The House of Representatives on 10 September 2018 approved on third and final reading House Bill No. 8083, otherwise known as the Tax Reform for Attracting Better and Higher Quality Opportunities ("TRABAHO") Bill. The TRABAHO Bill aims to lower corporate income taxes ("CIT") so as to attract foreign investment into the country.
Legislators gave their final nod to the bill just six (6) days after it was approved on second reading. Voting 187-14-3, only fourteen (14) lawmakers voted against the TRABAHO Bill.
From the current base rate of 30%, the TRABAHO Bill seeks to gradually lower the corporate income tax to 20% by 2029, or 2% per year beginning 2021.
The current CIT rate of 30 % is one of the highest in Southeast Asia and is perceived as preventing the country from attracting foreign investment.
House of Representative Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dakila Cua, the sponsor of the TRABAHO Bill, said it also aims to modernise the country's tax incentives regime to ensure it is "targeted, time-bound, and effective." It seeks to grant income incentives for a maximum of five years, except in projects located in lagging areas and areas recovering from armed conflict or major disasters, projects in agri-business outside major urban areas, or projects relocated from major urban areas. These exceptions may enjoy an additional two years of incentives.
The TRABAHO Bill must now be approved by the Senate and later on by a bicameral conference committee before it can be forwarded to the President for his signature and becomes a law.
The House of Representatives on 4 September 2018 approved on third reading House Bill No. 4113, otherwise known as the 100-Day Maternity Leave Law ("House Bill 4113"). House Bill 4113 increases the paid maternity period to 100 days for female workers in the public and private sectors. Currently, women who give birth through normal delivery are allowed to take 60 days of maternity leave, while those who deliver by caesarean section are given 78 days of maternity leave.
House Bill 4113 also grants mothers an option to extend their maternity leave for an additional 30-days without pay. It also provides that Social Security System members who have paid at least three monthly contributions in the 12-month period prior to the semester of their childbirth or miscarriage shall be paid their daily maternity benefit.
House Bill 4113 now needs to be reconciled with the Senate version of the bill (which was approved on third and final reading last year) through a bicameral conference before it can be signed into law by President Rodrigo Duterte. This is because the Senate version of House Bill 4113 proposes a longer paid maternity leave of 120 days and also proposes a 30-day paid leave for fathers, as opposed to House Bill 4113 which does not increase the current 7-day paid leave for fathers.
The House of Representatives Committee on Banks and Financial Intermediaries ("Committee") on 14 August 2018 approved an unnumbered substitute bill, Islamic Banking Bill ("Bill"), seeking to expand the Islamic banking system in the Philippines for greater financial inclusion.
The Committee Chairman, Rep. Ben Evardone of Eastern Samar, said the Bill's passage would complement the Bangsamoro Organic Law, a law providing for the establishment of an autonomous political entity known as the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, replacing the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao ("ARMM"). The Bangsamoro Organic Law was ratified by both the Senate and the House of Representatives on 23 July and 24 July 2018, respectively, and was signed into law by President Rodrigo Duterte on 26 July 2018.
The Bill defines "Islamic banking business" as a banking business whose objectives and operations do not involve interest (riba) which is prohibited by the Shari'ah, and which conducts its business transactions in accordance with Shariáh principles.
Under the Bill, the Monetary Board of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas ("BSP"), the central bank of the Philippines, may authorise the establishment of Islamic banks. It may also authorise conventional banks to engage in Islamic banking arrangements through a designated Islamic banking unit within the banks.
It provides that foreign Islamic banks may be authorised to carry out banking operations in the Philippines under any of the modes of entry provided under Republic Act No. 7721 or "An Act Liberalizing the Entry and Scope of Operations of Foreign Banks in the Philippines and for Other Purposes".
The BSP shall have supervision and regulatory powers over the operations of Islamic banks, which shall be licensed and regulated in the same manner as universal banks.
The Department of Health ("DOH") recently stated that the passage of the Universal Health Care Bill ("UHC Bill") would "correct the inefficiencies in the current health system as it will empower community health units in the provision of quality health care to every Filipino".
The UHC Bill provides for the automatic inclusion of all Filipinos in the National Health Insurance Program of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation ("PhilHealth"), a government-owned and controlled corporation ("GOCC") attached to the DOH created to implement universal health coverage in the Philippines. This will benefit many impoverished Filipinos as the funding will ensure full coverage of cost for medical package and basic amenities.
According to Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, the UHC Bill aims to address the disorganisation in the delivery of health care services under the current system, as there will be designated primary care providers for all Filipinos who shall act as gatekeepers and coordinators of care. The current practice is that people with the simplest health issues go to hospitals when such illnesses can be attended to at the barangay / community health stations which are delivery units closest to the communities. In this regard, a National Health Workforce Support System will be established to ensure continuous supply and deployment of human resources particularly to undeserved areas.
There will be a Health Technology Assessment Council to determine the safety and feasibility of investments for health care. It is hoped that this will avoid healthcare issues similar to the Dengvaxia controversy, where several children who were administered with a dengue vaccine died allegedly from complications attributed to the vaccine.
While the House of Representatives has passed its version of the bill, the counterpart measure in the Senate is still pending in the committee level. The two bills would have to be reconciled and approved by a bicameral committee before it is submitted to the President for his signature to become a law.
