House leaders vow passage of economic reform measures

MANILA, Philippines - The leadership of the House of Representatives has assured members of the Joint Foreign Chambers (JFC) and Philippine business groups of quick action on the passage of various economic reform measures.

The assurance was made during the recent dialogue of lawmakers led by Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. with the JFC and local businessmen that was also attended by the chairpersons of various House committees at the Batasang Pambansa.

The meeting updated the foreign and local business chambers on the status of the various bills they have been pushing for.

Belmonte said based on the updates given by the committee leaders, the priority bills being pushed by the JFC and business groups have already progressed to a certain level.

He asked the businessmen to submit to the appropriate committees not just the summary of their proposed measures but also the very points they have raised.

“So we would like to have copies of these and to send them to the appropriate committees. The committees can also bring these up to the senators when they meet them,” Belmonte said.

He reacted to comments on the stalled creation of a Department of Information and Communications Technology by Congress as both the House and Senate passed the DICT bill but failed to meet in bicameral conference.

“But it is not gross negligence on our part, there was a reason for that really. Let me just assure you that all of us remain committed to passing that bill because we believe that is one of the growth areas of this country, and also we have a comparable advantage over our competitors.

“There is a principle that we do not grow the bureaucracy too much since that is the idea. We say, let’s grow it in the proper directions, and we proceed to other directions, if necessary,” he said.

Marikina City Rep. Romero Quimbo, chairman of the ways and means committee, said most of the bills presented by the businessmen are either approved or close to being approved by the concerned committees.

He said on the part of his panel, the prioritized bills include the added tax measures, which have already been approved by the committee and the House without much fanfare.

He said the committee has also tackled bills on revenues and fiscal discipline.