MANILA, Philippines - The House of Representatives approved on third and final reading 12 national bills as it resumed session on Monday.
The bills passed on final reading include a measure extending the corporate life of the Philippine National Railways (PNR) for another 50 years, from June 20, 2014 to June 20, 2064.
Malacañang earlier urged Congress to extend the life of the PNR as it is a vital transportation service for goods and services from Northern Luzon to Southern Luzon.
Also passed was House Bill 4082 or the proposed Lemon Law of 2013, which aims to protect customers from vehicles that fail to meet the standards of quality and performance.
Among others, the bill provides that if a manufacturer or its authorized dealer cannot successfully repair a defective product within a reasonable number of repair attempts, the manufacturer must either promptly replace or repurchase the product.
“With this we will strengthen consumer protection against low-quality motor vehicles,†said Las Piñas Rep. Mark Villar, chairman of the House committee on trade and industry and one of the authors of the bill.
Balanced Housing Bill
The House also voted to approve the Balanced Housing Bill that aims to tighten compliance among developers to allot a portion of socialized housing from each of their housing projects, in an effort to expedite the elimination of the 3.9 million housing backlog in the country.
The legislation was authored by Akbayan Representatives Barry Gutierrez and Walden Bello in response to the high housing backlog.
Under the bill, developers are mandated to comply with the rule under Republic Act 7279, or the Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992 (UDHA), that every new private subdivision development should allocate 15 percent of its total project cost or land area for socialized housing.
It also expands the coverage of the UDHA to include condominium projects and to limit compliance to actual construction of socialized housing units, thereby mandating private condominium developers to allocate at least five percent of its total condominium area or project cost for socialized housing.
Also passed are bills strengthening the rules on the proper use of national symbols and the rendition of the national anthem; identifying other persons criminally liable for election offenses and increasing the penalties for election-related offenses; and declaring Nov. 23 as Press Freedom Day.
Coconut industry dev’t
Meanwhile, the House committee on agriculture and food, chaired by Batangas Rep. Mark Llandro Mendoza, approved a bill promoting the steady, accelerated and orderly development of the coconut industry consistent with the agrarian reform policy of the government.
The bill aims to revitalize the coconut industry primarily by removing the corporate restriction of the Philippine Coconut Authority to make the agency profitable, sustainable and development-oriented.