“The BOLARMM today when the Third Regular

The Senate delivered more than what was expected of it during the Second Regular Session of the 17th Congress under the leaderships of Senators Aquilino Pimentel III and Vicente Sotto III.

Pimentel, who served as Senate President from July 2016 to May 2018, declared that except for three Malacañang-backed bills, the Senate passed the laws that President Duterte promised.

“In terms of enacted laws, we have delivered almost all of those promised by the President…except maybe for three,” said Pimentel, who is a partymate of Mr. Duterte from the Partido Demokratiko ng Pilipinas.

Sotto, the current Senate President, said that the chamber enacted 24, mostly high-impact laws during the Second Regular Session.

“I think (we delivered) more than what was expected of us,” said Sotto.

“These are high-impact laws like the National ID (identification) System, the Free Internet Act, amendment to the Revised Penal Code, the Gift Check Act, the Free Tertiary Education Act, the Mental Health Act, the Anti-Hazing Law, the Electric Cooperative Fund Act, among others,” said Sotto.

Congress also passed Republic Act 10963 or the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion law to generate funds for the government’s various social, health and infrastructure programs.

Other laws enacted during the Second Regular Session of the 17th Congress were Republic Act 10923 or the barangay election postponement; RA 10927 which designated casinos as covered persons under the Anti-Money Laundering Act; RA 10928 or the Philippine Passport Act that extended the validity of passports to 10 years and RA 10930 extending the validity of driver’s license to five years.

Republic Act 10932 or the Anti-Hospital Deposit Law was also enacted into law despite opposition from hospital owners throughout the country; RA 10951 that introduced amendment to the Revised Penal Code; RA 10968 or the Philippine Qualification Framework; RA 10969 or the act which provides free irrigation to small farmers; RA 11032 or the Expanded Anti-red Tape Act of 2917; RA 11037 or the Free School Feeding Act.

Sotto said that the landmark Bangsamoro Organic Law on the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BOLARMM) has just been approved by the bicameral committee.

The Senate President said they will ratify the BOLARMM today when the Third Regular Session opens.

The bicameral committee, headed by Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri and House Majority Leader Rodolfo Farinas, last week approved the reconciled version of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law to succeed the ARMM.

The law was among the legislation pushed by Mr. Duterte to address the decades-long Bangsamoro issue.

Pimentel and Sotto cited the active support from lawmakers from both chambers for the delivery of legislature wanted by the Duterte administration.

“If we look at the campaign promises, I think the President and the Senate and the House of Representatives were able to meet these because of the support of the other legislators,” said Pimentel.

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