Duterte prods Congress to pass priority bills in final SONA

MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte asked the 18th Congress during his final State of the Nation Address (SONA) to pass several priority bills, some of which are aimed at helping the country recover and build resilience from crises such as the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Duterte once again pushed for the passage of three measures to boost the country’s economic recovery amid the prevailing Covid-19 pandemic, particularly the proposed amendments to the Public Service Act, Foreign Investments Act, and Retail Trade Liberalization Act.

“I would like to renew my call to Congress to immediately pass the amendments of priority legislative measures such as the Foreign Investments Act, the Public Service Act, and the Retail and Trade Liberalization Act,” he said.

He asked Congress to approve the bill institutionalizing e-Governance in the country to cope with the transition to the new normal and the challenges posed by the Covid-19 threat.

“While the pandemic has demonstrated readiness, resourcefulness, and capability of the government to serve Filipino people through the use of ICT and digital services, it has also shown its inherent deficiencies and weaknesses.  As such I ask Congress to pass an e-Governance Act that will set up the transition of government processes to the digital age,” he said.

Duterte also endorsed the passage of a law creating the Center for Disease Prevention and Control and the Virology and Vaccine Institute of the Philippines. 

“We hope to pursue the creation of public entities dedicated to managing emerging and re-emerging diseases,” he said. 

The Philippine Virology Institute would serve as the premier research and development institution in the field of virology, encompassing all areas in viruses and viral diseases in humans, plants, and animals. 

Meanwhile, the Philippine Center for Disease Control (CDC) will serve as the country’s principal health protection agency tasked to prevent, protect, and manage the spread of diseases and other health threats originating domestically and internationally. 

“However poor we are, I think the Filipinos, given the proper support and the equipment that we have to use, I am sure that the Filipino brain can also process or make vaccines in the future,” he said. 

To further build the country’s resilience, Duterte requested Congress to pass bills creating a department of disaster resilience; mandating the establishment of evacuation centers in provinces, cities, and municipalities; and modernizing the Bureau of Fire Protection. 

“Let us also pass the law implementing the Fire Protection Modernization Program to bolster the readiness of our firefighters and ensure their ability to respond to fires and disasters. Let us also push for the mandatory establishment of evacuation centers in every city, province, and municipality throughout the country which will provide basic needs and assistance to all evacuees during times of emergency,” he added.

Another repeated mention at this year’s SONA is the creation of a department for overseas Filipinos to ensure that there is an agency that is solely focused on addressing the needs and taking care of the welfare of Filipinos abroad.  

“I would like to reiterate my call for Congress again to pass legislation to establish a single agency that shall focus on and respond quickly to the needs and concerns of our OFWs,” he said. 

Other priority bills he mentioned include a measure providing for a unified system for separation, retirement, and pension of military and uniformed services personnel to address the bloating pension system, as well as a measure providing free legal assistance to any officer or enlisted personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP).