Now they have time

It was bountiful harvest, metaphorically speaking, with three landmark laws recently produced by the 19th Congress.

- MARICHU A. VILLANUEVA

Last Monday at Malacañang Palace, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. (PBBM) signed them into law one after the other. Naturally, the key leaders and members from both chambers, including the respective authors and sponsors of the three laws, stood witness to the ceremonial signing rites at the Palace.

Signed into law were: Republic Act (RA) 12078, or the Amendments to the Agricultural Tariffication Act; RA 12079, or the Value-Added Tax (VAT) Refund Mechanism for Non-Resident Tourists Act and RA 12080, or the Basic Education Mental Health and Well-Being Promotion Act.

Cabinet members of PBBM led by his economic team were also in full force as their respective departments were among the implementing agencies for the three new laws.

As the principal author and sponsor of RA 12078, Sen. Cynthia Villar best described its enactment as an early Christmas gift to Filipino farmers and agricultural cooperatives all over the country. As chairman of the Senate committee on agriculture and food, Sen. Villar counts upon RA 12078 to effectively put out of business rice cartels.

This law authorizes the agriculture secretary to designate importing entities, except for the National Food Authority (NFA), to import rice to supplement the supply of rice and steady prices. RA 12078 now allows the NFA to sell rice buffer stocks to the public through Kadiwa ng Pangulo centers in areas experiencing rice supply shortages or extraordinary price increases.