Only 7 Senate bills approved before break

Only seven out of 2,756 bills filed with the Senate were approved on third and final reading by the chamber before it went on its third break last week, records from the Senate Legislative Bills and Index Service Department (LBIS) showed. Data culled by GMA News showed that the Senate only approved Senate Bills 78, 138, 480, 1052. 2640, 2671, and 2726 since the opening of the chamber's session last July. Congress will resume session on May 9. Senate Majority Floor Leader Vicente Sotto III had earlier said the Senate is expected to covene as an impeachment court when Congress resumes session in May. However, he said that they will still conduct sessions four mornings a week (from Mondays to Thursdays) to deal with their legislative work while the impeachment court will convene five afternoons a week, except when there is a CA hearing or plenary session. SB 78, filed by Senate President Pro Tempore Jose "Jinggoy" Estrada, seeks to increase the minimum wage of household helpers or kasambahays and provide them with additional benefits. The measure requires employers to pay their helpers at least P2,500 if they are within Metro Manila, at least P2,000 if they are in chartered cities and first class municipalities, and at least P1,500 for those working in third class municipalities. SB 138, filed by Senators Antonio Trillanes IV, Franklin Drilon and Pia Cayetano, expands the country’s mandatory basic immunization program for infants to include immunization for Hepatitis B. SB 480, also filed by Estrada, seeks to amend article 111 of the Family Code to allow either spouse to mortgage or dispose of his or her exclusive property regardless of their age. SB 1052, filed by Sen. Manuel Villar, seeks to automatically allow Filipinos divorced from their foreign spouses to remarry in the Philippines even if their divorce and marriages were obtained abroad. SB 2640, also filed by Drilon, seeks to create a body that will govern government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs). SB 2671, also filed by Trillanes, seeks to strengthen the bureaucracy by professionalizing the ranks of government managers and executives. SB 2726, filed by Sen. Francis Escudero, seeks to strike out vagrancy as a punishable crime under Article 202 of the Revised Penal Code. On the other hand, 10 bills are pending on second reading; 29 bills have been consolidated into committee reports; and 2,682 are also pending before their respective committees for public hearing. Commission on Appointments Meanwhile, the powerful Commission on Appointments (CA) - composed of 12 senators and 12 congressmen headed by the Senate president - has confirmed the appointments of 13 Cabinet officials, namely: