Committee Daily Bulletin
Vol. III No. 57
COMMITTEE
Bicameral
Conference
Committee
A publication of the Committee Affairs Department
December 15, 2015
BICAMERAL CONFERENCE COMMITTEE MEETING
MEASURES
SUBJECT MATTER
ACTION TAKEN/ DISCUSSION
PRINCIPAL
NO.
AUTHOR
HB 1039 & Rep.
Expanding the benefits and privileges of The Bicameral Conference Committee, coSB 2890
Romualdez & persons with disability (PWD)
presided by Rep. Romero “Miro” Quimbo (2nd
Sen. Recto
District, Marikina City), Chair of the House
Committee on Ways and Means, and Senator
HB 3675 & Rep. Quimbo & Removing the conditions for the Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara, Chair of the
SB 2518
Sen. Recto
condonation of all unpaid income taxes Senate Committee on Ways and Means,
Bicameral
Conference
due from local water districts, amending approved the
for the purpose Section 289-A of the Committee Reports on HB 1039 and SB 2890,
National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC), and on HB 3675 and SB 2518.
as amended
Other conferees who were present during the
bicameral conference committee meeting
were the following: On the part of the House,
Reps. Estrellita Suansing (1st District, Nueva
Ecija), Nicasio Aliping Jr. (Baguio City) and
Raneo Abu (2nd District, Batangas), Party-List
Reps. Victoria Noel (AN WARAY), Jonathan
Dela Cruz (ABAKADA) and Terry Ridon
(KABATAAN); on the part of the Senate,
Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto.
COMMITTEE MEETINGS
COMMITTEE
Banks and
Financial
Intermediaries
MEASURES
PRINCIPAL
NO.
AUTHOR
HBs 588 &
Rep. Belmonte
853
(J.) & Deputy
Speaker Apostol
SUBJECT MATTER
ACTION TAKEN/DISCUSSION
Further strengthening the non-stock
savings and loan associations (NSSLAs),
amending for the purpose Republic Act
No. 8367, otherwise known as the Revised
Non-Stock Savings and Loan Associations
Act of 1997
The Committee, chaired by Rep. Sonny
Collantes (3rd District, Batangas), decided to
deliberate further on the two bills.
Bangko Sentral Deputy Governor Vicente
Aquino reiterated the agency’s reservations
and recommendations on the proposed
measures.
The Chair noted the absence in the meeting of
representatives from the Confederation of
Savings and Loan Associations, Inc.
(CONSLAI).
Meanwhile, Rep. Collantes sought the
comments of the Insurance Commission (IC)
and the Philippine Insurers and Reinsurers
Association (PIRA) regarding the effect of
lowering the taxes on micro insurance.
IC Deputy Insurance Commissioner Ferdinand
George Florendo stated that based on the
study conducted by the IC, the tax revenue
base may increase from the present 7% to as
high as 30% to 50% if taxes on insurance will
Continuation…
Banks and
Financial
Intermediaries
be reduced. It means, more people will get
insurance coverage if taxes and premium
costs are lower, thus eventually increasing tax
revenues in this sector. He added that the
current taxes on micro insurance range from
25% to 27% compared to only 6-12% in other
countries.
Florendo was requested to provide the
Committee with a copy of the said study
conducted by the IC.
Likewise, PIRA Chair Michael Rellosa favors a
tax reduction for non-life and micro insurance
premiums. He claimed that based on PIRA’s
meetings with concerned government
agencies, the estimated foregone revenues in
case of such tax reduction may be recovered
in a short span of time as more insurance
transactions are created due to lower costs.
Motu Proprio
Inquiry
Inquiry into the Reformed Compulsory
Third Party Liability (CTPL) Insurance
coverage for motor vehicles
The Committee will deliberate further on the
issues regarding the reformed CTPL
insurance coverage for motor vehicles being
implemented by the Land Transportation
Office (LTO) .
Noting the repeated absence of the LTO
officials in the meetings called by the
Committee despite the invitations extended to
them, the Committee decided to issue them a
subpoena to compel their attendance in its
next meeting.
One of the issues that the LTO needs to
explain is the alleged P1.5 billion discrepancy
in the CTPL insurance fee collection, as
reported by the BIR and the LTO, vis-a-vis the
number of vehicles registered in the past two
years.
Economic
Affairs
HBs 5544 &
6325
Deputy Speaker
Aggabao & Rep.
Del Rosario (A.)
Removing/amending
investment
restrictions in specific laws governing
adjustment
companies,
lending
companies, financing companies and
investment houses cited in the foreign
investment negative list, except those in
the Constitution
The Committee, chaired by Rep. Anthony Del
Rosario (1st District, Davao del Norte), agreed
to create a technical working group (TWG) to
deliberate further on HBs 5544 and 6325.
Deputy Speaker Giorgidi Aggabao (4th District,
Isabela), author of HB 5544, is confident that
removing or reducing the limitations on foreign
investments or participation in certain business
activities listed in the foreign investment
negative list (FINL), specifically in the areas of
adjustment, lending, financing and investment,
would attract more foreign direct investments
into the country. (The FINL is a list of business
activities or areas which foreign investors
could not engage in or could not fully own.)
Rep. Del Rosario, author of HB 6325, likewise
underscored the need to remove or reduce
such restrictions in order to comply with the
country’s commitments to the ASEAN
Economic Community (AEC), specifically in
line with the regional economic integration
agenda.
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Continuation…
Economic
Affairs
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Assistant
Governor Johnny Noe Ravalo said the BSP
supports further liberalization of foreign
companies’ ownership of domestic enterprises
but still subject to the rules and regulations by
the regulatory agencies.
The representatives of the National Economic
and Development Authority (NEDA) and the
American Chamber of Commerce expressed
their reservations on the inclusion of a
reciprocity provision in the bills, saying that it
would be difficult to implement and monitor.
(Reciprocity prevents a foreign firm from
participating in a particular business in the
Philippines if its own country does not allow
Filipinos to engage in the same business as
well.)
Rep. Aggabao explained that the reciprocity
provision is not a new concept as it is already
stipulated in existing laws governing foreign
investments.
Ravalo agreed with Rep. Aggabao, adding that
the concept of reciprocity is also explicitly
stated in the ASEAN framework.
Human Rights
HR 74
Rep.
Colmenares
Urging the Philippine Government to
immediately sign and ratify the United
Nations International Convention for the
Protection of all Persons from Enforced
Disappearances especially in the light of
the growing number of victims of enforced
disappearance in the country
The Committee, presided by its Vice Chair
Rep. Ibarra “Barry” Gutierrez III (Party-List,
AKBAYAN), adopted HR 74. The Secretariat
was directed to prepare the corresponding
Committee Report on the resolution.
HB 6024
Rep. Gutierrez
Amending certain provisions of Republic
Act 10368 or the law providing for
reparation and recognition of victims of
human rights violations during the Marcos
regime, documentation of said violations,
appropriating funds therefor
The Committee will deliberate further on HB
6024 in its next meeting.
HB 6024 seeks to extend the term of the
Human Rights Victims’ Claims Board
(HRVCB), which will end on May 12, 2016, for
at least another year in order to give the Board
sufficient time and funds to complete its work.
The HRVCB is an independent and quasijudicial body attached to the Commission on
Human Rights (CHR) tasked to evaluate,
investigate and adjudicate applications for
claims of victims of human rights violations
during Martial Law which covers the period
September 21, 1972 to February 25, 1986.
HRVCB chair Lina Sarmiento informed the
Committee that out of the 75,730 applications
for reparation and/or recognition received by
her office, only 11,071 or 14.61% have been
processed due to lack of personnel
complement and budget constraints.
Sarmiento proposed an increase in the number
of personnel and an increase of the budget
ceiling of the Board to up to P100 million. The
bill seeks to increase the budget ceiling of the
HRVCB from P50 million to P75 million.
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Continuation…
Human Rights
Representatives from the CHR and the
Department of Justice (DOJ) expressed
support for the bill.
However, both
emphasized that the increase in the operations
budget of the HRVCB should be utilized for the
benefit of the claimants and not to augment the
salaries and benefits of the Board members.
On the other hand, the Samahan ng mga ExDetainees Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto
(SELDA) objects to the bill, particularly the
provision which proposes to increase the
compensation and benefits of the Board
members and officers. Doing so will diminish
the funds intended for claims of human rights
victims, the group said.
Rep. Neri Colmenares (Party-List, Bayan
Muna) was amenable to the proposal of the
HRVCB to increase the number of personnel in
order to facilitate the processing of the claims
but not to extend the term of the HRVCB. The
proposed increase in the budget ceiling of the
HRVCB should be discussed during the
deliberations on the national budget by the
Committee on Appropriations.
The resource persons present were asked to
submit to the Committee their respective
position papers on the bill.
InterParliamentary
Relations and
Diplomacy
HR 2535
Speaker
Belmonte
Establishing the Philippines-Indonesia
Parliamentarians’ Friendship Group
The Committee, chaired by Rep. Raul Del Mar
(1st District, Cebu City), adopted HR 2535
subject to amendment.
The establishment of a friendship group
between the legislative bodies of the
Philippines and Indonesia will further enhance
political cooperation and parliamentary
alliances.
COMMITTEE
Public Order
and Safety
(Technical
Working Group
TECHNICAL WORKING GROUP MEETINGS
MEASURES
SUBJECT MATTER
PRINCIPAL
NO.
AUTHOR
Draft
Reps. AglipayStrengthening the private security industry,
Substitute
Villar, Escudero repealing for the purpose Republic Act No.
Bill to HBs
& Briones
5487 or the law regulating the organization
123, 1731 &
and operation of private detective,
2722
watchmen or security guard agencies, as
amended
ACTION TAKEN/ DISCUSSION
The technical working group (TWG), presided
by its Vice Chair Rep. Romeo Acop (2nd
District, Antipolo City), will deliberate further on
the draft substitute bill in its next meeting.
Rep. Evelina Escudero (1st District, Sorsogon)
inquired about the maximum number of
working hours per day per worker allowed by
law, noting that some security guards are
required to work for 12 straight hours daily and
even up to 24 consecutive hours.
Citing the provisions of the Labor Code, lawyer
Benjo Santos Benavidez of the Bureau of
Labor Relations of the Department of Labor
and Employment (DOLE) said the law provides
for an 8-hour work per day and any excess
shall be considered an overtime work subject
to overtime pay.
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Continuation…
Public Order
and Safety
(Technical
Working Group
Retired General Angel Quizon of the Laging
Handa Security Agency disclosed that
sometimes, legitimate security agencies give in
to their clients’ demand to let security guards
work for 12 hours but without overtime pay. He
explained that if the agencies do not accede to
their clients’ requirement, the latter can just
turn to fly-by-night security agencies which
offer much lower contract costs.
Quizon appealed to the DOLE to intervene and
stop these illegal labor practices in the security
business.
Asked to comment on Section 9
(Administrative Fee of Private Security
Agencies) of the bill, Benavidez said the
administrative fee should not be more than
20% of the total contract price, and not less
than 20% as espoused in the bill.
P/CSupt. Noel Constantino, officer-in-charge of
the Supervisory Office for Security and
Investigation Agencies (SOSIA) of the
Philippine National Police (PNP), proposed
that the minimum number of security personnel
for every security agency, to be given a license
to operate, be reduced to 50 (instead of the
proposed 100). He added that security
personnel assigned to guard banks and
armored vehicles may be issued up to two
firearms per guard.
Constantino also suggested that graduates of
criminology opting to work as private
investigators should first secure a license from
the SOSIA-PNP.
On the contrary, Ramil Gabao, Chair of the
Board of Criminology of the Philippine
Regulation Commission (PRC), argued that
criminology graduates who passed the
licensure examination for criminology given by
the PRC no longer need to get a license from
the SOSIA-PNP as a prerequisite for working
as private investigator.
Rep. Acop requested the Secretariat to seek
the opinion of the Department of Justice (DOJ)
and the Office of the Solicitor-General (OSG)
on this matter.
Special
Committee on
Southern
Tagalog
Development
(Technical
Working Group)
Draft
Substitute
Bill to HBs
5623 & 3741
Reps. Lanete &
Suarez
Mandating the construction of additional
expressways leading to Southern Luzon
The technical working group, chaired by Rep.
Scott Davies Lanete (3rd District, Masbate),
concluded its deliberation on the draft
substitute bill.
The draft substitute bill will be submitted to the
mother Committee for consideration and
approval.
Among the points agreed upon by the TWG
are:

The Quezon-Bicol Expressway (QuBE)
shall link the regions of Quezon and Bicol
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Continuation…
Special
Committee on
Southern
Tagalog
Development
(Technical
Working Group)


starting from Malicboy, Quezon and
terminating at the Province of Sorsogon in
Bicol. It will be financed, constructed,
operated and maintained by a consortium
under the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT)
Law. (Section 3 - Establishment of
Expressways)
The Department of Public Works and
Highways (DPWH) shall be the lead
implementing agency for this project
(Section 4);
The amount necessary to defray the cost
of undertaking and completing the
feasibility study for this project shall be
charged
against
the
current
appropriations of the DPWH. Thereafter,
such sums may be included in the annual
General Appropriations Act. (Section 7Appropriations)
DPWH project manager Noel Berina,
Department
of
Transportation
and
Communications (DOTC) legal officer Erwin
Cabantug, South Luzon Tollway Corporation
(SLTC) manager Thelma Mahinay, and Toll
Regulatory Board (TRB) consultant Alberto
Suansing all manifested their support for the
bill.
Comments, suggestions and requests for copies may be sent to the Editorial Unit, Committee Administrative Support Service, 3rd
Floor, Ramon V. Mitra, Jr. Bldg., Batasan Complex, Constitution Hills, Quezon City. Tel. Nos. 9326118; 9315001 local 7122.
Also available at http://www.congress.gov.ph
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