INDUSTRY GROUPS called on lawmakers to fast-track the approval of a bill that would create the Philippine Transportation Safety Board (PTSB), which would be responsible for the impartial investigation of transport-related accidents and incidents.  

“The PTSB bill has languished in Congress for over two decades. Only during the current 18^th Congress has this bill reached the most advanced stage in both chambers and thus now has solid prospects for enactment,” the groups said in a joint statement issued Wednesday.   

The PTSB proposal, contained in House Bill 9030 and Senate Bill 1077, is pending at bicameral conference.  

The measure aims to improve transportation safety measures and ensure implementation of these standards through the new agency.   

The groups said the creation of the PTSB, which will be the sole authority with regards the investigations for all sectors, will help prevent and address major transport accidents that cost lives.   

Samar Rep. Edgar Mary S. Sarmiento, chair of the House Committee on Transportation and one of the members of the bill’s bicameral conference, said the committee has yet to schedule a meeting on the bill as the Senate is still busy with the 2022 budget.  

“But, as chair of the House Transportation Committee, I am pushing for the expeditious passage of this measure. The creation of the PTSB should provide us with a permanent and highly specialized body that would ensure transportation safety and investigate all sorts of transportation-related accidents such as the deadly C-130 accident in Sulu,” he said in a Viber message. 

The statement was supported by Philippine-based foreign business chambers, including the American, Australian-New Zealand, Canadian, European, Japanese, and Korean. 

Other groups that backed the statement are the Air Carriers Association of the Philippines, International Air Transport Association, Philippine Association of Multinational Companies Regional Headquarters, Inc., and the Safe Travel Alliance. — Russell Louis C. Ku 

A HOUSE of Representatives committee has approved a proposal that would provide clear guidelines on the term limits, retirement, and attrition system for the country’s armed forces.  

The House Committee on National Defense and Security in a hearing on Wednesday approved an unnumbered substitute bill and committee report for House Bills 554, 941, 4048, 4050, 7677, 7939, 8056, and 8114, subject to amendments.  

All versions of the act would limit the terms of the leaders of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) — composed of the Army, Navy, and Air Force — to three consecutive years unless terminated sooner by the President.    

The measure would also replace a provision in Presidential Decree 1638 wherein enlisted personnel would be considered compulsory retired upon reaching the age of 56 or served a total of 30 years of satisfactory active duty, whichever comes later.  

For the attrition system, the bill prescribes a maximum tenure-in-grade for officers from captain to general, wherein failure to be promoted to the next grade would mean separation from active service. 

Magdalo Party-list Rep. Manuel D.G. Cabochan III recommended several amendments to the bill, which were approved by the committee.  

One of the changes is allowing the superintendent of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) to be eligible for promotion to AFP chief-of-staff upon the recommendation of the President.  

The original draft bill proposed that the PMA superintendent would automatically be retired from duty upon completion or termination of term as head of the academy.    

“This in turn deprives the superintendent the chance to lead the AFP, which is what most officers aspire for when they enter the service,” Mr. Cabochan said.  

He also suggested that the proposed law, if signed, take effect on July 1, 2022 in sync with the start of the term of the new President after next year’s May elections.  

A provision was also proposed to require the Department of National Defense to make an impact evaluation within five years from the effectivity of the measure to ensure its proper implementation.  

A counterpart bill in the Senate was approved on third and final reading last Sept. 28. — Russell Louis C. Ku 

A BILL has been filed at the House of Representatives that will mandate government to provide free COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) testing for jobseekers.    

Iligan City Rep. Frederick W. Siao filed House Bill 10340, the proposed Free COVID-19 Testing for Jobseekers Act, that would subsidize the testing fee as part of the pre-employment process.  

“Some jobseekers reported they had to incur additional costs for COVID-19 testing being required by employers, which hindered them from pursuing their application and continuing their job search,” Mr. Siao said in his explanatory note. 

He added that free COVID-19 testing currently offered by the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. only covers at-risk individuals, infected patients, healthcare workers, and senior citizens.  

Under the bill, the Department of Health in cooperation with other government agencies will be responsible for providing free test to those who are seeking employment for the first time, an unemployed Filipino actively seeking a job, and displaced workers who were permanently terminated due to warranted reasons or other causes from the coronavirus pandemic.  

The law, if enacted, would also require testing centers to allocate a percentage of daily testing capacity for jobseekers.  

A counterpart bill in the Senate is pending at the committee level. — Russell Louis C. Ku