|
Monday, March 20, 2006
Senate probes shelve urgent bills: legislators
By Antonio M. Ajero
DAVAO CITY -- House majority leader Prospero Nograles complained that there are now more than "30 pieces of legislation of great importance" gathering dust in the Senate and some of the bills have been certified urgent by the President.
"If only the Senate leadership could stop spending so much time on the investigations and give more time and attention to their mandate which is legislation, bills like the proposed Tax Amnesty Law, the Consolidated Investment Incentives Code, the Anti-Smuggling Act of 2005, Bio-ethanol Bill, Condonation of Penalties for Low Cost Housing, and other reform-oriented measures would be enacted into laws faster," he said.
Nograles provided reporters with a list of the 30 bills approved by the House but not yet touched by the Senate.
"While we respect and concede that these Senate investigations are really necessary if the objective is to craft laws out of the lessons that we learn from these probes, it is also lamentable that these investigations have also become a venue to attack the Arroyo Administration," he said.
This concern was echoed by House Deputy Majority Leader Rodolfo Antonino of Nueva Ecija who pointed out that it is very ironic that while many senators have been criticizing the Arroyo administration of its alleged effort to muzzle press freedom, the Senate has yet to act on the proposed measure that would exempt publishers, editors, or reporters of any publication from revealing sources of information.
Antonino said that House Bill 4835, which was passed by the House on Dec. 22, 2005, would expand the protection being enjoyed by the media from being compelled into revealing their sources.
"I find it very ironic that while our senators are making too much noise on the alleged effort of the government to curtail press freedom in the country, they are not acting on this particular measure, which would further strengthen freedom," Antonino said.
Antonio said government reforms would not be achieved with these endless investigations in the Senate that end up without any real results.
Reforms, he added, could only be achieved if the Senate focuses its attention on approving measures that will have a great impact on the welfare of the entire nation. (Sun.Star Davao/Sunnex)
(March 20, 2006 issue)
Write letter to the editor. Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board. Click here. |
|
|
|
[return to top]
[home]
|
|
Justice office to deny plea of Subic rape suspect