House leader assures bills strengthening health system to get priority
DEPUTY Speaker Rodante D. Marcoleta on Monday assured that the House of Representatives will prioritize the passage of bills that will strengthen the country’s health system and other measures relating to the pandemic before it goes on recess by Feb. 5.
Speaking at an online forum, the Sagip party-list representative said among the proposed laws that they will focus on are those creating a Medical Reserve Corps, a Philippine Virology Institute, and Center for Disease Control.
Also, among the House’s priorities are bills covering online transactions, data privacy protection, and assistance to small entrepreneurs.
“One of the bills we will be focusing on, for example, is the Internet Transactions Act, because even purchases are made online now,” Mr. Marcoleta said in Filipino at the Pandesal Forum.
He said the chamber will also prioritize approval of the proposed Government Financial Institutions Unified Initiatives to Distressed Enterprises (GUIDE) Act, which will direct state-run banks to allocate P10 billion for loans to small businesses severely affected by the pandemic.
Mr. Marcoleta, who is running for the Senate in May, also said that the chamber is also set to approve a bill that will hire more mental health professionals who will be assigned to primary and secondary level students. — Jaspearl Emerald G. Tan
