First LEDAC meet under Aquino seen before Feb.

The first Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) meeting under the current administration will likely take place before the end of the month, President Benigno Aquino III said Tuesday. At a press briefing, Aquino said Cabinet secretaries told him they need more time to consolidate measures that they want Congress to prioritize. "Kino-consolidate natin yung various pieces of legislation that we will be asking the legislature to act upon, so hopefully before the end of January we will have the LEDAC already," Aquino said. The LEDAC was created in 1992 under R.A. 7640 as a consultative and advisory body to the President to help integrate his legislative agenda with the national development plan, among others. It was authored by then Sen. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who later became president. In his State of the Nation Address last July 26, Aquino said he wants to see the passage of laws on national land use and the protection of whistle-blowers and witnesses, among others. The LEDAC convenes at least once every quarter. The upcoming LEDAC meeting will be Aquino's first as President even though he has been in office for half a year. The advisory council is composed of the President as chairman, the vice president, the Senate president, the House Speaker, seven Cabinet members, three senators, three House members, and one representative each from the local government, the youth, and the private sector. Jam L. Sisante/KBK, GMANews.TV