YEARENDER
The House of Representatives has vowed to remain steadfast and committed in 2022 by passing legislation that would help the country navigate through and emerge stronger from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The lower chamber led by Speaker Lord Allan Velasco and Majority Leader Martin G. Romualdez expects 2022 to be a more fruitful year for Congress as the country tread on the path to recovery, as it capped 2021 with vital pieces of legislation to counter the damage wrought to the economy by lockdowns and massive government spending.
The most important of these laws is the P5.024-trillion General Appropriations Act of 2022 that President Duterte signed into law on Wednesday.
“Our spending plan is clear on its mission: Save precious lives, protect the health of everyone, generate jobs and livelihood opportunities, and pump prime the economy to full recovery,” Romualdez said in a statement following the President’s signing of the money measure.
Romualdez said 2022 will be another challenging year for Congress to tackle the economic measures that are still pending as it prepares to transition to the 19th Congress that will convene in July.
Velasco, for his part, described 2022 as “a crucial year for our country.”
“Let us build on our accomplishments and let us face 2022 with defiant hope. Magkaisa po tayo sa pag-asa, sa pagbangon, at sa pagbubunyi,” Velasco said in a statement.
He said the spending plan provided Congress the “single greatest opportunity” to shape the country’s priorities for next year as COVID-19.
Velasco also reiterated his mesaage to colleagues in the bigger chamber for their hard work and dedication in ensuring the passage of vital pieces of legislation that would help the country navigate through and emerge stronger from the pandemic.
“All of us played important roles in this monumental responsibility,” Velasco stressed. “And because of the commitment and dedication of every person here today, we are bringing this dark and difficult chapter in our history to a hopeful close.”
He added: “In this time of crisis, I am truly humbled to stand by your side and fight for the Filipino people. Every day is an opportunity to champion our constituents.”
As of December 17, 2021, when Congress adjourned for the Holiday Recess, the House has approved 133 Republic Acts and expects more measures will be signed into law by President Rodrigo Duterte before the year ends.
The chamber also approved 930 measures on third reading, and adopted 266 resolutions.
“This is our harvest of legislation for 2021 so far. Maraming salamat, mga kasama, sa patuloy na pagpupunyagi at suporta,” Velasco told his colleagues in his adjoirnment speech.
Velasco said the House leadership was also proud to have “instituted reforms, revised plans, and implemented programs to ensure the health and safety of everyone as we keep the legislative mill running.”
“If there is one thing that the pandemic has shown us, it is that we are stronger than we knew,” Velasco said.
“We are more capable than we realized. We have seen that there is more that unites us than divides us. We have seen that our legislative work is vital to our pandemic response.”
The Speaker also called for prayers as the country is faced with another challenge, as Typhoon Odette barrels towards the Visayas and Mindanao.
“Let us all pray for everyone’s safety, as we assure our respective constituencies that we will be ready to assist when needed,” Velasco said.
Meanwhile, Albay Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee issued a document containing a list of ten ‘low-hanging fruits’ that the Duterte administration and Congress can pursue during the final six months of the government’s term in office.
In a document titled “Finishing strong, starting anew in 2022,” Salceda listed a set of priority legislative and executive reforms that he described as “ripe for picking.”
“These reforms are both crucial and relatively easy and achievable.
That’s why we should do them first thing in the new year,” Salceda said in subsequent comments.
The reforms Salceda listed are:
1. The completion of the FDI liberalization agenda and the passage of the Public Service Act amendments;
2. Enactment of Packages 3 and 4 of the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program;
3. Financial inclusion reforms such as the Fair and Inclusive Credit Act and the Consumer Financial Protection Act, as well as allowing
OFWs to invest in Philippine equities while in abroad;
4. Agricultural reforms in Salceda’s 5Fs framework (farms, fisheries, forestry, feeds, and fertilizers);
5. Portable Philhealth through a single-patient, single-record system and a free national telemedicine hotline;
6. The passage of the Department of Disaster Resilience Act and the amendments to the National DRR Law requested by President Duterte;
7. Anti-smuggling efforts by both Congress and the Bureau of Customs, particularly against fruit and vegetable smuggling, ecozone smuggling, and illicit trade and tobacco and fuel;
8. The issuance of the Strategic Investment Priorities Plan which will enable the full implementation of the CREATE Law;
9. Reforms to lower the costs of medicine, by expediting customs processing of VAT-free medicines, bulk procurement of medical supplies in public hospitals, and guidelines for medical bill transparency; and
10. Job creation in infrastructure through ‘frontloading’ the infrastructure program and exempting public works from the election ban on government spending and hiring.
Salceda also suggested new proposals to make Package 3 of the tax reform program more acceptable to stakeholders.
“I am proposing amendments to the Real Property Valuation and Assessment Reform, or Package 3, to support economic recovery,”
Salceda wrote.
“First, I support removing productive equipment from taxable real properties. This will stimulate mechanization and modernization in businesses and agriculture. Second, I propose a transition period for local government units to comply with modernized valuation standards
to cushion the impact of sudden tax increases due to higher real property values.
“Third, I propose a progressive tax system for housing—tax luxury, low-density housing higher, and tax socialized and low-cost housing
lower,” Salceda explained.
Salceda said he believes the Duterte administration has “enough political will and commitment” to pass the remaining portions of the
president’s reform agenda.
Meanwhile, Salceda said President Duterte will end his administration’s term on a high note.
“I thank President Duterte for the trust and the confidence he and his government have given me as principal sponsor and author of his
Comprehensive Tax Reform Program, his investment liberalization agenda, and his key reforms in health, education, infrastructure, public safety, and governance. By working with champions in the legislature such as this representation, he will end his term having accomplished more of his promised reforms than any other President in recent memory,” Salceda said.
“The tax reform program he entrusted to me and my committee, and his cooperation and support for tax reforms that I or my committee
initiated, has been game-changing for the country,” Salceda added.