Senate OKs priority bills before adjourning sine die
Several legislative priorities of the Marcos administration were ratified by the Senate before the 19th Congress adjourned sine die on Wednesday night.
These included the bicameral conference committee reports on the Enhanced Fiscal Regime for Large-Scale Metallic Mining Act and the Accelerated and Reformed Right-of-Way (ARROW) Act, which were both listed as 'top priority' measures of the Legislative-Executive Development Council (LEDAC).
The ratified bicam report on the Enhanced Fiscal Regime for Large-Scale Metallic Mining Act came from Senate Bill No. 2826 and House Bill No. 8937.
According to Senator JV Ejercito, the reconciled version allows a five percent royalty based on gross output on mines operating within mineral reservation and a 5-tier royalty rate ranging from one percent to five percent based on margin from metallic mining operations for those outside mineral reservations.
With the reforms in large-scale mining, the senator believes the government would benefit from an additional P6 billion worth of revenues.
Senator Risa Hontiveros, however, opposed the measure, saying that it rejected amendments on increasing royalties for indigenous communities affected by mining, and imposing an export tax to fund the National Industrialization Program.
Meanwhile, the ARROW Act was ratified by the upper chamber through the bicam report on the disagreeing provisions of Senate Bill No. 2821 and House Bill No. 6571.
Senator Mark Villar, sponsor of the bill in the Senate, said that the measure is important in addressing the right-of-way issues that delay government infrastructure projects.
'Many projects have failed to meet their target completion dates due to unresolved right-of-way delays. Given these challenges, we welcome the amendment of the existing right-of-way law. The ARROW Act introduces key reforms to make the law more responsive to the evolving infrastructure landscape,' Villar said.
The Senate also ratified the bicam report seeking to extend the term of barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) officials to four years.
The report also postpones the 2025 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections from December 2025 to the first Monday of November 2026
Also ratified by the Senate on Wednesday night were bicam reports on the following:
Judiciary Fiscal Autonomy Act (Senate Bill No. 2982 and House Bill No. 11358);
An Act amending Sections 134 and 168 of Republic Act No. 8424, otherwise known as the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, as amended (Senate Committee Report No. 581 and House Bill No. 10535);
Philippine Nuclear Energy Safety Act (Senate Bill No. 2899 and House Bill No. 9293); and
Career Progression System for Public School Teachers and School Leaders Act (Senate Bill No. 3000 and House Bill No. 10270)
— BM, GMA Integrated News
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