Business groups seek passage of 12 bills

MANILA, Philippines—Local business leaders and foreign chamber heads are pushing for the prioritization of 12 pieces of legislation when Congress reconvenes for its third session next month.

In a statement issued Tuesday, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Edgardo Lacson said there were originally 75 items on the group’s list, but this was trimmed down to 12 following consultations with other business and industry groups.

Participating in the discussions were the Joint Foreign Chambers, Philippine Exporters Confederation, and the Employers’ Confederation of the Philippines.

Among the measures recommended for passage to the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council were the Department of Information and Communications Technology Bill, Rationalization of Fiscal Incentives Bill, Free Patent to Residential Lands Bill, Pre-Need Code Bill, the Freedom of Access to Information Bill, Real Estate Investment Trust Bill, Anti-Smuggling Bill, Amendment of the Customs Brokers Act Bill, Electricity Rate Reduction Act, Uniform Franchise Tax on Distribution Utilities Bill, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Tax Compliance Amendment, and the Land Use Bill.

These measures, Lacson said, “would salvage the country from declining further in the world competitiveness surveys.”

“We feel that time is of the essence as the global economy is expected to improve in the next few years and the country must keep up with other highly competitive global business environments,” he said. –Abigail L. Ho, Philippine Daily Inquirer