REPRESENTATIVE JOSE Ma. C. Salceda, who chairs the Ways and Means Committee, said that some of the 28 laws proposed by business groups can be expedited because they were passed on third reading by the previous Congress.

The legislation already vetted during the last Congressional session include the amendments to the Public Service Act; the Tax Reform for Attracting Better and High-quality Opportunities (TRABAHO) bill; amendments to the Foreign Investment Act; amendments to the Retail Trade Act; and the third package of the Tax Reform Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Act.

He said these measures may end up going through after only one committee hearing.

“In this regard, many of the Priority A list of 13, 5 are to benefit from Rule 10 Sec. 48 which requires only one committee hearing for bills approved on third reading in the previous Congress,” Mr. Salceda, of the Second district of Albay, said late Wednesday.

He said of the second set of 15 bills, TRAIN 2 Plus and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority Act will also benefit from Rule 10 Sec. 48. TRAIN 2 Plus covers more taxes on tobacco, alcohol, mining, coal and casinos.

Although the panel takes into consideration the views of the business groups, Mr. Salceda noted that its priority remains the legislation identified as urgent by President Rodrigo R. Duterte in his State of the Nation Address.

“The House of Representatives under Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano will consider the wish list submitted by the business chambers. The driving force, however, for the legislative effort of the 18th Congress, will be the President, as the country’s Chief Executive, in his articulated imperatives in the State of the Nation Address,” said Mr. Salceda.

He added, “We are encouraged by the overall positive view of the business groups and foreign chambers on the Corporate Income Tax and Incentive Rationalization Act (CITIRA) Bill as being beneficial to our country’s economic growth but Congress considers the measure as a structural reform to make the tax system more efficient, more performance-based and fairer to all sectors.”

The senior deputy majority leader, Rep. Jesus Crispin Remulla of Cavite’s 7th district, said that the House’s main priority is the national budget.

“We welcome their suggestions. We will bring the bills to the floor at the soonest possible time. But we will pass the budget first as our priority,” Mr. Remulla told BusinessWorld by phone Thursday.

He added, “We will seek the counsel of the DoF (Department of Finance) and other executive offices. The first matter for our plenary consideration may be the TRABAHO Bill, as we intend to put into use Section 48 of the house rules.” — Vince Angelo C. Ferreras

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR