DEC.

28, 2013

NR # 3330B

Breaking through adversities toward a new paradigm for growth (2013 Yearender)
The year 2013 tested the Filipino peoples grit and resolve to weather challenges faced as a nation, foremost being the extreme devastation ca sed by a chain of nat ral calamities which hit several parts of o r co ntry,! "pea#er Feliciano $elmonte, %r& said& $efore 'ongress ad(o rned for the 'hristmas brea#, the "pea#er declared, )e have what it ta#es to positively alter o r paradigms, view these as challenges before s and see them as a chance to emerge renewed as one people& )e m st loo# p from these tragedies and se them as opport nities to f rther societal reforms,! $elmonte stressed& The *o se +eader cited incidents as the ,-+F .amboanga siege which led to senseless cas alties and damage to property and infrastr ct re, the $ohol earth/ a#e, and the series of typhoons which hit + 0on, ,indanao, and especially the 1isayas, the last of which was s per2typhoon 3olanda which left more than 4,000 dead and over a tho sand more still missing& The cas alty co nt contin es to rise, as recovery teams sco r the devastated areas& The "pea#er commended the concern and helping hand extended by the private sector5 corporations, organi0ations, and private individ als5as well as media entities, in s pport of government efforts to help people cope with the challenges and reb ild devastated comm nities& *e also said that )e are gratef l to the world comm nity for their contin ed assistance and faith in the Filipino peoples determination to pic# themselves p and their ability to reb ild their bro#en lives,! $efore the 3olanda tragedy was the 6102$illion -apoles controversy over the mis se of p blic f nds& The peoples protest against the 'ongressional 6riority 7evelopment 8ssistance F nd 9678F: reverberated in the hearts of the people and shoo# the bac# bone of the co ntrys political instit tions& )e will never lose sight of opport nities open to s to reform o r system& )e will face these problems s/ arely and ta#e concrete actions to correct the system and reb ild the integrity of o r instit tions, promoting good governance thro gh f ll transparency and acco ntability in p blic office,! $elmonte ass red& The por# barrel! scam diverted the peoples conscio sness from the efforts of the *o se of ;epresentatives to finali0e the proposed 62&24<2Trillion 201= >eneral 8ppropriations 8ct& 7espite this challenge, both the *o se and the "enate p shed on to ratify the 201= >88 bill before the 'hristmas brea#& ?t has now been signed by the 6resident, as ;ep blic 8ct 10433&

8s a proactive response, the *o se leadership, led by "pea#er $elmonte, promptly initiated a bipartisan move to scrap, once and for all, the 678F and to adopt an open and transparent line2item b dgeting& 'orollary to the scrapping of the 678F from the 201= -ational $ dget was the collective decision to approve a s pplemental b dget realigning the remaining nreleased portion of the lawma#ers 2013 678F f nds, amo nting to 61=&42billion, towards s pporting and a gmenting f nds for the rehabilitation of calamity2stric#en areas and reb ilding the lives of millions of Filipino families& The "pea#er ac#nowledged the hard wor# and cooperation of the *o se 7ep ty "pea#ers @ *on& *enedina 8bad, *on& >iorgidi 8ggabao, *on& "ergio 8postol, *on& 6angalian $alindong, *on& 'arlos 6adilla, and *on& ;oberto 6 no as well as ,a(ority +eader -eptali >on0ales and the 7ep ty and 8ssistant ,a(ority +eadersA 8ppropriations 'hairman ?sidro Bngab, his 1ice 'hairmen and members of the 8ppropriations 'ommittee& $elmonte li#ewise expressed appreciation to all the members of the ,inority gro p led by ,inority +eader ;onaldo .amora and the independent bloc led by *on& Ferdinand ,artin ;om alde0 for their critical cooperation which proved vital to fine2t ning legislative meas res& *e also ac#nowledged the active participation and val able inp ts of members of the party2list gro ps& ? than# the ,embers of the *o se for their patient dedication and for their individ al contrib tions in crafting significant legislation,! $elmonte said& Following the series of calamities in late 2013, $elmonte noted the somehow prophetic statement of 7$, "ecretary Florencio 8bad who stressed that the principle of e/ ali0ation of opport nities! was the moving force behind 6resident $enigno 8/ inos proposed 201= spending bill that see#s to reali0e a national incl sive growth& -o region or area in the co ntry m st be left o t of the mbrella of incl sive growth,! $elmonte said& To f rther bolster government efforts to reb ild calamity2hit areas, both chambers of 'ongress ratified *o se %oint ;esol tion -o& C which extended the validity of appropriations nder the 'alamity F nd and D ic# ;esponse F nd and all nobligated allotments and nreleased appropriations for maintenance and other operating expenses and capital o tlays nder ;ep blic 8ct -o& 103E2 or the F3 2013 >eneral 8ppropriations 8ct ntil 7ecember 31, 201=& $efore the lawma#ers ret rned to their respective constit encies for the 'hristmas brea#, the "pea#er said that despite intervening controversies and nat ral calamities, the *o se remained foc sed on its cr cial legislative responsibility& 8s of 7ecember 10, 2013 the *o se "ecretariat was in receipt of over 3,E3F *o se $ills@ 2,=<= of national application and 1,0EE of local application& Gf these *o se $ills, 3,E01 have been referred

to appropriate standing and special committees for proper consideration come res mption of session on %an ary 20, 201=& 8mong the vario s meas res approved or in the advanced stages at the 'ommittee level, are the 8nti27ynasty bill, the proposed Freedom of ?nformation 8ct, the +and 8dministration reform meas re, the 6olitical party reform bill, the bill pdating the anti/ ated ?mmigration +aw, as well as pro2competition and anti2monopoly meas res and other economic, trade, and investment laws& Gther bills and resol tions in the pipeline are those that cover e/ ally pressing matters s ch as labor and employment, climate change, yo th and h man reso rce development, science and technology, ed cation, h man rights, infrastr ct re, ho sing and rban development, agric lt re and land reform, transportation and comm nications, energy development, foreign affairs and diplomacy, and national sec rity& Finally, strong determination is needed for the lawma#ers to craft the necessary laws and policies in s pport of the national reformation movement& )e sho ld f lly s pport the common fight against corr ption and promote good governance thro gh transparency and acco ntability in p blic office,! $elmonte said& The "pea#er is confident in saying, )e will s rely pic# p o r pace and move forward in o r legislative wor#, altho gh the (o rney will not be easy& G r moves m st be both foc sed and nited& )e need to maximi0e the se of all available reso rces to reb ild o r devastated regions& )e are each called pon to wor# harder, and that we will do&! 930: mrs