PRESIDENT Benigno S. Aquino III signed into law four measures in the fields of energy, labor and health care that impact on the social reform agenda of the Aquino administration.
The four new measures include Republic Act (RA) 10150, an act that provides a ten-year extension of the lifeline rate implementation under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act(EPIRA) as a socialized pricing mechanism that benefits the marginalized end-users of electricity.
Also signed into law is Joint Resolution No. 1 – seeking a ten-year extension for the Joint Congressional Power Commission (JCPC) in order to ensure the continuous exercise of its oversight function towards the full realization of the objectives and goals of the EPIRA and the Renewable Energy Act.
The Chief Executive also affixed his signature to Republic Act 10151, an Act allowing the employment of night workers thereby repealing articles 130 and 131 of Presidential Decree(PD) Number 442, as amended, otherwise known as the Labor Code of the Philippines. It willalso ensure mandatory provision of ample health and social services as well as commensurate compensation for night-shift workers.
Last to be signed by the President was Republic Act 10152 or the act providing for mandatory basic immunization services for infants and children repealing for the purpose Presidential Decree No. 996, as amended. This law requires mandatory Hepatitis-B immunization for infantswithin 24 hours of birth. The President cited the ill effects of the dreaded disease adding that it can lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer, among others.
The President also said that the signing of the four new laws will not automatically eradicate poverty and inequality altogether – but in small ways, the measures will make the lives of theFilipino people better. (PCOO/PIA)
