FIRST SAY:
“ I cannot understand why we idle discussing religion. If we are honest—and scientists have to be—we must admit that religion is a jumble of false assertions, with no basis in reality. The very idea of God is a product of the human imagination. It is quite understandable why primitive people, who were so much more exposed to the overpowering forces of nature than we are today, should have personified these forces in fear and trembling. But nowadays, when we understand so many natural processes, we have no need for such solutions. I can't for the life of me see how the postulate of an Almighty God helps us in any way. What I do see is that this assumption leads to such unproductive questions as why God allows so much misery and injustice, the exploitation of the poor by the rich and all the other horrors He might have prevented. If religion is still being taught, it is by no means because its ideas still convince us, but simply because some of us want to keep the lower classes quiet. Quiet people are much easier to govern than clamorous and dissatisfied ones. They are also much easier to exploit. Religion is a kind of opium that allows a nation to lull itself into wishful dreams and so forget the injustices that are being perpetrated against the people. Hence the close alliance between those two great political forces, the State and the Church. Both need the illusion that a kindly God rewards—in heaven if not on earth—all those who have not risen up against injustice, who have done their duty quietly and uncomplainingly. That is precisely why the honest assertion that God is a mere product of the human imagination is branded as the worst of all mortal sins. ”
—Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac,
Nobel prize in Physics, 1933
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In his remarks after the ceremonial signing of two laws, the Negros Island Region Act (NIR Act, RA 2000) and the Real Property Valuation and Assessment Reform Act (RPVARA, RA 2001), President Bongbong Marcos noted that the two new laws will move us closer to attaining the vision of a resilient and progressive newer Philippines.
The President, in other words, was touting Bagong Pilipinas. Not only through the program’s new pledge of loyalty and new hymn, but also in concrete actions such as legislation.
There is a strong, concrete rationale for forming a new cohesive region on Negros island. As Marcos explained, the union is long overdue and makes very practical sense, because on Negros island, people are located in one island but are governed under separate administrative regions. For the longest time, Negrenses have endured the rigors of sea travel, more expenses, bureaucratic red tape (what island has not?) and inefficiency in government service that this arrangement has brought. The problem is exacerbated when here is an urgent need for government services from regional centers on other islands, or during times of natural disasters and emergencies.
This glaring uneven growth and disparity of funding between the two provinces, which share many of same natural resources and industries such as sugar, tourism and renewable energy may even be one of the causes of poverty and the growth of communist insurgency on Negros island.
Now that the Negros Island Region has been finalized, it is to the credit of representatives and senators for passing this law. The President sees this development as the catalyst in making Negros island “a bulwark of greater growth as well as a conduit for more effective and efficient delivery of essential services in the region.”
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Meanwhile, the RPVARA is one of the priority legislations, and is included in the Common Legislative Agenda of the Marcos administration aligned with the 8-Point Socioeconomic Agenda.
The RPVARA aims to streamline, unify, and enhance the real property valuation and assessment system.
President Marcos said the government’s 8-Point Socioeconomic Agenda “put primacy” on the pursuit of bureaucratic efficiency driven by transparency, digitalization, and the practice of innovative work processes in the service.
“So, this new law is borne out of the necessity and the realization that there is a need to enhance the country’s tax collection system so we can generate revenues, generate jobs, [and] investments all over the country. No longer will we rely on the outdated valuation system,” he said.
“We now have instead the new and improved RPVARA. A law that streamlines and enhances the real property valuation and assessment system through a uniform real property appraisal that is compliant with international standards,” he added.
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During the fourth Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council’s (LEDAC) full meeting last March 19, the body agreed to prioritize the passage of 20 bills by the end of June 2024.
Notably, three of these, including the NIR Act and RPVARA, have been enacted, while the remaining 17 are yet to be passed into law.
Among the priority bills to be enacted include the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act, Self-Reliant Defense Posture Revitalization Act, Philippine Maritime Zones Act, Anti-Financial Accounts Scamming Act, Amendments to the Government Procurement Reform Act, Value-Added Tax on Digital Services, Blue Economy Act, Waste-to-Energy Bill, and the Mandatory Reserve Officers’ Training Corps.
Other proposals are the Unified System of Separation, Retirement, and Pension of Military and Uniformed Personnel, Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning Program Act, Apprenticeship Act, E-Government/E-Governance Act, Department of Water Resources, Open Access in Data Transmission, Amendments to the Universal Healthcare Act, Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises to Maximize Opportunities for Reinvigorating the Economy Act.
With 17 more bills out of 20 still being processed by the legislative branch, is it safe to say that the Congress of the Philippines, which is composed of the House of Representatives and the Senate, is a slow-grinding mill?
With the House Speaker Martin Romualdez, former Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri and new Senate President Francis Escudero conducting the affairs of the two chambers, it would seem that they are actually vibrant and proactive. But of course, in the end, the proof of performance is in the number of relevant and useful bills that they passed.
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President Bongbong on Thursday urged the legislators to pass laws that are more inclusive, responsive, and people-centered before yearend. The President made the call in a bid to usher national development and improve the lives of Filipinos.
“To our fellow workers in both the houses of Congress, I implore that before the year ends ..that laws which are more inclusive, responsive, and people-centered to be passed. And we are deep in discussion about that,” President Marcos said.
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