|
By Sammy Martin, Reporter
THE leadership of the House of Representatives
showed they can fast track measures following the final approval of
another 10 socio-economic measures touching on health, labor, civil
service and retirement, plus 62 other bills promoting rural and
countryside development, all done in just three session days.
On the prodding of the Speaker Prospero Nograles
and the judicious plenary proceedings steered by Majority Leader
Arthur Defensor and Senior Deputy Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales
2nd, the House on Wednesday wasted no time to adopt the Senate
version of House Bill 3971, which grants increased tax exemptions to
individual taxpayers, and tax relief for minimum wage earners.
“This is a commitment to our people,”
Nograles said as he ordered House Secretary General Marilyn Barua-Yap
to immediately transmit to the Office of the President the enrolled
copy of the bill granting additional tax exemptions to individual
taxpayers to mitigate the relentless increase in power and commodity
prices worldwide.
The House also approved on third and final
reading HB 3754 which establishes a Provident Personal Savings Plan
to be known as the Personal Equity and Retirement Account (PERA) to
provide Filipinos a financially-secure retirement.
“Our desire to put in place policies to
improve the buying capacity of our people prompted us to adopt the
Senate version to cut short the legislative process,” said House
Ways and Means Chairman Rep. Exequiel Javier of Antique, who led the
plenary defense of the measure.
According to the speaker, PERA aims to promote
increased savings mobilization that would help accelerate capital
market development in the Philippines, which has one of the lowest
savings rate per capita in the region.
Critical bills transmitted to Senate
Also endorsed for Senate action was HB 3819
which authorizes compensation adjustments to national government
employees, in this case, a 10-percent salary increase to all
government employees effective May 1, 2008.
Appropriations Committee Chairman Edcel Lagman
said those covered by the compensation bill are officials and
employees of national government agencies including the following:
military personnel; uniformed personnel of the Department of
Interior and Local Governments, including policemen; Philippine
Coast Guard; state universities and colleges; government owned and
controlled corporations; government financial institutions; and
local government units.
On the health and labor fronts, the House
endorsed for Senate action the following: HB 4012, establishing and
maintaining lactation stations in workplaces; HB 2647, establishing
a program for public education on prostate cancer; HB 1311,
requiring all government-issued identification cards, certificates
and licenses to include a portion indicating the blood type of the
holder; HB 1305, regulating the use of government ambulances; HB
4114, further amending Presidential Decree 198, as amended,
otherwise known as the Provincial Water Utilities Act of 1973; HB
2731, declaring the month of February every year as Liver Cancer and
Hepatitis-B Awareness and Prevention Month; and HB 879, declaring
the month of August of every year as National Breastfeeding
Awareness Month.
|
