our people and did what was required of us, the Speaker said. The 15th Congress was a union of diverse individuals united in the goal of pursuing policy reforms needed to benefit the greater majority of our people, he added. On June 5th, the 15th Congress reconvenes for its last session day before its sine die adjournment, then giving way to the assumption of the 16th Congress in July, coinciding with the annual State-of-the-Nation Address (SONA) of the President. Human limitations may have prevented us from achieving all that we had hoped, but collective determination to institute reforms promoting transparent and responsive governance never fell short, he added. From July 26, 2010 until mid-May 2013, data from the House Committee on Rules revealed that some 392 vital measures were enacted into law, 104 of which are of national significance and 283 cover local concerns. Of the 104 statutes, 10 cover the realm of economic and fiscal reforms, among which are: the prompt passage of the 2011, 2012 and 2013 General Appropriations Act; Further Strengthening the Anti-Money Laundering Act; Restructuring the Excise Tax on Alcohol and Tobacco Products; Rationalizing the Taxes on International Air Carriers in the Philippines; and the Extension of the Implementation of the Lifeline Rate under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001. Laws promoting political and governance reforms, include: the GOCC Governance Act of 2011; Requiring all Government Offices to ensure the release of the retirement benefits of its employees within 15 days from retirement; Conferring upon a member of the Sangguniang Bayan, Sangguniang Panlunsod and Sangguniang Panlalawigan the Appropriate Civil Service Eligibility; the Amendments to the AFP Modernization Act; and the Strengthening of the National Electrification Administration. In the province of public order and safety, those enacted include: the Act Decriminalizing Vagrancy; the statute Defining the Crime of Financing Terrorism; and Penalizing Unauthorized taking, Stealing, Keeping or Tampering of Government Risk

Reduction and Preparedness Equipment, Accessories and similar Facilities. Likewise, human rights also took the legislative limelight, with the enactment of the Anti-Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance Act; and the law providing Compensation to Victims of Human Rights Violations during the Marcos Regime. Equally important is the protection of women and children, enacted were: Rationalization of Nightwork Prohibition on Women Workers; Strengthening and Propagating Foster Care for Abandoned and Neglected Children and Children with Special Needs; Expanding R.A. 9208 entitled An Act to Institute Policies to Eliminate Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children, Establishing the Necessary Institutional Mechanism for the Protection and Support of Trafficked Persons; and Declaring November 25 of every year as 'National Consciousness Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. Other areas of concern given legislative priority through the various measures signed into law by the President include: Labor and Employment; Health Reforms; Suffrage and Electoral reforms; Basic Education reforms; Judicial reforms; Information & Communications Technology reforms and Social reforms. Crucial laws were enacted to adapt to demands of these changing times in those vital areas of development. We must have sustainable development in mind as we consider our future policies to ensure consistent growth, Belmonte concluded. (30) dpt