Congress to rush passage of budget, other laws

MANILA, Philippines - Leaders of the Senate and the House of Representatives vow to rush at least four measures, including the P1.415-trillion national budget for this year that is still pending before a bicameral conference committee, as lawmakers resume sessions on Monday after a holiday break. In separate interviews, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and House Speaker Prospero C. Nograles said the budget, which was not approved in time for the new fiscal year because of congressional wrangling, would be passed before the end of January. The government started the year with the reenacted 2008 budget as mandated by the Constitution. At the center of the debates is the amount to be set aside for an “economic stimulus" package — higher public spending to keep the domestic economy afloat amid a global downturn. Senator Edgardo J. Angara and Quirino Rep. Junie E. Cua, chairmen of the bicameral committee finalizing the budget, said the 2009 outlay would be ready for ratification any time this week. Mr. Angara said the only sticking point was the amount of the stimulus package. The bicameral conference committee initially earmarked P15 billion, taken from debt service cuts, for the stimulus. Mr. Angara declined to disclose the final amount, saying it could still go up to P30-50 billion. Lawmakers also pledged to extend the 20-year old Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) before the March 6 recess. Also high on the priority list are measures calling for a higher deposit insurance coverage of P500,000, from the current ceiling of P250,000, and the extension of the rent control law that lapsed last December 31. These bills were previously not a priority. In November, seven priority measures were listed by congressional leaders, including the budget and the CARP extension. There was no mention of the others — the proposed Magna Carta for Women, the rationalization of fiscal incentives, amendments to the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira), the reproductive health bill, and a proposed national tourism policy program — on Sunday. Failing to agree on the bill to extend the CARP which expired last June, lawmakers instead passed a joint resolution extending the program for six months, supposedly to allow a thorough review of the law, before sessions adjourned last December 17. The original proposal was for a five-year extension. The dispute is over whether the government should continue the compulsory acquisition of farms from landowners for redistribution to farmers, or just carry on support schemes for program beneficiaries. Next: Business sector has different priorities Business sector has different priorities Business groups took a different view on what policy the government should pursue. Edgardo Z. Lacson, chairman of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that while his group supported the approval of the budget and higher deposit insurance coverage, both the CARP and rent control should be reviewed first. Rent control is a regulating measure “which will not have a very healthy effect on the economy," he said. Lawmakers, meanwhile, should use the CARP review period “to include more equitable ways of distributing wealth between landowners and farmers," he added. Makati Business Club Executive Director Alberto A. Lim said all the legislative priorities, except rent control, were agreeable. The Rent Control Act of 2005, which expired at the end of 2008, set a 10 percent annual cap on increases for homes being rented out for no more than P10,000 a month in Metro Manila and other highly urbanized cities, and P5,000 in other parts of the country. Mr. Lim said Congress should add to the list of priorities measures cutting tax incentives and increasing excise taxes on “sin" products such as tobacco and alcohol, as tax collections could be a major problem for the government this year. “Right now, [the government is] giving too many incentives and [it] is losing too many revenues when not much investments are expected to come in," he said. Next: Priorities include housing fund amendments Priorities include housing fund amendments Other priorities in the Senate include amendments to the Home Development Mutual Fund or Pag-IBIG charter to hike funds for housing and loan programs, the Magna Carta for Women, and the Tourism Act which seeks to create special tourism zones, Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel F. Zubiri said. Mr. Enrile said a measure defining the country’s territorial limits would also be rushed as the May 2009 deadline set by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea nears. The measure is expected to bolster the country’s claim over the oil-rich Spratly Islands. If President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo certifies the bill as urgent, the chamber can fast-track its approval within one week after sponsorship in the plenary, Mr. Enrile said. In the House, Mr. Nograles said their other priorities were the reproductive health bill, pre-need code, amendments to Anti-Money Laundering Law, corporate recovery act, amendments to Oil Deregulation Law, and the rationalization of fiscal incentives. The House is also not yet giving up on the move to amend the Constitution, which is expected to be cleared by the House constitutional amendments committee, despite stiff opposition from the Senate which wants any changes discussed only after the 2010 presidential elections to guard against term extensions. La Union Rep. Victor F. Ortega, committee chairman, said his panel would push for a constitutional convention to amend the 1987 charter given the “limited time" to convene a constituent assembly. - Jhoanna Frances S. Valdez and Bernard U. Allauigan, BusinessWorld