EDITORIAL - The 15th Congress must do its part

That was a pretty short list of legislative priorities that President Aquino enumerated the other day in his first State of the Nation Address. Fulfilling his legislative wish list should not be an impossible task for the 15th Congress, whose support is crucial for the success of the new President’s reform agenda.

The President wants the passage of legislation promoting fiscal responsibility, rationalizing fiscal incentives, protecting whistle-blowers and amending the government procurement law. He also wants an anti-trust law, a national land use law and a new National Defense Act. Those measures were filed in the previous Congress, and the new legislature, which includes many re-elected members, should be able to speed up deliberations on the President’s priority bills.

For many years now, Congress has consistently performed poorly in trust and performance surveys. Many lawmakers undoubtedly consider public perception unfair, pointing out that they do manage to get legislation done. What sticks in the mind of the public, however, is what many lawmakers crave: publicity while they engage in grandstanding. Lawmakers are often seen as influence peddlers and “pork”-hungry mercenaries, pushing legislation on behalf of interest groups for a fee, supporting whoever is in power in exchange for the timely release of pork barrel allocations, and using the pork system to collect hefty commissions from contractors.

How much of this entrenched system President Aquino can change is anybody’s guess. The President’s legislative priorities include proposals that will promote transparency and good governance, especially in the awarding of contracts. Lawmakers who are reluctant to say goodbye to the old ways of doing business in government should at least show the public that they will not get in the way of the President’s reform agenda. In a new administration, it’s not just President Aquino who should hit the ground running but also the 15th Congress.