Senate passed 529 measures
DESPITE the constant squablings of senators, the Senate performed well in the Fifteenth Congress, enacting over 500 legislations, including the controversial reproductive health bill that the Catholic Church vehemently opposed.
Among the significant measures enacted during the Fifteenth Congress are Republic Act 10351, which raised excise taxes on alcohol and tobacco products and Act 10354, or the reproductive health law.
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile expressed satisfaction on the output of the Fifteenth Congress, which convened into an impeachment court to try the case of former Supreme Court chief justice Renato Corona.
Enrile said that the chamber’s performance exceeded expectations, passing 529 measures from July 23, 2012 to February 6, 2013. The number just a tad higher than the 524 measures passed by the Fourteenth Congress from July 27, 2009 to June 4, 2010.
“We passed major legislations that will have a significant impact on our country and our people. As senators, it is our task to anticipate the needs of a nation and solve an immediate concern in a manner that is beneficial to all,” the Senate president said.
Enrile said that lawmakers worked hard to ensure the early passage of the national budget for the last three years. The assurance of fresh appropriations, he explained, guaranteed the continuity of vital government programs.
He also said that the House of Representatives also passed Joint Resolution 17, which annulled the books of voters in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
The other measures passed by Congress and signed into law include Republic Act (RA) 10361, which gave additional benefits to household workers; RA 10349, or the Armed Forces of the Philippines modernization program, RA 10149, or the government-owned and -controlled corporations; RA 10151, that allowed night work for women; RA 10167, that expanded the predicate crimes covered by the AntiMoney Laundering Act; RA 10168, that criminalized terrorist financing; RA 10174, or the people’s survival fund; RA 10173, or the Data Privacy Act; RA 10153, which synchronizes the elections of the autonomous region with the national and local elections; and Act 10175, or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.