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No.
62 - August 17, 2001
GMA's Legislative Agenda
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo delivered
her first state of the nation address at the opening of the
first regular session of the 12th Congress on 23 July. She
enumerated the core of her vision: jobs, education, housing,
and food. She said these are the aspirations of the masses,
which she enclosed in the story of three letters written on
paper boats addressed to her coming from three kids from Payatas
named Jason, Jomar, and Erwin.
The President has concrete targets for specific
executive departments to work on, but critics feel these are
highly ambitious targets that cannot be met given the current
economic state the country is in. She emphasized the thrust
for free enterprise, agriculture modernization, poverty alleviation,
and the upliftment of moral standards in government.
President Arroyo recognizes the role of the
legislature in hastening changes in all these areas for development.
She asked Congress to "enact laws on capital market reform
such as the Personal Equity Retirement Act, the Investment
Company Act, the Securitization Act, and Amendments to the
Securities and Regulation Code," as well as "a law
providing for a gross income tax."
The President also asked Congress to create
a Department of Information Technology and Communications,
as well as a Department of Housing, so that efforts to strengthen
both the government's programs for technological development
and mass housing will be more focused.
She stressed that advancements in information
technology as well as agriculture modernization will generate
more jobs.
Quite expectedly, detractors of the current
administration voiced out the seeming impossibility of the
goals Arroyo has set. Though she suggested that all politicians
"set aside bickering and politicking for at least one
year" so her administration can be given a chance to
perform, that plea fell on deaf ears in the House and Senate.
The Legislative-Executive Development
Advisory Council (LEDAC) met on 15 August to set its legislative
agenda for the 12th Congress. The measures were included which
were consistent with the four components of President Arroyo's
national agenda. See table.
Comeback
The opening of the 12th Congress saw two comebacks at the
helm of each of the chambers of Congress: Representative Jose
de Venecia, Jr. as Speaker of the House and Senator Franklin
Drilon as Senate President.
Majority rules
Former two-term (1992 and 1995) Speaker de Venecia returned
to Congress and regained the House speakership despite attempts
by opposition lawmakers to delay the election. De Venecia
garnered 185 votes. Seventeen others voted for Nueva Vizcaya
Representative Carlos Padilla, the opposition's compromise
candidate, and one (Rep. Ronaldo B. Zamora) abstained. Only
199 out of 206 Congressmen were present during the election
for House Speaker.
De Venecia says the 747 Economic Action Plan
aims to take on the tough task of addressing the budget deficit
so that "a balanced budget and surplus" will be
available by the time his term ends. He is aiming for 7% growth
over seven years beginning 2003.
The new speaker disclosed that the Philippines
had committed access to "US$10 billion in Official Development
Assistance (ODA) from Japan and Europe largely in concessional
30-year funds, with 1/3 of one percent interest and 10-year
grace periods on capital." However, Congress must provide
a 25-percent counterpart fund of $2.5 billion.
To source the counterpart funds, De Venecia
suggests stronger tax collecion without imposing new taxes;
equity securitization of a portion of the national government
share of the Malampaya offshore Palawan gas project; a final
resolution of the coconut levy fund which will provide at
least P70 billion for the modernization of the coconut industry;
and a final resolution of the Marcos wealth of more than $650
million placed in escrow with the PNB.
Power sharing
Senator Franklin Drilon, on the other hand, won back the Senate
Presidency, but by the slimmest of margins. He received 13
votes (Senators Arroyo, Barbers, Cayetano, de Castro, Flavier,
Legarda, Magsaysay Jr., Pangilinan, Pimentel Jr., Recto, Revilla,
J. Osmeña, and Villar Jr.), while 11 (Senators Angara,
Biazon, Drilon, Estrada, Honasan, Jaworski, Lacson, Oreta,
Ople, S. Osmeña, Sotto) voted for Senator Aquilino
Pimentel, Jr.
Senate President Drilon will only be holding
on to the post until 2002. Senator Renato Cayetano is expected
to replace him as part of a term-sharing scheme. The new Senate
President, however, will have to be ready for more scrutiny
from the opposition, who would have wanted to keep Pimentel
in the post to maintain the Senate's independence from the
Arroyo administration. Oppositionists maintain that President
Arroyo had a hand in the bid for senate presidency when she
announced her preference for Drilon.
First termer Senator Manuel Villar, Jr.
was voted Senate President Pro-Tempore and Senator Loren Legarda-Leviste
as Majority Floor Leader. Senator Pimentel is now Minority
Floor Leader.
COMELEC Ranks Recto 12th
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) finally declared Ralph
Recto as the 12th place winner in the 2001 senatorial race.
As such, Recto will be serving a full term of six years, while
re-electionist Gregorio Honasan, who is ranked 13th, will
finish the remaining three year-term of now Vice President
Teofisto Guingona, Jr.
The canvass report showed that Recto got 10,498,940
votes while Honasan received 10,454,527 - a difference of
only 44,413 votes.
Opposition camp Puwersa ng Masa protested
the ruling, saying the declaration was illegal since it did
not get the approval of the majority of the seven-member Comelec.
Only Chairman Alfredo Benipayo, Commissioners Rex Borra, and
Florentino Tuason approved the resolution. Commissioners Luzviminda
Tancangco and Rufino Javier dissented, while Commissioners
Mehol Sadain and Ralph Lantion were absent.
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