THE Senate is planning to create an ad hoc committee to push economic recovery measures and support micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), Senate President Sherwin T. Gatchalian said on Thursday.
“We want to focus on reinvigorating the economy. So, we’re creating an ad hoc committee solely to focus on that so that we will get the other chairmen, the other committees to participate also and to share their expertise,” he told a news briefing.
The expected results of the ad hoc committee include recommendations to the Executive, legislation and budget allocations to programs such as those catered to MSMEs, Mr. Gatchalian added.
“This is legislative. DEPDev (Department of Economy, Planning, and Development) can do their thing, but this is legislative, so in our setting, this is more targeted,” he said.
The Reinvigorate Investment and Sustainable Economic Growth (RISE) panel, which will be set up in the last week of August, would be similar to the Proactive Response and Oversight for Timely and Effective Crisis Strategy established in April to address the oil shock caused by the US and Iran war.
The RISE panel, however, would be focused on improving the Filipinos’ cost of living while seeking partnerships with private sectors.
Mr. Gatchalian also outlined five priority measures aimed at economic recovery and ease of doing business, including the Granting Increase in Take-Home Pay for All Working Filipinos (GINHAWA) Act, general tax amnesty, and travel tax abolition.
Mr. Gatchalian said the projected revenue loss from the abolition of the travel tax is about P6 billion in revenue losses, which could be offset by the expected growth of the tourism industry from the tax removal.
He added that the hearings for the bills on income tax exemption will start soon, personally proposing a threshold of P400,000 under the GINHAWA bill, P50,000 higher than President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.’s proposed P350,000 ceiling.
The Senate is also looking into the swift passage of three other measures, namely bills on General Tax Amnesty, Masterplan for Infrastructure and National Development and Waste-to-Energy development.
Mr. Gatchalian said the chamber aims to pass the priority measures by June 2027. — Kaela Patricia B. Gabriel