SEN GUINGONA EYES PASSAGE OF PRIORITY BILLS AS SESSION OPENS
CITES 2013 BUDGET, AMLA AMENDMENT AND PLEA BARGAINING BILLS

Senator Teofisto "TG" Guingona III has enumerated three important bills that he sees as priority measures and will push for its passage as both houses of Congress resumes session this week.

Sen. Guingona said that the first on his list is the proposed 2013 National Budget. He vowed to question the heads of government agencies that have problematic programs and expenses based on published Commission on Audit (COA) reports.

"Once the proposed 2013 General Appropriations Bill reaches the Senate, I will ask the heads of government departments and agencies to explain their respective programs, projects and expenses that COA already questioned on its reports. They need to on how they manage the funds of the Filipino people, if their programs benefit the target beneficiaries, and why they need a raise in budget if they were not able to spend on their allocated programs," Sen. Guingona said.

The good governance advocate challenged the government agencies to be transparent and accountable with their dealings, and reminded them that their transactions are supposed to be aligned with President Benigno S. Aquino's platform on transparency and accountability in public sector.

Another priority for Sen. Guingona is the passage of Senate Bill 3123, the third and last bill that seeks to amend the Anti-Money Laundering Act. Its Senate passage will further strengthen the existing AMLA law by significantly expanding the number of so-called "covered institutions and persons" or those institutions and individuals required to submit covered transaction reports and suspicious transaction reports within a period of time.

It also proposes to expand the list of predicate crimes such as: bribery and corruption of public officers; frauds and illegal exactions; malversation of public funds and property; forgeries and counterfeiting; and anti-trafficking in persons.

The third priority bill that Sen. Guingona would like to be passed is the Plea Bargaining Act of 2012 under Committee Report 134.

The good governance advocate stressed that the bill aims to ensure that the plea bargaining will not be exploited as a procedure of compromise for the convenience of the accused but will be used for the paramount public interest of the public.