The Senate leadership pledged to the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) to pass 20 priority bills before the year ends, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri told reporters on Tuesday.

“Two weeks ago nagkaroon po kami ng LEDAC. Nagbigay po kami [ng] commitment on the part of the Senate ng 20 bills na gagawin nating batas by December 2023, bago tayo mag-December break (we convened with LEDAC. We gave a commitment on the part of the Senate that we will work for the passage of 20 bills into law by December 2023, before we will have our December break),” Zubiri said.

The list of the priority measures that the Senate President read during the press conference include:

— Amendments to the Build-Operate-Transfer Law or known as the Public-Private Partnership bill;
— The establishment of National Disease Prevention Management Authority or the Center for Disease Prevention bill;
— The Internet Transactions eCommerce Law;
— The Medical Reserve Corps bill;
— The establishment of the Virology Institute of the Philippines;
— The Mandatory Reserve Officers Training Corps and National Service Training Program;
— The Revitalizing of the Salt Industry bill;
— The Valuation Reform Act;
— The eGovernment/eGovernance Act
— The Ease of Paying Taxes bill;
— The National Government Rightsizing Program;
— The Unified System of Separation, Retirement, and Pension Fund of Military and Uniformed Personnel;
— The Local Government Units Income Classification bill;
— The Ways to Energy bill;
— The New Philippine Passport Act;
— The Magna Carta for Filipino Seafarers;
— The National Employment Action Plan;
— Amendments to the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act;
— Amendments to the Bank Secrecy Law; and
— The Anti-Financial Scamming Act

“Of course, there are several pet bills of the senators na itutulak po natin. Isa po doon yung aking (that we will push. One of these is my) legislative wage hike. So, we’ll have other bills that would also be passed by December that are not necessarily LEDAC bills, that we can call ‘happy’ bills,” Zubiri said.

Before its sine die adjournment, the Senate produced a total of six measures enacted into law — four of national application and two local laws.

In a previous statement, Zubiri highlighted the approval of eight of the 42 priority measures of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.

Among those which were already signed into law are the Subscriber Identity Module Registration Act, the Act Postponing the Barangay Elections, and the Armed Forces of the Philippines Fixed Term Law, the New Agrarian Reform Emancipation Act, the Regional Specialty Centers Act, the Extension of the Estate Tax Amnesty Act, and the Maharlika Investment Fund Act. (PNA)