Senate to approve 17 bills up for final reading says Zubiri

The upper chamber will approve 17 bills that are set for the third and final reading, said Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri on Saturday.

Zubiri noted that four of these bills are part of the priority legislation of the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council or LEDAC while 12 are local bills for the improvement of state universities and colleges.

"In fact, on Monday, we will approve four measures that are part of our LEDAC commitments. And so far, we are on track to meeting our deadlines because, by the end of this year, we hope to approve all 20 LEDAC priority measures pending in the Senate," the Senate President said.

Zubiri noted that the Senate has approved a total of five bills on second reading during the previous week which includes Senate Bill 2001 or the New Philippine Passport Act; SB 1846 or the Internet Transactions Act of 2023; SB 2224 or the Ease of Paying Taxes Act; SB 2028 or An Act Recognizing the Octogenarians, Nonagenarians, and Centenarians; and SB 2233 or the Public Private Partnership Act.

These bills, except for SB 2028, are LEDAC priority bills, he said.

"These measures will be up for final reading on Monday. The deliberations on these bills have been exhaustive and I am confident that we did a good job of crafting these pieces of legislation, the efforts and expertise of the legislative staff in the Senate included," he added.

There are two bills pending President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s signature including the Trabaho Para sa Bayan Act and the Local Government Unit Income Classification Act.

The Philippine Salt Industry Development Act, meanwhile, has been approved by the Senate on final reading and is on standby for bicameral committee action.

Zubiri said there are 12 local bills involving SUCs that are also up for approval on final reading.

After the approval of the four LEDAC measures on Monday, the Senate will set the schedule for the bicameral conference committee hearing with their counterparts in the lower house, bringing the measures closer to enactment into law.

Undergoing amendments before their approval on the second reading is the Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers while the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act—which has been certified as urgent and has a high possibility of being approved in its third reading.

Further, the Real Property Valuation and Assessment Reform Act, Waste-to-Energy Bill, Mandatory Reserve Officers' Training Corps, and National Service Training Program, as well as the National Disease Prevention Management Authority/Center for Disease Prevention Bill are all in the interpellation and are pending approval on second reading.

Zubiri assured that the Senate will meet its commitment to approve on final reading the remaining 17 of the 20 LEDAC measures before the session adjourns in December of this year.

The remaining LEDAC bills, he added, are all up for deliberations and discussions.

"With our pace in approving these LEDAC measures, I am confident that come December, all of our LEDAC commitments will have been met," Zubiri said.