Senate to pass 34 bills as session resumes

MANILA, Philippines — The Senate is eyeing to pass at least 34 new bills as it resumes plenary session on Monday.

Senate President Franklin Drilon said on Sunday that there is much work to do in the Senate even with the elections coming.

"We intend to make good on our promise to the Filipino people on the start of the 16th Congress that we will help the poor, widen the delivery of education and other social services and improve the economy," Drilon said.

Among the the bills that the Senate seeks to approve is the proposed Salary Standardization Law IV (SSL IV) which introduces higher compensation for all government employees.

The SSL IV seeks to attract professionals to enter the public workforce by providing compensation for all civilian government personnel which is "competitive with those comparable work in the private sector," Drilon said.

The Senate is also looking to approve the Customs and Tariff Modernization Act which seeks full automation of customs procedures. It would also strengthen the Bureau of Customs' risk management, revenue collection and enforcement systems.

Drilon noted that the Senate will pass other measures such as the Foreign Ownership Restrictions Act, the Comprehensive Tuberculosis Elimination Plan Act and the Expanded Maternity Leave of 2015.

Senate resolutions extending condolences on the death of renowned journalist Letty Jimenez-Magsanoc and congratulating the new Miss Universe 2015 Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach will also be passed as plenary session resumes.

Drilon vowed that the Senate will not waste time in working on the passage of priority bills such as the Bangsamoro Basic Law and Public-Private Partnership Act.

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"The Senate will continue to be a working Senate. We will maximize our remaining time to continue our mandate and work on relevant, important and much-needed laws for our people," Drilon said.

The regular session will resume today after a one-month Christmas break but will be adjourned on February 5 to give way to the election campaign period.

The session will resume again on May 23 and will adjourn "sine die" or without any appointed date for resumption around June 10.