Last call for economic bills
While Congress resumed session yesterday, it has only less than two weeks left before it adjourns for good on June 13.
Earlier, Senate President Francis Escudero said the Senate would tackle first several bills that had been passed by the House of Representatives before it convenes as an impeachment court on June 11 to hear and decide on the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte.
These bills include, among others, the national government rightsizing program, and amendments to the right-of-way law, Cooperative Act, Foreign Investors’ Long-Term Lease Act and E-Governance Act.
Since these bills had been thoroughly discussed in the House or have a counterpart bill in the Senate, few amendments, if any, are expected to be proposed by the senators.
Those who did not win reelection are not expected to make their approval difficult in order to maintain good relations with their colleagues. Hopefully, they would sit together again after three years.
More importantly, those bills had been agreed to by the two chambers of Congress in the meetings of the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (Ledac).
Once approved by the Senate, or by a bicameral conference committee if differences in the versions of the bills have to be reconciled, they are assured of signing by President Marcos.
If these bills fail to get legislative approval by June 12 (Independence Day, which is a holiday), they would be returned to their respective chambers for possible refiling and would have to go through the usual legislative mill of committee hearings and floor deliberations in the next Congress.
There is no assurance, however, that they would be approved in their original form because some lawmakers may have other ideas on how to manage the objectives or subject matter of the bills.
If any of the refiled bills would adversely affect the interests of some businesses or sectors in our society, expect them to strongly lobby for the bills to languish at the committee level or push for the inclusion of provisions that would minimize damage to them.
No doubt, by giving priority to the bills taken up in the Ledac, the trial of the Vice President by the present Senate would be limited to just one or two days before Congress adjourns on June 13.
As expected, the delay in the trial did not sit well with some lawmakers who believe the Senate should give priority to that event.
So it boils down to a question of priority: Which is more important, the approval of those bills which have long-term economic impact or the trial of the Vice President?
This early, the impending trial is already saddled with novel legal issues that would eventually find their way to the Supreme Court, such as the authority of the new set of senators to continue the proceedings started by their predecessor and whether the impeachment procedure violated the Constitution as claimed by the Vice President.
And take note, President Marcos had publicly expressed his opposition to the trial, a statement that the senators would no doubt take into consideration when they start the proceedings.
Between now and June 12, there is absolutely no way that those issues can be resolved internally by the senators in light of the election of several senators who are allies of the Vice President and who are expected to fight tooth and nail for her interests.
There are several tactics available to those senators to delay or force the suspension of the trial until the Supreme Court gives its final ruling.
That short period of time would be better used as an opportunity to pass the bills earlier mentioned that are meant to improve the economic condition of the country.
Any further delay in their enactment into law and implementation would be unacceptable.
