Archive > No. 66 - June 2002

I. CONGRESS : REVIEW AND OUTLOOK
President’s Legislative Agenda in Jeopardy?
During the State of the Nation Address (SONA) in July 2001, President Arroyo identified 16 priority bills under four components of her national agenda: the economic philosophy of free enterprise; modernized agriculture founded on social equity; social bias toward the disadvantaged; and raising the moral standards of government and society.

To concretize these thrusts, a common legislative agenda was drawn up by the Senate, House of Representatives, and the Executive Branch. However, by the time Congress adjourned on 3 June 2002, legislators had worked on only five of the 16 priority measures: Securitization Act, Special Purpose Asset Vehicles Act, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Dangerous Drugs Act, and the Absentee Voting bill. In fact, only the Dangerous Drugs Act has materialized into a law while the others remain pending.

Congress’ anemic output was overshadowed by the sparks that characterized its first regular session adjournment. Barely three days before the scheduled adjournment on 6 June, twelve opposition senators took advantage of Sen. Ramon Revilla’s absence (recuperating abroad from spine surgery) to claim that they are now the majority. The leadership takeover came after Sen. John Osmeña jumped to the opposition, shifting the Senate balance of 13-11 senators in favor of the administration to a 12-12 balance. Osmeña was aligned with the Estrada Administration and voted against the opening of envelope No. 2 during the impeachment trial before switching camps to join the Arroyo side. Osmeña was reportedly irked by Sen. Renato Cayetano’s refusal to invite former president Fidel Ramos to shed light on the PPA issue.

The opposition suspended the rules and reorganized committee memberships. They also elected Sen. Blas Ople as President Pro-Tempore and Sen. Aquilino Pimentel as Majority Leader. Sen. Franklin Drilon remained Senate President and adjourned the session on 3 June, accusing the opposition of violating Rule IV Section 6 of the Senate Rules because the Minority Leader had not been delegated by the Senate President to call the session which triggered the change. Under the 1987 Constitution and the Senate rules, the Senate president should be elected by a majority (one half plus one) of the 24 senators.

With these developments, the approval of pending bills will be left hanging after the leadership issue is resolved. With the standoff, a probable power-sharing scheme may emerge.

LEDAC Targets 20 Bills
Last January 2002, the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) Task Force chaired by Executive Secretary Alberto Romulo revised the common legislative agenda according to the urgency of the measures. The following measures were initially targeted for enactment on 14 March 2002. But since the Senate prematurely adjourned on 3 June after the power grab of the minority, pending bills will have to wait a little longer.

Among the 20 target bills, only the Synchronized Barangay and Sangguniang Elections, Plant Variety Registration and Protection Act, the Dangerous Drugs Act, and the proposed increase in base pay of AFP personnel have been signed into law. The proposal to celebrate Eidul Fitr as national holiday is pending in conference committee. Still on floor debates in the Senate are the Securitization Act, Special Purpose Asset Vehicles Act, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development Act. Also under debate is the Absentee Voting bill, though the “new senate majority” approved it on third reading. The Dual Citizenship Act is similarly under debate while the other bills are set for public hearings.