As of August 30, 2024
Since the last publication of this tracker, PSA recorded six significant developments in the bills that analysts have been tracking:
- Re-submission of ratified bill on Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act (was previously recalled)
- Passage of the Senate bill on Blue Economy Act in third reading
- Passage of the Senate bill on Enterprise-Based Education and Training (EBET) Framework Act (formerly known as Apprenticeship Program Reform) in second and third reading
- Approval of the Senate bill on CREATE MORE Act in first reading
- Approval of the Senate bill on Creation of the Department of Water in first reading
- Approval of the Senate bill on Enabling Law for the Natural Gas Industry in first reading
| As of August 30, 2024 | | HOUSE |
| | SENATE |
| BICAMERAL CONFERENCE COMMITTEE | PRESIDENT |
IMPLEMENTING RULES AND REGULATIONS |
|---|
| Categories | First Reading | Second Reading |
Third Reading | First Reading | Second Reading |
Third Reading | | Approval or Veto |
|
| Tax Packages | | | |
| | | |
| |
| Real Property Valuation Reform Bill | APPROVED | APPROVED | APPROVED |
APPROVED | APPROVED | APPROVED | RATIFIED |
SIGNED | |
| Passive Income and Financial Intermediary Taxation Act (PIFITA) | APPROVED | APPROVED | APPROVED |
PENDING | | | |
| |
| Value-Added Tax on Digital Transactions | APPROVED | APPROVED | APPROVED |
APPROVED | APPROVED | APPROVED | RATIFIED |
| |
| Excise Tax on Plastic Bags | APPROVED | APPROVED | APPROVED |
PENDING | | | |
| |
| Motor Vehicle User’s Tax/Charge | APPROVED | APPROVED | APPROVED |
PENDING | | | |
| |
| Ease of Paying Taxes | APPROVED | APPROVED | APPROVED |
APPROVED | APPROVED | APPROVED | RATIFIED |
SIGNED | RELEASED |
| CREATE More Act | APPROVED | APPROVED | APPROVED |
APPROVED | | | |
| |
| E-commerce | | | |
| | | |
| |
| Internet Transaction Act | APPROVED | APPROVED | APPROVED |
APPROVED | APPROVED | APPROVED | RATIFIED |
SIGNED | RELEASED |
| Promotion of Digital Payments | APPROVED | | |
PENDING | | | |
| |
| New Government Departments | | | |
| | | |
| |
| Department of Water Resources | APPROVED | APPROVED | APPROVED |
APPROVED | | | |
| |
| Agriculture and Land Use | | | |
| | | |
| |
| National Land Use Act | APPROVED | APPROVED | APPROVED |
PENDING | | | |
| |
| Public Land Act | APPROVED | APPROVED | APPROVED |
NO BILL FILED YET | | | |
| |
| Anti-Agricultural Smuggling | APPROVED | APPROVED | APPROVED |
APPROVED | APPROVED | APPROVED | RATIFIED |
| |
| Amendments to RA 10654 (Amended Fisheries Code) | APPROVED | APPROVED | APPROVED |
PENDING | | | |
| |
| Energy and Mining | | | |
| | | |
| |
| Mining fiscal regime | APPROVED | APPROVED | APPROVED |
NO BILL FILED YET | | | |
| |
| Enactment of an Enabling Law for the Natural Gas Industry | APPROVED | APPROVED | APPROVED |
APPROVED | | | |
| |
| Amendments to the Electric Power Industry Reform Act or EPIRA (Republic Act No. 9136) | PENDING | | |
PENDING | | | |
| |
| Liberalization of Foreign Investments | | | |
| | | |
| |
| International Maritime Trade Competitiveness Act | PENDING | | |
PENDING | | | |
| |
| Blue Economy Act | APPROVED | APPROVED | APPROVED |
APPROVED | APPROVED | APPROVED |
PENDING | | |
| Telecommunications | | | |
| | | |
| |
| Critical Infrastructure Protection | PENDING | | |
PENDING | | | |
| |
| SIM Card Registration Bill | APPROVED | APPROVED | APPROVED |
APPROVED | APPROVED | APPROVED | RATIFIED |
APPROVED | RELEASED |
| Workforce Management | | | |
| | | |
| |
Enterprise-Based Education and Training (EBET) Framework Act
(formerly known as Apprenticeship Program Reform) | APPROVED | APPROVED |
APPROVED | APPROVED | APPROVED |
APPROVED | | | |
| Holiday Rationalization Act | PENDING | | |
NO BILL FILED YET | | | |
| |
| National Unemployment Insurance | PENDING | | |
PENDING | | | |
| |
| Tatak Pinoy (Proudly Pinoy) Act | APPROVED | APPROVED | APPROVED |
APPROVED | APPROVED | APPROVED | RATIFIED |
SIGNED | RELEASED |
| Amendments to Existing Laws/Charter | | | |
| | | |
| |
| Amendments to the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Law | APPROVED | APPROVED | APPROVED |
APPROVED | APPROVED | APPROVED | RATIFIED |
APPROVED | RELEASED |
| Intellectual Property Code amendments | APPROVED | APPROVED | APPROVED |
PENDING | | | |
| |
| Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) Charter amendments | PENDING | | |
NO BILL FILED YET | | | |
| |
| Secrecy of Bank Deposits Law amendments | APPROVED | APPROVED | APPROVED |
PENDING | | | |
| |
| Economic Recovery | | | |
| | | |
| |
| Government Financial Institutions Unified Initiatives to Distressed Enterprises for Economic Recovery (GUIDE) | APPROVED | APPROVED |
APPROVED | PENDING | | |
| | |
As is usual, Congress will continue working on legislative bills that are considered priority measures of the current administration. The House of Representatives, known for its quick decision-making and passage of bills as long as it is a priority, has already passed its own versions in third reading. Meanwhile, the Senate, which is slower but more independent in comparison, is catching up with its own drafts. The Senate Committee on Ways and Means, in particular, is working with the Department of Finance to pass the priority tax measure bills to be, hopefully, approved by the President by the end of this year.
PSA notes that this year will be a critical time for bills still pending at the early stages of the legislative process. Lawmakers may likely not have the time to discuss these bills by September of this year, as they will be preoccupied with matters concerning the 2025 budget. Then, by early 2025, most of the Senators will be busy campaigning for the upcoming senatorial elections in May 2025, making scheduling of deliberations even more difficult.
Bills that are not lapsed by the end of this Congress will automatically expire. They will have to go all over the entire legislative process again from the very beginning if they are to be refiled in the 20th Congress.
