Enrile cites Senate accomplishments

Press Release
By Office of Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile
February 4, 2010

PASAY CITY  –  Nine crucial legislation awaiting approval of Malacanang have been approved by the Senate to improve the plight of senior citizens, disabled persons and migrant workers, and address concerns on health, economy and investment as Congress adjourned its session Wednesday for the official campaign starting this weekend.

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile reported yesterday that aside from passing these counterpart measures, the upper chamber also ratified six bicameral conference committee reports, passed on third reading 10 proposals and approved on second reading four other bills during the three-week session that started on January 18.

“With urgency and commitment, we have approved legislation dealing with the needs of our senior citizens and disabled persons, as well as the nation’s concern for the environment, media and telecommunications, economics, investments, civil service and transparency in government,” Enrile told the Kapihan sa Senado.

The veteran lawmaker also took pride in adopting the findings and recommendations of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee reports on the P728 million fertilizer fund scam involving President Gloria Arroyo’s former agriculture secretary Jocelyn “Joc-Joc” Bolante, who is now running for governor in Capiz under the Nacionalista Party of Senator Manuel Villar, “to inform the people about the excesses in government.”

The multi-million fund was intended to help farmers but was diverted to finance Arroyo’s allies to boost her political campaign.

Enrile, however, lamented the failure of the Senate to act on a committee report which sought to censure Villar for his unethical conduct after he failed to declare ownership of a vast swath of land that was acquired by the government for a massive road extension project, after senators allied to Villar boycotted the last day of session.

The committee also asked Villar to return P6.23 billion to the public coffers, P141.1 million of which represented the overprice done on his properties.

“Sadly, the awaited vote on Committee Report No. 780 on the ethics case against Senator Villar, which I sponsored and which was undergoing the period of interpellation, did not materialize,” Enrile said. “As you very well know, there was no quorum in yesterday’s session. With the absence of the Minority, the deliberations were aborted.”

The important legislation approved by the Senate and is now up for Arroyo’s signature are the Expanded Senior Citizen’s Act that will exempt the elderly from the 12 percent value added tax, the Legal Assistance to the Poor Act, creation of the Mindanao Economic Development Authority, Amending the Magna Carta for Disabled Persons and Business Recovery and Insolvency Act, among others.

The senators also acted on the bicameral conference committee reports on the Philippine Immigration Act, Freedom Information Act, the Philippine Disaster Risk Management, the Anti-Cable Television and Cable Internet Services Pilferage, and the Organic Agriculture Act.

Enrile likewise pointed out the approval on second reading of the resolutions extending the term of the Congressional Commission on Science and Technology, and Engineering (COMSTE), as well as the bills establishing the Philippine Tax Academy and Special Education Centers, and the proposal prohibiting racial discrimination against persons on account of ethnic origin and religious beliefs.

Two other key bills passed on third reading by the Senate are the proposals to grant civil service eligibility, under certain conditions, to casual and contractual government employees who have rendered five years of efficient service, and provide payment of survivorship benefits to the surviving legitimate spouse of a deceased retire member of the Commission on Audit, Civil Service Commission, Commission on Elections and the Ombudsman.

Overall, the Senate has passed a total of 34 crucial national bills on third and second readings during its three-week session. It has also acted on either third or second readings on 58 House bills establishing national high schools and hospitals and converting roads, among others.

Since it began sessions in July 2009, the Senate has acted on 496 House bills, 289 of which have been enacted into law. Approved by the Senate and the House are 131 House bills, which are awaiting the approval by the President.