KIKO: SENATE TO FAST-TRACK PASSAGE OF 21 PRIORITY MEASURES

"We have reached a consensus in the All Senators Caucus to expedite the process by having the various Senate committees, wherein these bills have again been referred to, to call a hearing for the said bills and have the committees send the said bills to the plenary for debates and voting. Twenty-one priority measures remain pending. We plan to conduct one hearing to adopt the bi-cam reports approved by the Senate in the previous Congress particularly the Human Rights Compensation measure, the fixed term of the AFP chief of staff and also the Lemon Law Act."

"We also would like to see passed on 3rd reading the UP Charter Bill, the Magna Carta for SMEs and the National Tourism Policy among others, as these are still pending at the Conference Committee level. These are as many as 11 measures still pending. Also still pending at the House of Representatives are 7 key measures such as the regulation of the placement of billboards, and even amending the Labor Code of the Philippines . Many of these bills have been pending in Congress for 6 to 12 years and will require our immediate action without further delay." ###