Bills on kids' social media access, Sierra Madre dev't now gov't priorities — Bojie Dy

The government has added bills seeking to restrict children’s access to social media and establish a 25-year development plan for the Sierra Madre Mountain Range to its priority legislative agenda, House Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III said Monday.

Dy said the measures were added to the priority list during the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) meeting last Thursday.

“House bills that seek to protect the country’s future—its children and the natural environment they will inherit—have been elevated to priority status by the LEDAC," Dy said in a statement.

"These proposals are intended to complement existing priority legislation to respond to the evolving needs of our people and advancing the nation’s long-term development goals,” he added.

The Children’s Social Media Safety Act, or House Bill 9965, seeks to establish a regulatory framework governing children’s access to social media through age verification, stronger parental controls, enhanced platform accountability, and digital safety standards.

The bill was principally authored by Dy, Senior Deputy Speaker Ferdinand Hernandez of South Cotabato, and House Majority Leader Ferdinand Alexander “Sandro” Marcos of Ilocos Norte.

“Today, our children are growing up in a digital world that exposes them to cyberbullying, online exploitation, harmful content, addictive platform design, and algorithm-driven manipulation," Dy said.

"The law we propose seeks to establish clear safety standards while protecting the best interests of every Filipino child,” he added.

House Bill 3538, or the Sierra Madre Conservation and Development Authority Act, meanwhile, seeks to strengthen science-based environmental management and promote sustainable livelihoods for communities that depend on the country’s longest mountain range.

“The Sierra Madre is a vital natural defense against typhoons, the cornerstone of water security, and an indispensable ally in combating climate change. By adopting a long-term development strategy, we will be able safeguard this national treasure while providing sustainable livelihoods for the communities there,” Dy said.

Other measures added to the priority list include:

• Promoting Growth, Revenue, and Equity towards Socio-Economic Sustainability (ProGRESS) Package, which seeks to increase the tax-free annual income threshold from ₱250,000 to ₱350,000;
• Agriculture and Fisheries Extension Act;
• Agricultural Cooperatives Development Act;
• Amendments to the Real Property Valuation and Assessment Reform Act (RPVARA); and
• Amendments to the Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act (EVIDA).

Dy said the additions brought the number of LEDAC priority bills to 60, of which 27 have already been approved by the House on third and final reading.— MCG, GMA News