President Marcos will certify as urgent the bills he identified in his fifth State of the Nation Address (Sona) once these are formally submitted for his review, according to Malacañang.
‘The President only needs to see the bills. Once he has reviewed them, then definitely, they will be certified as urgent,’ Palace press officer Claire Castro said on Wednesday.
Certifying a bill as urgent allows the House and the Senate to approve a bill on second and third reading on the same day, bypassing the usual three-day waiting period.
Agenda toppers
Among the key pieces of legislation the President announced in his Sona were the Amendments to the National Building Code, the Progress Bill to exempt employees earning up to P350,000 annually from paying income tax, the General Tax Amnesty, and the ‘Sariling Kuryente’ Act.
Also among Marcos’ priority bills were the amendments to the Electric Power Industry Reform Act to stop system loss and value-added tax from being passed on to consumers, as well as amendments to the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act to support modern waste management practices, including waste-to-energy and waste treatment technologies.
Except for the Progress Bill and Sariling Kuryente Act, the four other pieces of legislation are part of the 52 priority measures approved by the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council under the current 20th Congress.
Marcos also remains committed to passing an antipolitical dynasty law before the end of his term in 2028, although he made no mention of it in his Sona, according to Castro.
She said the President’s position has not changed about his pet bill and he still wants the proposed law to be enacted under his administration.
House version filed
House Speaker Faustino ‘Bojie’ Dy III and Majority Leader Ferdinand Alexander Marcos, meanwhile, have filed a bill that seeks to increase the ceiling for taxable annual income from the previous P250,000 to P350,000.
In a statement on Wednesday, Rep. Marcos said that they filed House Bill No. 10345 in response to the call of his father, President Marcos, for greater relief for families and to strengthen their purchasing power.
‘President Marcos’ Sona placed tax relief where families will feel it, in the pay they bring home after every cutoff, and Speaker Bojie Dy has made sure the House responds with a bill rather than applause alone,’ Rep. Marcos said.
‘Raising the tax-free ceiling to P350,000 gives workers more room for food, tuition, medicine and the bills that do not wait,’ he added.
HB 10345 seeks to amend Section 24 of the National Internal Revenue Code, or the provisions regarding income taxes. The last time that the income tax exemption was adjusted was when the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion law was enacted, exempting those with annual salaries of P250,000