Aquino: Only 12 bills or less will be certified urgent

Only about 12 of over 100 proposed measures — including one on reproductive health — will be certified priority bills by President Benigno Simeon Aquino III to ensure their swift passage in Congress. "Yung talagang itutulak namin (we’ll only push for) not more than 12," Aquino told reporters at the sidelines of the 65th anniversary of the Liberal Party in Club Filipino in San Juan City. At least 138 proposed legislations had been presented to Aquino for his consideration. This was later trimmed down to 32, which were studied by Cabinet secretaries. Aquino said it should be further trimmed down to 12. “Paano naman mangyayaring malulusot yung aming (how can we convince Congress to pass) 32? There has to be a prioritization. So it will be relegated to 12 to ensure the swift passage of the necessary measures," he said. Aquino is expected to present these bills during the first ever Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) under his administration meeting later this month. He said the 12 bills “will be turned into priority bills," and then they will convince Congress to support these measures. “We will talk to the leadership of both chambers [of Congress] and also the minority [bloc] that these are very important pieces of legislation," Aquino said. Legislative agenda Aquino and his Cabinet had a seven-hour meeting Tuesday to come up with the legislative agenda of the administration. However, no list was finalized as the President wanted more time to study the proposed measures. “May mga refinements akong hinihingi (I asked for some refinements) before we present it to the leaders of both chambers to ask for their assistance," Aquino told reporters Wednesday. Among the bills most likely to be included in Aquino’s legislative agenda are the bills on government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) and on reproductive health. “Meron sa (there’s one for) GOCCs, a method whereby there is rationality in determining pay benefits of those who are running the GOCCs. In a private corporation, the board gets reelected every year so that will be amongst the features. Sa akin ang pinaka-importante yung (for me what is important is the) limitation as to how much they can reward themselves," Aquino said. RH bill On the reproductive health bill, Aquino said his administration will adhere to its promise to the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), which is opposing the passage of such bill. “Napag-usapan yung responsible parenthood . . . walang pilitan, walang linlangan, may penal sanctions pag ginawa yun (We had discussed responsible parenthood. In the bill, there should be no pressure to parents. Such action should be penalized)," he said. He added that he also wants to include the setting up of natural family planning centers apart from the family planning methods being implemented by the Department of Health. “[The] access [to information], so everybody can decide on their own, will be there," the President said. — KBK/RSJ, GMANews.TV