2019 a productive year for Senate
Credit to Author: Bernadette Tamayo| Date: Sat, 28 Dec 2019 17:02:00 +0000
THIS year saw the passage of landmark laws such as Republic Act (RA) 11223, or the “Universal Health Care (UHC) Act,” that is expected to help shape the country’s future.
The law, signed by President Rodrigo Duterte in February, institutionalizes universal health care coverage for all Filipinos, as it “closes the gaps” in the health service delivery.
The result of the May midterm elections allowed four neophyte senators — allies of Duterte — to craft and pass landmark laws included in his legislative agenda.
The Senate opened the first regular session of the 18th Congress with a new batch of senators raring and eager to buckle down to work.
They were reelectionist Senators Cynthia Villar, Mary Grace Poe, Maria Lourdes Nancy Binay, Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara, and Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel 3rd; neophyte Senators Christopher “Bong” Go, Maria Josefa Imelda “Imee” Marcos, Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa and Francis Tolentino; and returning Senators Pilar Juliana “Pia” Cayetano, Manuel “Lito” Lapid, and Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr.
It was a “productive six months of 2019,” according to Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri as senators filed a total of 1,154 bills and 210 resolutions since the start of the 18th Congress on July 22.
Senate President Vicente Sotto 3rd said he was “humbled to have worked with experienced legislators whose great minds are truly admirable.”
The Senate passed two bills that were enacted into law — RA 11462, or the postponement of the barangay (village) and Sangguniang Kabataan (Youth Council) elections, and RA 11463 or the “Malasakit Center Act.”
The postponement of the twin polls will give the incumbent officials “more time to implement their programs and to enforce the right on the subject officials to serve a full three-year term,” Sotto said.
The Malasakit Center Act establishes “one-stop” shops in government hospitals to provide the public easy access to medical and financial assistance. It will compliment the UHC program.
Sotto said the Senate tackled 73 bill, three of which are pending in the House of Representatives — the proposed Night Shift Differential Pay, the National Transportation Safety Board Act, and the Comprehensive Firearm and Ammunition Regulation Act.
Several measures were approved on third reading — the Separate Facility for Heinous Crimes Inmate Act, the Excise Tax on Alcohol Products, the Tobacco and Vapor Act and the Salary Standardization Law.
“These measures, once signed into laws, will greatly benefit our workers in the public sector through the grant of night shift differential pay and the additional salary,” Sotto said.
He added that the bills “will promote healthy living through the excise tax on items considered harmful to our bodies” and “will give the peace and order that we all desire through the creation of more secure penal institutions or facilities for high level inmates and the extension of the validity of firearms and ammunition.”
The Senate chief also cited the important role played by the Senate Committees on Justice and Public Accountability (blue ribbon panel) in uncovering the anomalous implementation of the Good Time Conduct Allowance (GCTA) Law.
The inquiry, Sotto said, paved the way “to the discovery of more appalling corruption in the Bureau of Corrections, which is the GCTA for sale activity and in the Philippine National Police, the Agaw-Bato scheme” involving alleged “ninja cops” who recycle seized crystal meth or shabu.
The probe resulted in the filing of Senate Bill 1055 or the “Separate Facility for Heinous Crimes Inmate Act.”
“Ultimately the aforementioned investigation gave rise to the filing of cases against the erring government officials,” the Senate president said.
This also raised the need to amend the implementing rules and regulations of the GCTA Law “in order to reveal the real intentions of its authors,” he added.
“I would say we had a great start. This is just the beginning of our commitment to the people we serve. We’re looking forward to a more fruitful 2020 as we intend to always perform better for our beloved Filipino families,” Sotto said.
Zubiri also said the passage of the P4.1-trillion 2020 General Appropriations Act topped the list of the Senate’s accomplishments in the first four months of the 18th Congress.
“The budget is the most important law of the land. By approving it well ahead of the Christmas break, we will be spared the difficulties arising from a reenacted budget as had happened earlier this year,” he added.
The Senate also passed RA 11310 or the “Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) Act;” RA 11228, the act on mandatory Philippine Health Insurance Corp. coverage for persons with disabilities; RA 11188, the “Special Protection of Children in Situations of Armed Conflict Act;” RA 11222, the “Simulated Birth Rectification Act;” and RA 11249, the “Speech Language Pathology Act.”
It also approved on third and final reading Senate Bill (SB) 1122, or the “National Day of Remembrance for Road Crash Victims Act;” SB 643, the “Night Shift Differential Pay Act;” SB 1077, the “National Transportation Safety Board Act;” SB 1155, an “Act Fixing the Validity Period of the License to Own, Permit to Carry and Registration of Firearms;” SB 1219, the “Salary Standardization Law 5;” and SB 1055, the “Establishment of Separate Facilities for Prisoners Convicted of Heinous Crimes, Amending the National Internal Revenue Code by Increasing the Excise Tax on Alcohol, Heated Tobacco and Vapor Products and for other purposes (SB 1074),” among others.
It also adopted 21 resolutions, including one that opposed the liberalization of the sugar industry.
The Senate was united in support of the stellar performance of Filipino athletes with resolutions filed to honor athletes in windsurfing, arnis, weightlifting and wushu during the recently concluded Southeast Asian Games hosted by the Philippines.
Landmark laws for women
Sen. Ana Theresia “Risa” Hontiveros said 2019 saw the passage of landmark laws for women.
The senator, chairman of the Senate Committee on Women, said these laws include RA 11210, or the “Expanded Maternity Leave Law,” which expanded paid maternity leave from 60 to 105 days.
“It is now the policy of the State to give mothers our due. Mothers will have longer time to recuperate from giving birth and spend more time to care for their babies,” Hontiveros added.
The Senate in July passed RA 11313, otherwise known as the “Safe Streets and Public Spaces Act” or the “Bawal Bastos Law,” which penalizes gender-based harassment and abuse in public spaces.
“2019 is the year we say goodbye to ‘boy bastos,’” said Hontiveros, who served as the law’s principal author and sponsor.