Sotto files bills on 14th month pay

MANILA -- Senate President Vicente Sotto III on Monday filed 10 of his pet bills for the upcoming 18th Congress.

Sotto is the first among the senators to file his pet bills for the new Congress, three weeks ahead of its opening on July 22.

As per advisory from Senate Secretary Myra Marie Villarica, the sequence of filing of bills and resolutions for the incoming 18th Congress “shall be in accordance with the principle of seniority or length of service of each Senator.”

The first round of filing, which would be held from July 1 to 4, each senator could file up to 10 bills or resolutions. Each senator could also file up to 10 additional bills or resolutions for the second round of filing on July 8 to 11.

Among the notable bills Sotto filed is Senate Bill 10, which seeks to require employers in the private sector to remunerate the 14th month pay.

Sotto also filed the Anti-False Content Bill, which seeks to prohibit the publication and proliferation of false content on the internet, provide measures to counteract its effects, and prescribe penalties for such acts.

Furthermore, Sotto refiled the bill seeking to lower the minimum age of criminal liability (MACL) from 15 to 12 years old.

He is also pushing for a bill providing medical scholarships in state universities and colleges to qualified students.

The other pet bills he filed include the Anti-Drug Penal Institution bill, Presidential Drug Enforcement Authority bill, Dangerous Drugs Court bill, Prevention of Terrorism bill, Hybrid Election bill, and a bill increasing the penalty for perjury.

For the third round of filing, the senators, on a “first-come, first-served” basis, may file any number of bills or resolutions.