PRIORITY BILLS | Congress eyes passing mandatory ROTC, 5 other measures before year-end

October 10, 2022 , 09:16 PM

By Clarist Zablan

(October 10, 2022) – The bicameral Congress has agreed to pass several priority measures, including the revival of the mandatory Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program, before the year ends, the Senate President said on Monday.

At the first Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) meeting in the Malacañang Palace, Juan Miguel Zubiri said he presented 26 priority bills, of which 20 were the priority measures stated by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. in his inaugural State of the Nation Address.

Zubiri said the lawmakers from the Senate and the House of Representatives have agreed to pass six of the priority measures before year-end, including the mandatory ROTC bill.

Also included are the creation of Medical Reserve Corps, National Disease Prevention Management Authority and Center for Disease Prevention and Control, and Virology Science and Technology Institute of the Philippines; amendments to the build-operate-transfer law; and the condonation of unpaid amortization and interests on loans of agrarian reform beneficiaries.

“We have pledged passage of bills which will accelerate our pandemic recovery, insulate our hardworking families from the inflationary fallout from global disruptions, and anchor our regions and sectors on stronger fundamentals to build resiliency and secure our future,” Zubiri said in a press release.

Proponents of the mandatory ROTC measure have said the program will help instill discipline and patriotism among Filipino youth.

However, progressive groups have raised concerns on the past abuses that had occurred when the program was once mandatory for able-bodied male college students.

ROTC was no longer made mandatory in 2002 after the killing of ROTC cadet and University of Santo Tomas (UST) student Mark Chua, which is believed to be linked to his exposé of alleged corruption in the university’s ROTC unit.

Also among the priority bills include economic measures such as the budget modernization bill; a real property valuation and assessment reform bill; Passive Income and Financial Intermediary Taxation Act (PIFITA); e-commerce law; and Government Financial Institutions Unified Initiatives to Distressed Enterprises for Economic Recovery (GUIDE) Bill.

It also includes the e-government act; a national government rightsizing program; a national land use act; national defense act; enabling law for the natural gas industry; amendments to the Electric Power Industry Reform (EPIRA) Act; regional specialty hospitals; Magna Carta for Filipino Seafarers; waste-to-energy law; lifetime passport validity for senior citizens; and the creation of Negros Island Region.

“Mataas po ang pag- asa namin na magiging madali ang ugnayan ng Executive at Legislative branches of government para matugunan ang mga pangangailangan ng ating mamamayan,” Zubiri said.

(MM)

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