Marcos vetoes bill strengthening OGCC

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has vetoed a measure aimed at strengthening the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC)

In a statement issued Saturday, Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles said Marcos vetoed Senate Bill 2490 and House Bill 9088 entitled an Act Strengthening the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC) By Rationalizing and Further Professionalizing Its Organization, Upgrading Positions and Appropriating Funds Therefor.

“The President cites, among others, the excessive remuneration to be given the OGCC lawyers, the grant of supervision and control over legal departments of government corporations, the distortion of the relationship with the Secretary of Justice, and the possible violation of the One Trust Fund policy of government,” Cruz-Angeles said.

The Senate passed its version of the bill in May this year while the House of Representatives passed it in June last year.

Among the salient features of the bill is to make the agency’s employees’ positions, salaries, and benefits upgraded to be at par with their counterparts in the Judiciary branch, Office of the Solicitor General, and the Court of Appeals.

In his letter addressed to the speaker of the lower chamber, Marcos said that while he concurs with the necessity to strengthen the existing structure and complement of the OGCC, he “finds many of its provisions over-bearing, specifically the excessive grant of remuneration, incentives, benefits, allowances, and honoraria that violates the principles of equity and standardization.”

The President said that “having examined the bill in its entirety and considering the strong opposition of the Cabinet economic managers due to the inequity in compensation and substantial fiscal risk it may bring to the country,” he is constrained to veto the measure. —KG, GMA News