SENATE President Vicente Sotto III conceded that placing Metro Manila and nearby provinces under ‘enhanced community quarantine’ (ECQ) for two weeks starting this August 6, 2021, would impact on the pace of their legislative work.
In a media interview last July 31, 2021, Sotto said particularly to be affected are the Senate staff and employees with whom they rely on in the completion of the legislative process.
“Yung staff ang problema eh, hindi naman kami,” Sotto said.
“Paisa-isa lang naman kami, so kayang-kaya mag-ingat. Pero yung mga employees namin, hindi naman lahat may sasakyan, yung iba, nagco-commute, tapos kahit na i-skeletal namin yun, ganoon pa rin, medyo masusubo sa alanganin yung mga empleyado namin,” he added.
Metro Manila and the provinces comprising the so-called ‘bubble areas’—Cavite, Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna—are to be revert back to lockdown until August 20, in an effort to reduce the number of COVID-19 infection, particularly from the so-called ‘Delta Variant.’
Last week, prior to the delivery of Pres. Duterte’s sixth and final ‘SONA’ (State of the Nation Address) on July 26, 2021, Sotto said they have focused their attention into passing the priority measures listed down by the Executive Branch for enactment as the 18th Congress enters its third and final session.
These priority measures include:
amendments to the Foreign Investment Acts (FIA); amendments to the Public Service Act (PSA); Government Financial Institutions Unified Initiatives to Distressed Enterprises for Economic Recovery (GUIDE); Department of Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act;
Package 4 of the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program (CTRP) or the Passive Income Tax and Financial Intermediary Tax Act (PIFITA);
Virology Science and Technology Institute of the Philippines (VIP); Rural Agricultural and Fisheries Development Financing System Act (Agri-Agra); and, Package 3 of the CTRP or the Valuation Reform Bill.
For his part, Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said the Senate shall also work for the passage of the following measures: Modernization of the Bureau of Fire Protection; Increasing the Statutory Rape Age Act; Military and Uniformed Personnel Insurance Fund Act; Philippine Center for Disease Control and Prevention Act;
The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Extension Law; and, possibly the Bayanihan 3.
Sotto, in a separate interview last July 22, 2021, also expressed confidence the Senate would be able to pass the 2022 proposed budget—the final amount is yet to be submitted by Malacañang— before Congress’ holiday break in December.
Provided, he added, that the Lower House makes good of its pronouncement of being able to submit the proposed budget to the Senate by October, the same month for the filing of the certificate of candidacy.
The lockdown announcement, however, is seen to put a strain on the work of the Senate, with Sotto also conceding some committee hearings would have to be conducted online.
“Baka committee hearings na virtual totally, baka yun lang ang maging pwede. Pero yung two weeks na yun na ECQ, kung medyo pakiramdam namin ay talagang medyo tagilid, wala muna, virtual lang lahat,” Sotto said.
“Malaki ang tatamaan sa amin noon (lockdown).
“Siguro mago-overtime kaming pilit nitong week na ito na pwede pa. Para matapos sana namin yung Public Service Act.
Sana makapag-meeting si Sen. Pimentel doon sa bicameral conference committee noong retail trade liberalization, and then matapos na rin sana namin, pilitin sana namin this week yung Foreign Investments Act kahit man lang period of interpellation, and then period of amendments,” Sotto ticked off.
“Medyo yung two-weeks na yun malaki ang kakainin sa oras namin noon,” he added.
Sotto, who manifested his desire to run for vice president with Sen. Panfilo Lacson as his running mate for president, averred however that the start of the election season would not hamper their legislative work.
“Pagdating ng October 1, filing lang yun (filing of candidacy). It does not mean na campaign period na so trabaho pa rin kami. Ang tigil lang ng trabaho namin is during the Christmas break, na baka mag-extend pa kami ng isa, dalawang araw doon, pagka may gusto talagang ihabol yung mga kasama ko.
“February 6 (2022) yung campaign period, therefore, hindi naman kami allowed magkampanya from the time that we filed up to February 6. Trabaho, trabaho lang muna,” he said.