Aquino to present 17 priority bills to LEDAC

The Aquino administration will push for 17 priority legislation when President Benigno Aquino III meets leaders of Congress in the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) for the first time this month, Executive 
Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. said Sunday. “The 17 bills that the President will present to the LEDAC are in the final stages of preparation," Ochoa said. “We are not just submitting a list of measures, but the bills themselves, which have been studied by the lead agencies involved." He did not identify the 17 priority bills, but said none of them covers new taxes or the more controversial Charter change. “The proposals instead assure human development, infrastructure development, economic development, sovereignty and security, and good governance," Ochoa said without elaborating. Ochoa said the shortlist, which was finalized last week, was selected from at least 180 proposed measures earlier received by the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office from various departments and the Joint Foreign Chambers of Commerce of the Philippines He said the measures were critical to achieve the priority concerns of the Aquino administration outlined in the 16-point agenda of the government. He said crafting of the proposed measures took time to accommodate inputs and studies made following consultations between the lead agencies and stakeholders. He said there were also proposals that were dropped from the list pending further study, while some could be implemented with existing government policies
 and programs. “We hope that we can rationalize these priority measures with those of Congress so we can pass these at the soonest possible time," Ochoa said. Ochoa did not say when or when President Aquino will convene the LEDAC. 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, President 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 seven months. 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. - KBK, GMA News