Palace prepares for first LEDAC meeting

Press Release
January 11, 2011

MALACAÑANG, Philippines  –  Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa Jr. said on Tuesday the Cabinet had identified 32 bills that would be submitted to President Benigno Aquino III ahead of the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) meeting to be held before the end of the month.

Ochoa convened the other day members of the Cabinet for a workshop designed to identify key legislative measures which will be included in the administration’s Priority Legislative Agenda.

“The priority legislative measures we have crafted are consistent with the President’s social contract with the Filipino people,” Ochoa said. “We want to ensure that this administration succeed in addressing this with the help of Congress.”

The objectives of the priority legislative agenda are the following:

- address poverty and promote a healthy, educated, and empowered citizenry

- promote productivity, generate employment and promote food sufficiency

- encourage more public-private partnerships and promote a competitive policy environment

- protect our sovereignty, ensure security and promote the rule of law

- strengthen the capacity of the bureaucracy to govern

According to the Executive Secretary, 139 proposed bills were put forward by Cabinet members during the workshop and another 41 were submitted by the Joint Foreign Chambers of Commerce of the Philippines.

At the workshop, these proposed legislative measures were processed, integrated and prioritized by five clusters, each representing a critical area, Ochoa said.

The heads of the five clusters are Vice President Jejomar Binay, Human Development; Economic Secretary Cayetano Paderanga Jr., Economic Development; Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson, Infrastructure Development; Justice Secretary Leila De Lima, Rule of Law; and Ochoa, Good Governance.

He said the Office of the Executive Secretary, Presidential Legislative Liaison Office and other concerned agencies will undertake another review of the proposed bills and take into consideration the recommendation of Budget Secretary Butch Abad to study their impact on the budget.

“Once this study is done and the President goes over the proposed measures and approves them, we will make the necessary preparations for the first LEDAC meeting together with NEDA (National Economic Development Authority), the LEDAC Secretariat, as well as make public the specific measures that will make up our Priority Legislative Agenda,” Ochoa explained.