The House of Representatives has committed to give priority to 23 bills that seek to enhance the productivity and competitiveness of local businesses during a meeting with the Joint Foreign Chambers (JFC) and Philippine Business Groups (PBG).
The meeting was held last week to discuss House priorities and the 23 economic reform measures are among the 90 bills Congress will tackle until the end of the year, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. told reporters.
Among the bills in the House priority list are Data Privacy Act, Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) bill, Common Carriers Tax (CCT), Gross Philippine Billings (GTB), Anti-Smuggling Bill, Customs Tariffs and Modernization Act, Rationalization of Fiscal Incentives, Fiscal Responsibility Act and Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Law Amendments.
The Data Privacy Act provides for stricter penalties in cyber-crime and increased protection in electronic commerce. The creation of a DICT, meanwhile, will give focus to the formulation of the country’s policies for telecommunications, automated data processing and management of information systems.
House ICT chair Siegfrido Tinga said reports for both bills are being signed.
“A DICT must be created for this potential $20-billion industry,” he noted.
Belmonte said the House committee on ways and means (CWM) has on top of its priority measures for study the present tax levies, including the three-percent CCT and 2.5-percent tax on GPB, which certain sectors claim restrain the country’s promotion efforts.
Steven Crowdey, Board of Airline Representative (BAR) first vice chairman, reasoned that foreign air capacity to the Philippines is not growing while it has double-digit growth elsewhere in Asia. There are also many unused rights.
Other Asian countries provide foreign airlines incentives for service but the Philippines gives disincentives, he added.
House CWM chairman Hermilando Mandanas reported he has filed a bill which is expected to be passed by the end of February.
Belmonte said the anti-smuggling provisions of the Tariff and Customs Code and the modernization of the Bureau of Customs are also on top of the priority list.
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By: Ayen Infante
Source: The Daily Tribune, Feb, 21, 2011
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