FOI, RH bills not among House priorities for next 2 months

The controversial Reproductive Health (RH) bill and the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill were left out of the House of Representative’s list of the priority measures for the next two months, a letter from Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. showed.

 

In a letter dated January 19, 2012 and furnished by the office of Kabataan party-list Rep. Raymond Palatino to the media on Tuesday, the House leadership only prioritized a single bill as its target to be passed on third reading before the lower chamber goes on Lenten break beginning March 21.  Congress resumes session on May 7.

 

This measure being referred to is House Bill 3801, or the bill regulating the practice of geology in the Philippines, filed by Zamboanga del Sur Rep. Victor Yu.

 

Belmonte also listed down in the letter 44 other proposed legislations as the House’s priorities to be approved on second reading in the next two months.

 

The list did not include the RH bill, formally known as House Bill 4244, which has been pending at the lower chamber for almost a year now. The proposed measure is being tackled in the House plenary.

 

The FOI bill, which has been pending at the committee level since February last year, was also excluded from the list, despite renewed support from the Aquino administration last month.

 

The list, however, included measures earlier identified by President Benigno Aquio III as priority bills, such as the Terrorist Financing Suppression Act, the Whistleblowers Act, the Witness Protection Act, and the Anti-Trust Act.

 

Other key measures such as the bill mandating excise tax on alcohol and tobacco, the bill against enforced and involuntary disappearances, and the bill eliminating gender bias, were also identified as the House’s priorities.

 

Palatino, in a separate statement, lauded the House leadership for including bills on human rights in its priorities. He, however, noted some “glaring” exclusions from the list of priority measures.

 

"Crucial legislative measures the people are also clamoring for are absent in the list -- RH, FOI, and economic measures related to oil prices, genuine agrarian reform, large-scale mining, and debt servicing. The House should likewise promptly act on these important measures," he said. — RSJ, GMA News