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THE
House of Representatives capped on Tuesday its two-day
special session by ratifying House Bill 2933, a one-time
tax amnesty, and other equally important legislation
being pushed by Malacañang.
They
approved the measure upon the motion of Senior Deputy
Majority Leader Arthur Defensor for the adoption of
amendments made by the Senate.
The
House approved on third and final reading House Bill
6078, the Personal Equity and Retirement Account (PERA);
and House Bill 6073 which calls for the establishment,
operation and regulation of lending companies.
Senate
leaders, however, were disappointed that the House
failed to pass at least two Senate-approved measures:
one to lower the cost of medicine; another granting tax
incentives to investors to create more jobs in
tourism-oriented establishments.
Senate
President Manuel Villar reported that as far as the
Senate is concerned it has passed all the
Palace-certified bills, as well as a slew of local
bills, but the House adjourned the two-day special
session without acting on these two bills.
For its
part, the Senate did not bother to take up the
controversial 10 billion trees bill being pushed by
Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. amid fears by some
opposition senators it was meant to raise a slush fund
for the campaign of administration candidates in the May
14 elections.
The
Senate had approved on third and final reading Monday
night a legislative measure that would protect the
rights of consumers who had the misfortune of buying
defective cars and which will compel automobile
manufacturers and dealers to immediately repair the
defects or, if necessary, replace them with comparable
vehicles.
Senate
Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel, Jr. said the Lemon
Law of 2007 (Senate Bill 2464) of which he is one of the
principal authors, will compel carmakers and dealers to
enforce the warranties on the sale of motor vehicles and
to provide remedies to the victims of false or
fraudulent warranties.
The tax
amnesty measure passed by the House, meanwhile, grants
amnesty to delinquent taxpayers covering 2003 and
previous years, hoping to raise an income of about P10
billion for the government and clear the backlog of tax
cases pending in the Bureau of Internal Revenue.
The
approved PERA, de Venecia said, would encourage capital
market development and mobilization through the
establishment of a legal and regulatory framework for
retirement plans in the form of voluntary savings
investments.
The
approved lending-regulating bill would properly monitor
the operations of lending firms and protect their
clients from abuses. |
