A measure that seeks to protect whistle-blowers in anomalous government transactions will be among the 23 priority bills that President Benigno Aquino III will present when he convenes for the first time the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) on Monday. Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. said the priority bills initially identified numbered to 17, but they added six more to include the proposed anti-trust law, protection and security to whistle-blowers, amendments to the Witness Protection Program, creation of a water regulatory body, government procurement reforms, and defining the powers and functions of the Department of National Defense. “All the 23 proposals went through benchmarking, goal-setting, and prioritization process during various Cabinet workshops and the succeeding meetings of the Cabinet Clusters," Ochoa said. He said the measures reflect the Aquino Administration's 16-point agenda for human development, infrastructure development, economic development, sovereignty and security and good governance, as well as the targets under the integrated Medium-Term Development Plan. “In determining the measures to be included in our priorities, we reckoned with four parameters: people, resources, legal basis and political objectives," Ochoa said. The 23 measures are:
An act creating the department of housing and urban development (DHUD), defining its mandate, powers and functions, providing funds therefore and for other purposes; An act rationalizing the night work prohibition on women workers, thereby amending articles 130 and 131 of Presidential Decree (PD) 442, as amended, otherwise known as the Labor Code of the Philippines; An act enhancing the curriculum and increasing the number of years for basic education, appropriating funds therefore, and for other purposes; An act providing a definite targeting strategy in identifying the poor, amending Republic Act (RA) No. 7875 otherwise known as the National Health Insurance Act of 1995 as amended, and for other purposes; An act reorganizing the National Food Authority into the National Food Corporation and creating the Food Development and Regulatory Administration; An act further amending certain sections of RA 6957, as amended by RA 7718, (authorizing the financing, construction, operation and maintenance of infrastructure projects by the private sector), appropriating funds for the said purpose, and for other purposes; Amendments to RA 9136 or the “Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001" An act rationalizing the economic regulation of water utilities, creating the Water Regulatory Commission, and for other purposes; An act rationalizing the grant and administration of fiscal incentives for the promotion of investments and growth, and for other purposes; An act instituting a National Land Use Act, providing the implementing mechanisms therefore, and for other purposes; An act to establish the archipelagic sea lanes in the Philippine archipelagic waters, prescribing the rights and obligations of foreign ships and aircrafts exercising the right of archipelagic sea lanes passage through the established archipelagic sea lanes and providing for the associated protective measures therein; An act to define the maritime zones of the Republic of the Philippines; An act to strengthen the modernization of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, extending the implementation of the modernization program of the AFP, instituting necessary reforms in the AFP, amending for the purpose certain provisions of RA 7898, otherwise known as the AFP Modernization Act and for other purposes; An act resetting the date of the regular elections for elective officials of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), synchronizing the ARMM elections with the synchronized national and local elections of 2013, amending for the purpose RA 9333, titled “an act affixing the date for regular elections for elective officials of the ARMM pursuant to RA 9054", amending RA 6734 (Organic Act of the ARMM); An act penalizing anti-competitive agreements, abuse of dominant power, and anti-competitive mergers, establishing the Philippine Fair Competition Commission and appropriating funds therefore, and for other purposes; An act strengthening the witness protection, security and benefit program, amending for the purpose RA 6981 otherwise known as the “Witness Protection, Security and Benefit Act" and providing additional funds therefore; An act providing for protection, security and benefits of whistle-blowers; An act to provide for the National Defense of the Philippines, penalizing certain violations thereof, appropriating funds therefore, and for other purposes; An act instituting reforms in land administration; An act to promote financial viability and fiscal discipline in government-owned or controlled corporations and to strengthen the role of the state in its governance and management to make them more responsive to the needs of public interest and for other purposes; An act amending certain sections of RA 9184, otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act"; An act to further strengthen the anti-money laundering law, amending for the purpose RA 9160, otherwise known as the “Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001", as amended, and for other purposes; and An act defining terrorist financing as a crime and providing penalties therefore Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the LEDAC meeting is expected to start at 10 a.m. on Monday and would be presided by President Aquino. Valte, in an interview by Radyo ng Bayan on Sunday, said among those expected to attend are Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte and several members of the Senate, the House of Representatives and the Cabinet. Asked if the developments in Libya will be tackled, Valte said, “We don’t know if that situation in Libya will be discussed but of course what is on the agenda are the 23 priority bills from the Executive." - KBK/MRT, GMA News 
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