House eyes passage of bill extending Bayanihan 2

The House of Representatives is aiming to file and fast-track the approval of the measure that would extend the validity of the Bayanihan to Recover As One Act, according to Majority Leader Martin Romualdez.

In a statement, Romualdez said the House will work double time to expedite the approval of the measures identified as priority bills under the Duterte administration to help strengthen the economy, and protect Filipinos against the impact of COVID-19 and recent calamities.

"We go back to work Monday with a full plate of priority bills scheduled for plenary and committee deliberation. Speaker Lord Allan Velasco wants to place in the front burner all economic and anti-poverty measures so we can approve the President’s priority measures before the onset of the election season next year," he said.

“We are also considering filing and expediting the approval of a bill that would extend the validity of the Bayanihan 2 bill to enable the national government to complete the release of our P140-billion response to the coronavirus pandemic even after the end of year 2020."

Romualdez said among the priority economic measures up for plenary deliberations are:

• House Bill 7904 or Amendments to the Anti-Money Laundering Act;
• House Bill 7749 or the Government Financial Institutions Unified Initiatives to Distressed Enterprises for Economic Recovery (GUIDE);
• House Bill 7425 or the Digital Transactions Value Added Tax;
• House Bill 7406 or Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) Modernization Program;
• House 6135 or Fiscal Mining Regime;and
• House Bill 7425 or Internet Transactions Act/E-Commerce Law.
• Meanwhile, those still under committee deliberations are the following:
• Military and Uniformed Personnel (MUP) Services Separation,
• Retirement, and Pension Bill;
• Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Modernization Bill;
• Coconut Farmers Trust Fund Bill;
• Department of Water Resources and Water Regulatory Commission Bill;
• Warehouse Receipts Bill;
• National Disease Prevention and Management Authority Bill; and
• National Land Use Bill

Apart from these bills, Romualdez said the House would also expedite the approval of other legislative measures that are part of the President's priority bills mentioned in his previous State of the Nation Address.

These include the proposed P4.5-trillion national budget which the House has approved on third reading before it took on a break last month and is now being deliberated in the Senate.

Speaker Lord Allan Velasco is hoping that the House and the Senate could ratify the said measure before it goes on another break for Christmas.

“We are looking forward to the bicameral conference on the 2021 GAB and hopefully, we will be able to ratify the bicam report before Congress adjourns for the holidays,” Velasco said in a separate statement.

He added that next year's budget is the "single-most powerful tool" to fight COVID-19 and help the economy and the people rise from the impact of the pandemic.

The House will resume its session at 3 p.m. on Monday. --KBK, GMA News