Belmonte, Jr. First Adjournment of Session Third Regular Session 16th Congress
My dear Colleagues, good evening.
Today, we adjourn for the first time in this Third Regular Session true to our commitment of pursuing the reform measures leading to our shared vision of sustained and inclusive growth. First of all, I would like to commend everyone for approving on Third and Final Reading, subject to the amendments of the aforesaid, one of the most important if not the MOST important piece of legislation that is expected of this Chamber in this Third Regular Session of the 16th Congress: the proposed General Appropriations Act or House Bill No. 6132. With your steadfast efforts and steely resolve, we are one step closer towards the enactment of the
General Appropriations Bill into law before the
end of the year. Over the past five fiscal years of the 15 th and the 16th Congresses, we have managed to pass the national budget on time. We hope that by the practices and standards that we have set in the 15th and 16th Congresses, re-enacted budgets would now be truly a thing of the past. Passing the budget on time speaks of the highest level of commitment that we have in responding effectively and efficiently to the needs of our people. We have deliberated comprehensively and debated extensively. The political climate makes it prone to grandstanding, but instead we chose to listen. We listened to our constituents when we consulted them about what services and programs they need to improve their quality of life. We listened to our partners from various government agencies when they proposed and presented the appropriate responses to these needs.
We listened to each other when our colleagues
raised important questions and demanded that the resources we will allocate would reach even those at the farthest frays of our society. True to our commitment to genuine social reform, we have agreed to allocate the lions share of the 2016 budget to social services. This is followed by economic services, general public services, and debt payments. In particular, the cost to service our debts vis--vis our total budget will go down to only 14.0 percent in 2016 from 20.6 percent in 2010. Indeed, our unrelenting efforts towards reform did not go unnoticed in the eyes of our countrymen. In the survey on comparative performance ratings on key government institutions conducted by Pulse Asia for the period of September, the House of Representatives net approval rating improved by four points compared to asimilar survey last June. The international community also continues to hold the Philippines in high regard. Just last month, Fitch Ratings upgraded the countrys outlook to positive from stable. The latest Global Competitiveness Report by the World Economic Forum also showed an improvement in 3
the countrys ranking to 47th in the 2015-2016
survey from 52nd in the 2014-2015 report, or an improvement by 5 notches, and very close to the Philippine Development Plan target of being included in the top 30% of the most competitive economies globally. I am very proud to say that our steadfast and sustained efforts to pursue reforms have contributed to the improvement in our approval ratings. Adding to the list of game changing legislations that we have passed are the Transparency in the Management and Accounting of Tax Incentives, or TIMTA, and the PAG-ASA Modernization measure, which will soon be transmitted to the President for his signature. Let me also take cognizance of other important legislative measures that are in the very advanced stages in our legislative mill. We have approved on Third Reading the following: The Customs Modernization and Tariffs Act, the amendments to the BSP law,the creation of the Coco Levy Trust Fund, and the bill creating the Department of Information and Communications Technology. We have also ratified the bicam report of the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Reform Bill. 4
We have exhibited that collectively, we are
capable of setting aside our differences and look for points of unity. This is why I am confident that with the same diligence and determination, we will be able to pass other priority bills that have temporarily taken the back seat to give way to the national budget. These bills include the PPP bill and the Bangsamoro Basic Law, and the amendments to the economic provisions of our Constitution. Our landmark measures and legislative accomplishments will be the legacy we will leave as the 16th Congress. At this point I would like to recognize and thank the House leadership: the Majority Leader and the members of the majority team, the Minority Leader and his team and our party coalition leaders, the Members of the House, their respective Congressional staff, and the House Secretariat. As we adjourn, we are reminded of all our sacrifice and hard work to be a true House of the Filipino People. To my colleagues, I wish you all the best on the path you will take in the forthcoming 2016 elections. May God bless us and guide us always and be always with you.