House Ways and Means Committee chairman, Albay Second District Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda (Photo from Rep. Joey Salceda's Facebook page)
LEGAZPI CITY – Albay 2nd District Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda, House Ways and Means Committee chairman, thanked President Rodrigo Duterte for calling on lawmakers for the passage of his original bills during his fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday.
Salceda, in a statement said: “The state of the nation is, without doubt, challenging. The President was straightforward about the challenges the country has and will face during this pandemic. We in the economic team of the House of Representatives take the President’s requests for the quick passage of a second stimulus package and of the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE), as unambiguous directions for where we should go”.
He said that as main author of both of these measures, he will continue to work with his colleagues to get these measures enacted as soon as possible.
“I also thank the President for requesting the passage of the Financial Institutions Strategic Transfer (FIST), more credit access for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and regulatory relief for small businesses. The public discussion of these measures began as policy briefers my office wrote for the House leadership and my colleagues,” the solon added.
He vowed to continue to do research and borrow from his work in the 2003 fiscal crisis and the 2008 global financial crisis to "get us through our present economic woes,” the House’s "resident economist" said.
“Digitalization, especially for small businesses, was also a paper we wrote for the executive and Congressional leadership. Digital processes are crucial -- if not absolutely essential -- for doing businesses in the new normal. We thank the President for directing government agencies to make this happen,” Salceda said.
According to him, he is also pleased that the President boosted his proposed Satellite-Based Technologies Act, or House Bill 7081, which would allow schools and other civic institutions to use satellite technologies for education and internet connectivity.
Salceda, however, said he is most thankful for President Duterte’s directive to Congress to create a national disease prevention and management authority.
Last January 29, when the country recorded its first few cases of coronavirus disease (Covid-19), Salceda filed House Bill 6096, the first and the most comprehensive bill on this matter. "I made repeated calls to have this pioneering reform passed, and 166 of my colleagues have already signed on as co-sponsors. I expect more will do so in the days to come,” he said.
“I also thank the President for adopting a no face-to-face policy on the resumption of classes. I also thank his explicit direction that we adopt a multi-modal means for learning. Last June, I wrote the President a hundred-plus page report on how this can be done. I thank him for acting on my proposal favorably,” Salceda said.
Earlier this month, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said it is likely that the President will certify Salceda’s bill on disaster resilience as urgent.
“My very first bill in the 18th Congress, House Bill 30, or the Department of Disaster Resilience, which was a product of insights gathered from my years of work as Governor of Albay, remains a top priority for President Duterte, and I am thankful that he has amplified his call for its passage once again,” the lawmaker from Albay said.
“I also thank President Duterte for requesting the passage of the modernization of the Bureau of Fire Protection (my House Bill 3404), and the National Land Use Act (House Bill 3244). The President also asked Congress to pass my proposal for amendments to the Agri-Agra Reform Act (House Bill 6039), which would help extend more credit to the agricultural sector," he added. (PNA)
