Palace: Devt plan, priority bills on LEDAC agenda

President Benigno “Noynoy" Aquino III will convene the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) next week for updates on the common legislative agenda and the Philippine Development Plan. The second LEDAC meeting will be held on August 16, according to Valte. The last LEDAC meeting was in February in which 23 priority bills were submitted. “The agenda will be: first, updates on the common legislative agenda; second, the new bills to be proposed to the LEDAC; and third, a discussion on the Philippine Development Plan," Presidential Deputy Spokesperson Abigail Valte said Thursday. With the list of proposed new bills not yet final, Valte said other priority measures outside the initial 23 submitted to Congress would be included this time around. In his state of the nation address on July 25, Aquino urged Congress to work on the early passage of the proposed 2012 national budget and bills that would benefit Martial Law victims and house help and improve social security for retired soldiers. Aquino also urged lawmakers to pass bills that would expand the scope of scholarships under the Department of Science and Technology, improve the quality of universal health care, advocate responsible management of the environment and create facilities that would ensure the safety of citizens in the event of disasters and calamities. — BC/VS, GMA News