MANILA, Philippines – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. laid out his priority measures for his second year as chief executive in his second State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, July 24.

Marcos, who had recently signed into law a controversial measure creating the Maharlika Investment Fund, listed “essential tax measures under our Medium-Term Fiscal Framework,” as among his priorities.

The Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC), chaired by the President, had earlier determined 20 priority bills. LEDAC counts as members top Congress leaders and the country’s economic managers.  

The House of Representatives, where a supermajority is allied with Marcos, is led by the President’s cousin, House Speaker Martin Romualdez. 

The Senate – known as a chamber of 24 “independent republics,” is nonetheless a Marcos-allied supermajority with only two senators in the minority. Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri is also a close ally of Marcos. 

Marcos’ priority legislation include:

1. Excise tax on single-use plastics
2. VAT on digital services
3. Rationalization of mining fiscal regime
4. Motor vehicle user’s charge/road user’s tax
5. Military and Uniformed Personnel Pension
6. Amendment of the Fisheries Code
7. Amendment of the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act
8. Amendment of the Cooperative Code
9. New Government Procurement Law
10. New Government Auditing Code
11. Anti-financial accounts scamming
12. Tatak-Pinoy (Proudly Filipino) law
13. The Blue Economy law
14. Ease of paying taxes
15. LGU income classification
16. The Philippine Immigration Act

– Rappler.com