By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz & Butch Fernandez
True to their promise, the House of Representatives and the Senate approved a number of pending priority bills at the resumption of sessions on Monday, before they convene as the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC).
Deputy Speaker and Nationalist People’s Coalition Rep. Giorgiddi Aggabao of Isabela said the bill strengthening the Balanced Housing Development Program and the measure amending foreign-ownership restrictions in specific laws governing adjustment companies, lending companies, financing companies and investment houses cited in the Foreign Investment Negative List (FINL), except those in the Constitution, have been ratified by the lower chamber.
Also ratified by the House were the act regulating the Philippine credit-card industry, the bill seeking to provide increased financial support to agrarian-reform beneficiaries, the proposed Exact Change Act and the measure institutionalizing the nationwide implementation of JobStart Philippines Program.
These proposals will now be submitted to President Aquino for signature.
Balanced housing
House Committee on Housing and Urban Development Act Chairman and Rep. Alfredo B. Benitez of Negros Occidental said under the housing bill, the government program shall include a system to be specified in the framework plan, whereby owners and/or developers of proposed subdivision and condominium projects shall be required to develop an area for socialized housing equivalent to at least 15 percent of the total subdivision area, or total subdivision project cost, and at least 5 percent of condominium area or project cost, at the option of the developer, in accordance with the standards as provided by law; “provided, that proposed socialized subdivision projects and proposed socialized condominium projects shall be exempt from this requirement.”
FINL
The FINL measure, meanwhile, allows foreigners to own 100 percent of adjustment companies, lending companies, financing companies and investment houses.
House Committee on Economic Affairs Chairman and Liberal Party Rep. Anthony G. del Rosario of Davao del Norte said the bill amends investment restrictions in specific laws governing adjustment companies, lending companies, financing companies and investment houses cited in the FINL.
The measure also seeks to amend “The Insurance Code” for adjustment companies, “The Investment Houses Law” for investment houses, “Lending Company Regulation of 2007” for lending companies and “Financing Company Act of 1998” for financing companies.
“An investment house may be owned up to 100 percent by foreign nationals. Foreign nationals may become members of the board of directors to the extent of the foreign participation in the equity of said enterprise,” the measure added.
It also said a lending company may be owned up to 100 percent by foreign nationals, “provided, however, that where the loan is secured by land, a lending company, more than 40 percent of whose capital is owned by foreign nationals, may bid and take part in any sale of such land as a consequence of such mortgage, avail of enforcement proceedings, take possession and transfer their rights to qualified Philippine nationals for a period not exceeding five years from actual possession.”
Credit card
House Bill 5417, or an act regulating the Philippine credit-card industry, seeks to protect the rights and interest of financial consumers.
Earlier, Sen. Sergio R. Osmeña III, chairman of the Committee on Banks, Financial Institutions and Currencies, said while refuge may be sought under Republic Act 7394, or the Consumer Act of the Philippines, this is silent with respect to the implementing agency that would oversee credit issues and/or financial consumer protection.
“At present, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas [BSP] has taken up the cudgels for credit-card holders solely on the strength of DOJ Opinion 69, which declared the BSP as the proper agency to enforce the provisions on consumer credit transactions of the Consumer Act,” the senator said.
The measure provides the BSP with “supervisory powers over all credit-card issuers and acquirers, and all credit-card transactions.”
The bill aims to standardize the method of computing the base amount for imposing the interest and finance charge on the unpaid outstanding balance by excluding new purchases after the statement cut-off date; rationalizes the Late Payment Fee or Penalty for Late Payment considering that it is more in the nature of an administrative cost than a cost of credit.
Agrarian reform
The lower chamber also ratified a bill seeking to create a credit facility in the Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) to provide increased financial support to agrarian-reform beneficiaries, small farmers and fishermen.
The measure seeks to mandate the LandBank to allocate 5 percent of its regular loan portfolio to provide qualified agrarian-reform beneficiaries, small farmers and fishermen with financial assistance. Loan portfolio refers to the total loans held by a bank or finance company.
Exact change
The leadership of the House also readied for President Aquino’s signature the proposed “Exact Change Act.”
House Committee on Trade and Industry Chairman and Nacionalista Party Rep. Mark A. Villar of Las Piñas City said the bill imposes a fine ranging from P500 to P25,000, or 3 percent to 10 percent, of the gross sales of the business establishment, whichever is higher; and suspension or, at most, revocation of license to operate for repeated offenses.
Job start
Meanwhile, House Committee on Labor and Employment Chairman and National Unity Party Rep. Karlo Alexei B. Nograles of Davao City said House Bill (HB) 6415 seeks to reduce the job-search period of the youth by enhancing their knowledge and skills acquired in formal education or technical training.
Launched in 2014 by the Department of Labor and Employment, the JobStart Philippines Program assists students’ school-to-work transition and increases their chances of integrating into productive employment.
Under the measure, the program requires participants from 18 to 24 years old, high-school graduate, not employed, studying nor undergoing training at the time of registration and with less than one year or no work experience.
At the Senate
The Senate unanimously adopted Concurrent Resolution 10, which would convert the two legislative chambers into the NBOC.
According to Senate President Franklin M. Drilon, the lawmakers will subsequently agree to create a seven-man, or nine-member panel from each chamber to facilitate the canvassing process in order to meet their June 30 deadline.
He confirmed at least six senators are, however, expected to inhibit from active participation in canvasssing process having run and lost in the presidential and vice-presidential races, including Senators Miriam Santiago, Grace Poe, Francis Escudero, Gregorio Honasan, Alan Cayetano and Antonio Trillanes IV.
“We are going to work for the early proclamation [of the next president and vice president],” Drilon told reporters shortly before banging the gavel to open Monday’s Senate session.
The senators, cramming to pass other pending measures in the chamber, also proceeded to approve over two dozen bills awaiting approval on third reading, including a number of radio-television, telecommunications and local airline franchises.
Osmeña, chairman of the sponsoring public services committee, however, moved to defer voting on HB 5942 granting a 25-year extension of the franchise of Smart Communications Inc., citing a request for deferment from Senate Deputy Minority Leader Vicente Sotto III and another senator he did not name.
Osmeña, however, held out hopes the Smart franchise extension could still be approved by the senators before the current Congress finally adjourns sessions on June 10.
Franchise extensions
The Senate, likewise, passed on third and final reading a bill granting a 25-year franchise to Pilipinas Asian Pearl Airways Inc. to establish, operate and maintain domestic and international transport services.
Senators also passed 13 other local bills seeking to renew the franchise of an electric company and television and telecommunications networks.
According to Osmeña, passage of HBs 6053 (Zoe Broadcasting Inc.), 5859 (People’s Broadcasting Service Inc.), 5601 (Philippine Telegraph and Telephone Corp. or PT&T), 6168 (Byers Communication Inc.), 6193 (Kalayaan Broadcasting System), would also renew the franchises of the establishments for another 25 years.
On the other hand, he noted that HBs 2185 (First Bay Power Corp.), 6003 (Ama Telecommunciations Inc.), 6005 (Infinivan Inc.), 6011 (Veritas Media Arts Inc.), 6312 (Metro Connections and Telecom Corp.), 6313 (Makinig Network, Inc), 6314 (Megamanila Telecom Corp.) and 6315 (Pilipinas Radio Waves Corp.) are new franchise applications for 25 years each.
Osmeña explained that continued operation of these establishments are expected to “generate additional jobs, create career opportunities” and continue to provide the people with relevant information.
The Senate also passed on final reading a House-approved bill declaring Batanes as a cultural heritage and ecotourism zone.
Sponsored by Senators Escudero and Loren Legarda, the adopted HB 6152 seeks to promote and protect Batanes’s ecology and environment, as well as its natural and cultural heritage.
The Senate likewise passed on third and final reading a bill seeking to establish the Southwestern Tagalog Region, to be composed of the provinces of Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan, and the cities of Calapan and Puerto Princesa as the Mimaropa region.
The Senate also approved a measure seeking to declare tourism areas in Camiguin, organizing the Camiguin Tourism Council and mandating support for tourism development in the province.
Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara, who sponsored HB 5576, said that the measure seeks to declare certain areas of Camiguin as ecotourism attractions, in particular classifying them Tourism Development Areas.
Before suspending the session, the senators also passed a bill granting centenarians P100,000 in cash assistance.
Sen. Nancy Binay, sponsor of Senate Bill 449, or the Centenarians Act of 2013, said the proposed measure also seeks to declare every September 25th as “National Respect for Centenarians Day.”
Also approved on final reading is a bill seeking to require all TV networks to use closed caption options on television programs so people with hearing impairments could enjoy a full variety of television programs.
Under the bill, closed caption shall mean a method of subtitling television programs by coding statements as vertical data signal that are decoded at the receiver and super imposed at the bottom of the television screen.
Franchise holders or operators of TV stations and producers of TV programs will now be required to use closed caption options in their programs.