|
THE
House of Representatives approved on third and final
reading Wednesday night the creation of the Civil
Aviation Authority of the Philippines under the proposed
Civil Aviation Authority Act of 2008, or House Bill
3156.
The CAAP
is intended to be an independent regulatory body with
quasilegislative and quasijudicial powers possessing
corporate attributes. It will be attached to the
Department of Transportation and Communications.
Also on
Wednesday, the House approved on third and final reading
HB 2976, an urgent bill certified by President Arroyo,
that seeks to allow the use of duties collected from the
importation of agricultural products under the
minimum-access volume for agricultural activities. It
also provides for the extension of the use of the
Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (Acef)
until 2015.
House
leaders described the approval of the two economic bills
as vital in helping strengthen the country’s strong
economic performance under the Arroyo administration.
Acef had
an initial life span of nine years. It was aimed at
mitigating the effects of the lifting of quantitative
restrictions on affected sectors of agriculture by
improving farm productivity through better irrigation,
building of farm-to-market roads, putting up postharvest
facilities and equipment, credit research and
development, marketing infrastructure, extension
services for agriculture and fisheries and other forms
of assistance and support to increase rural
productivity.
The
aviation bill was jointly approved and reported out for
plenary consideration and approval by four House
panels—on Reorganization, on Government Enterprises and
Privatization, on Transportation, and on Appropriations.
The bill
seeks to establish a regulatory framework for
maintaining, enhancing and promoting domestic and
international civil aviation. It is also aimed at
developing and utilizing the air potentials of the
country and ensuring the safety, quality, reliability
and affordability of air-transport services for the
riding public. |
