MANILA – The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) on Tuesday urged Congress to pass crucial bills as the 19th Congress resumed its second regular session on Monday.
In a statement, the NEDA said these measures include the bills on the Department of Water Resources, Open Access in Data Transmission, and the various fiscal reforms that seek to strengthen tax administration and broaden the tax base.
"It has been one year since the launch of the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028. While we saw some of our headline indicators improve, much remains to be done," said NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan.
"To ensure that we remain on track to meet our goals by 2028, and in anticipation of future challenges and scenarios, we must pass key legislative measures aimed at strengthening the country's economic governance and addressing the structural weaknesses of our production sectors," he added.
The proposed Department of Water Resources will serve as the primary agency responsible for the comprehensive and integrated water resources development and management in the Philippines.
NEDA said that at present, there are more than 30 agencies with overlapping functions over the country's water resources, which leads to uncoordinated planning efforts and inconsistent implementation of policies that adversely affect the country's water supply.
This affects more than 12 million people who obtain water from unsafe sources, with some areas needing more water service providers.
The proposed Open Access in Data Transmission Act on the other hand, aims to narrow the digital divide in the country by encouraging the development of data transmission infrastructure, removing barriers to competition in data transmission services, and enabling the full potential of e-commerce, digital trade, and applications in the fields of education, health, and agriculture, among others.
The proposed measure seeks to further liberalize the telecommunications sector by removing the requirement of a legislative franchise for players seeking to build their networks, rationalizing access and use of the country's scarce spectrum resources, and making it easier for entrants to provide better services for consumers at more competitive prices.
Aside from these, the NEDA also cited the importance of passing the critical fiscal reforms and ensuring the speedy rollout of improvements to the country's tax administration systems as enabled by the recently passed Ease of Paying Taxes Act.
These measures include the Real Property Valuation and Assessment Reform and the VAT on Digital Services, and the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises to Maximize Opportunities for Reinvigorating the Economy which aims to improve tax administration for enterprises, encourage investments, and promote the ease of business in the country.
The NEDA is also supporting the passage of the Economy, Planning, and Development Bill which aims to institutionalize the NEDA into the Department of Economic Planning and Development to strengthen the government's ability to formulate and coordinate medium- and long-term economic and development roadmaps.
The bill also aims to enhance the coherence of national and sub-national policies, plans, and programs towards the optimal use of financial resources through the country's public investment program.
“Sa NEDA, sentro ang tao sa plano (At NEDA, our plans are people-centered). The passage of the NEDA Bill will allow us to better leverage our expertise in people-centered development planning across all national and local sectors and ensure that all Filipinos feel the benefits of such exercises," Balisacan said. (PNA)
